Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has made it mandatory from December 1 to declare the method used for producing synthetic or reconstructed diamonds at the time of export or import. This will help in quick processing and inspection of consignment which in turn will facilitate the trade.
Synthetic or reconstructed diamonds are popularly known as Lab Grown Diamonds (LDG). Globally, the market stood at $1 billion in 2020, the lab-grown diamond jewellery market is expected to rapidly rise to $5 billion by 2025 and exceed $15 billion by 2035.
“In terms of the Bill of Entry (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2018 and Shipping Bill (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2019, it has been decided to enable the additional qualifiers/identifiers to be declared at the time of filing of import/export declarations with effect from December 1, 2024,” a CBIC circular said.
Official data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) show that the exports of LDG grew by over 100 per cent in 2021-22. The growth continued in 2022-23 seeing 28 per cent growth in exports. However, in 2023, exports of lab grown diamonds fell for the first time. The gross exports declined by 16.5 per cent falling to $1,402 million (₹11,611 crore) from $1,680 million (₹13,468 crore) in 2022-23. People involved in the trade said that the value of exports of lab-grown diamonds have dropped, but the volumes in terms of carats have risen. The only thing that has dropped since LGD business started is the price per carat. It is a non-monopolised business and so there is a value correction.
“Declaration of additional qualifiers would improve quality of assessment and intervention and increase facilitation,” the circular added. It has listed three qualifiers for lab Grown Diamond -Chemical Vapour Deposition, High Pressure-High Temperature and other – to be declared.
The circular reminded that a circular issued in 2020 advised importers to voluntarily declare the complete description of imported goods and certain additional qualifiers for imported items such as scientific names, IUPAC names, brand name, etc. as applicable to reduce queries and improve the efficiency of assessment. Among those imported/exported, it is noted that in case of synthetic or reconstructed diamonds, the information currently provided by the importers/exporters of these products is inadequate and does not provide the method used for producing these products, thus leading to insufficient inputs for devising policies, certifications from technical agencies for assessment, etc. with adversely impacting cargo clearance time.
On reviewing the matter, it is noted that the information in import/export declarations can be improved by providing the method used for producing these products, thereby offering effective avoidance of queries, enhancing efficiency in assessment and facilitation, the circular said.
The Gems and Jewellery sector plays a significant role in the Indian economy, contributing around 9 per cent to India’s total merchandise export. Over the past decade, there has been several positive developments in the Gem & Jewellery sector globally. One of the major technological developments in this sector has been Laboratory-grown diamonds (LGD).
Besides the jewellery industry, lab-grown diamonds are used in computer chips, satellites, 5G networks as they can be used in extreme environments due to their potential to operate at higher speeds while using less power than silicon-based chips. LGD has vast applications in the fields of defence, optics, jewellery, thermal & medical industry.
