GJ Town India

By fostering dialogue Sanjay Kumar, focuses the Industry!   The leadership of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) extended a warm welcome to Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), along with Prachi Saroop, Chief Commissioner of Customs, and Harish Dharnia, Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai, at the GJEPC office in Mumbai. The meeting aimed to foster dialogue and address key challenges faced by the gem and jewellery industry.    Representing GJEPC were Vipul Shah, Chairman; Kirit Bhansali, Vice Chairman; Ajesh Mehta, Convener, Diamond Panel; Shaunak Parikh, Convener, Banking Insurance & Taxation, Milan Chokshi, Convener, PM&BD; and Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director. Also in attendance from the Mumbai Customs were senior officials Prachi Saroop, Chief Commissioner Customs and Shri Harish Dharnia (Commissioner of Customs). During the discussions, GJEPC leadership highlighted several critica...

GJ trade is ready to rock in the post budget, ease of doing business!   40th Edition of IIJS Premiere Show 2024 is opening its’ curtain in Mumbai, is India organised by The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) is the apex body of trade sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, to promote exports of gems and jewellery from India.   The grand inauguration will host, C. P. Radhakrishnan (Hon. Governor of Maharashtra) as Chief Guest, Guests of Honour will be Paul Rowley - EVP De Beers and Paul Alukka - MD Jos Alukkas Group in the presence of  Manushi Chhillar, GJEPC Brand Ambassador.    GJEPC has been organizing its flagship annual B2B trade shows, India International Jewellery Show (IIJS Premiere & IIJS Signature) and India Gem & Jewellery Machinery Expo (IGJME) in Mumbai for many years. IIJS Premiere 2024 is proud to celebrate 4 decades ...

4,73,131 number of Indian Companies and 1,065 number of Foreign Companies have been benefited by availing the Companies Fresh Start Scheme (CFSS), 2020 As per records available with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), 4,73,131 number of Indian Companies and 1,065 number of Foreign Companies have been benefited by availing the Companies Fresh Start Scheme (CFSS), 2020 for filing their pending documents.   This was stated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.   The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) through the General Circular No. 12/2020 dated 30.03.2020 launched the Companies Fresh Start Scheme, (CFSS) 2020 which inter- alia provides opportunities to Companies to make good any filing related defaults, regardless of duration of defaults, and make a fresh start as a fully compliant entity.   Giving more details, the Minister said the Scheme condoned the delay i...

Economic Survey calls for simplification of Regulations and process reforms   The Economic Survey has called for simplification of regulatory processes in the light of uncertainties in the real world scenarios. The Economic Survey 2020-21 was presented in the Parliament by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.   The Survey states that administrative processes in India are often loaded with significant amount of procedural delays and other regulatory complexities in decision making process making them inefficient and cumbersome for all stake holders. It has highlighted this problem and recommended ways and means to resolve this administrative challenge.   The Economic Survey observes that in order to solve the problems, authorities often make attempts to reduce discretion by having ever more complex regulations, which is counterproductive and results in even more non-transparent discretion.   According to the Economic ...

  Over the last few years, in order to provide a non-intrusive and non-adversarial tax ecosystem, the Government has taken various measures to reform the Direct Tax regime. This was stated by Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs in response to a written question in the Lok Sabha. Thakur said that some of these measures include rationalisation of tax rates, simplification of income tax return forms, faster processing of refunds, speedy resolution of grievances and introduction of faceless processes to ease the compliance burden on taxpayers and minimise the physical interface between the taxpayer and the income tax authorities.   In August 2020, Government has launched ‘Transparent Taxation–Honouring the Honest, which is a platform to meet the requirements of the 21st century taxation system. The platform has major reforms like Faceless Assessment, Faceless Appeal and Taxpayers Charter.   The Faceless Assessment Scheme, 2019 (ear...

  Release of payment of MSME dues on priority   In another major step towards payment of MSME dues by different sectors, Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has now impressed upon the private sector enterprises of the country to take measures for release of payment of MSME dues on priority.   During the announcement of AatmNirbhar Package, it was desired that the MSME receivables and dues should be paid in 45 days. Accordingly Ministry of MSME took up the matter aggressively with Central Ministries, their Departments and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). In addition to writing and following up with them, Ministry has also devised an online system for reporting. Hundreds of CPSEs have been reporting on this system about the monthly dues and payments since last four months.  Around Rs. 10000 crores have been reported to have been paid by the Ministries and CPSEs. Similarly, Ministry has also taken up the issue with States and moti...

