Despite registering negative growth in the last three months, gold imports in Ahmedabad have grown by more than three times in the first six months of the current financial year.
Twenty-eight tonnes of gold have been imported at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport from April to September 2017, cargo handler GSECL said. The imports were higher by 330% compared to 8.51 tonnes in the same period, last year.
Incidentally, there has been a sharp fall in imports in the last three months. Gold imports in Ahmedabad declined by 40 per cent in July, almost 70 per cent in August and more than 30 per cent in September.
Goods and Services Tax (GST), which came into force on July 1, is seen as one of the reasons for the decline in gold imports.
"GST, coupled with stricter Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for buyers, has hit gold sales. The government needs to rethink on some of these measures," Chinubhai Shah, president of Shree Choksi Mahajan, Ahmedabad, said.
Bhaskar Bhat, managing director of Titan, said that in Ahmedabad, while the 3% GST rate on gold jewellery is a very good rate, there is a lot of uncertainty on account of GST.
Bhat also said that the proposal to make Aadhaar, PAN or other identification proof mandatory for cash transactions above Rs 50,000 is going a bit too far.
The import statistics also show that gold imports rose sharply just before GST kicked in. Gold imports at Ahmedabad rose 30 times to 12.95 tonnes in May, and 3.5 times to 4.85 tonnes in June.
Jigar Soni, secretary of Jewellers Association, Ahmedabad, said that the gold transactions were steady in retail markets, and they expect sales to go up in the run up to Diwali.
Month Year
2016-17 2017-18
April 1.0 7.39
May 0.42 12.95
June 1.37 4.85
July 1.74 1.04
August 2.11 0.64
September 1.88 1.30
Total 8.51 28
(Import figures in tonne; Source: GSECL)
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