Gold price volatility posing biggest challenge for B2B segment in gems and jewelry industry: Rajpara

Ahmedabad: The biggest challenge the gems and jewelry sector in India was facing currently was the gold price volatility and its almost continuous bullish trend, Jewelry sector expert and the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Headway Business Solutions LLP, the Gujarat based company in to consultancy, coaching and mentoring for jewelry sector business development, Paresh Rajpara today said.

Addressing a press conference here on the occasion of a learn and lead growth meeting cum workshop attended by over 200 representatives of the gems and jewelry sector and related fields including business and finance experts, Rajpara said that due to the prevailing investment uncertainties in the country, people were buying gold as an investment option. Also due to a period cycle the prices of gold were going up. ‘This has most adversely impacted the Business to Business (B2B) part of the industry. Those in doing B2B business were facing difficulty in payments etc due to rapid fluctuation in gold rates,’ he said.

To a query he said that the ‘hangover’ of sorts of the issues pertaining to the time of demonetization was still there. ‘There was large scale cash deposit by certain jewelers at the time of demonetization and many of them had received income tax notices. It had created a panic of sorts especially for the lot which was not so aware of the rules and regulations. Those who were sound in this regard had dealt more effectively,’ he said.

Rajpara said that it was more of a technical issue. A jeweler could not be able to sell more than his existing stock. In such a case if one understood the business and related rules properly it would have been easy to reply to the IT queries and notices.

He said that the gems and jewelry industry in India which included gold, diamond and silver and precious segment like platinum was a vast one with over 10 lakh retailers in organized sector alone. It had a vast scope of growth.

Rajpara said that it was imperative for the sector players to be aware of the changes in government rules and benefits.

DeshGujarat