Surat, 24 June, 2014

A delegation of Surat Diamond Association and GJEPC will visit Delhi on Wednesday to meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The delegation is going to meet Union Finance Minister with a demand to extend import payment limit of rough diamond from existing 90 days to 245 days.

Earliet there was a limit of 120 days, but later the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) reduced the limit to 90 days which has created problems for diamond traders, because if they make payment on even 91st day, they need to get permission from RBI for that. Such permission is granted by RBI after around 30 days period, and due to this delay the Indian diamond companies have to face the burden of dollar fluctuation and interest while paying money to diamond mining companies abroad.

Indian diamond merchants buy 70% rough from mining companies like D bears, Alrosa, Rio Tinto. Rough diamonds worth five billion dollars are purchased only from Antwerp(Belgium) every year.

GJEPC’s regional chairman Chandrakant Sanghvi, Diamond Association president Dinesh Navadia, Savji Dholakia, top diamond baron and one of the most respected names in this industry Shri Sevantibhai Shah and Gujarat Hira Bourse’s MD Nanu Vanani are part of the delegation.