MUMBAI May 7 (Reuters) – Gold imports from India, the
world’s biggest buyer of bullion, could rise on pent-up demand
from jewellers after the federal government decided to scrap an
excise duty on jewellery it imposed in March, the head of a
trade body said on Monday.
The federal government will withdraw the excise duty on all
jewellery effective March 17 — the date it was introduced —
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told parliament.
“People (gold traders) who were on the sidelines will come
back to the market … jewellery demand will improve in the
coming weeks,” Prithviraj Kothari, president of the Bombay
Bullion Association, told Reuters by telephone.
Jewellers in India, which imported more than 950 tonnes last
year — a new record — went on strike in March to protest at
the imposition of the duty and ended their action after three
weeks on reassurances from Mukherjee the government would
consider scrapping the tax.
The government did not roll back its doubling of the import
duty on gold to 4 percent of value.
(Reporting by Siddesh Mayenkar; Editing by Jo Winterbottom)
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