  FM holds meeting for ECLGS, PCGS 2.0   Finance Minister holds meeting with lenders for expediting resolution of loan accounts and reviewing progress of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 and Sub-ordinate Debt Scheme.   Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman held a review meeting with the heads of Scheduled Commercial Banks and NBFCs through Video Conferencing today to review their state of preparedness for implementation of the loans resolution framework for Covid-19 related stress.   During the meeting, Smt. Sitharaman impressed upon the lenders that as and when moratorium on loan repayments is lifted, borrowers must be given support and Covid-19 related distress must not impact the lenders’ assessment of their creditworthiness. During her interaction, the Finance Minister focused on Lenders immediately putting in place Board-approved policy for resolution, identifyin...

  MoF constitutes industry Specific special group!   In a virtual review meeting held between the Finance Ministry and the GJEPC on 18th August, the Hon’ble Finance Minister (MoF) Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman called for the formation of a Special Group, including Customs and banking officials, to resolve all issues related to the gem and jewellery (GJ) sector. The Finance Minister added that if the gem and jewellery industry does not get a satisfactory reply from the Special Group, the matter may be flagged to the FM.   The Meeting was attended by Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Finance Minister; Mr Sandeep Bhatnagar, Member Customs; Mr G D Lohani, JS TRU; Mr Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC; Mr Vipul Shah, Vice Chairman, GJEPC; Mr Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director, GJEPC were present at the meeting.   Expressing gratitude to the Finance Minister for the review meeting, Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC said, “The export of gem and jewellery sector is witnessing some signs of ...

  A visionary period in the history of India   Exploring the massive potential of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) to enhance the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in India, NITI Aayog in association with Agami and Omidyar Network India held a conversation-co-hosted by Indian Industry with heads of legal firms and industry representatives.   ‘We are witnessing a visionary period in the history of India’s court system. In today’s age of data-driven solutions and machine learning, ODR provides the potential to resolve a substantial percentage of disputes at the site of their occurrence without burdening the courts. Progressive and disruptive changes in justice delivery are critical components that can alter the course of access to justice in an unprecedented way,’ said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. ODR is the resolution of disputes, particularly small- and medium-value cases, using digital technology and techniques of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), such as negotiation, m...

Single window system to be set up soon!  The Government is soon going to set up a single window system for clearances and approvals of industry in the country. Talking to the sovereign wealth funds, the foreign pension funds and others on ease of doing business and investments in infrastructure sector in India, Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal said that this would be a genuine single window and all the concerned State Governments and Central Ministries are being taken on board for the system.   The Minister also said that the Government is working on creating a land bank, for which six States have already given their consent.   He said that the potential investors would then be able to locate and identify the land banks from their distant offices and finalise the location of industries, without frequently visiting the offices of land owning agencies. On the issue of further easing and speeding up the process of approvals for industry and investments, t...

Extended till October 31, 2020! G&J industry takes a sigh of relief! In a major relief to the Indian diamond industry, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Government of India, at the behest of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), announced an extension of three months on certified diamond re-imports in an official notification. The provision stated: “Provided that for the cases where the last date of re-import falls between 1st February, 2020 and the 31st July, 2020, the last date stands extended by three months” Under normal circumstances, diamonds sent overseas for services like grading and certification do not attract any duty if they are re-imported within a period of three months. A 7.5% Customs duty is levied on the consignment if the re-import is delayed. Given the unprecedented circumstances due to the ongoing pandemic worldwide, the Council had been pursuing with F...

The combined length of 40.35 km At a cost of Rs12020.32Crore This project will provide continuous availability of affordable, reliable, safe, secure and seamless transport system in the urban agglomeration of the city. It will reduce the accidents, pollution, travel time, energy consumption, anti-social incidents as well as regulate urban expansion and land use for sustainable development. The Metro will provide Eco friendly and sustainable Public Transport to residents, commuters, visitors and travelers.   The corridor-1, Sarthana to Dream city line is 21.61 Kms comprising of   underground corridor of 6.47 km &   elevated corridor of 15.14 km, which will connect 20 metro stations via Sarthana, Nature park ,Kapodra, Labheshwar chowk area, Central Ware house , Surat Railway station, Maskati hospital, Gandhi baug, Majura Gate, Roopali canal, Dream city. The corridor-2, Bhesan to saroli line is 18.74kms and is completely elevated corridor which will co...

Cabinet approves creation of GSTAT The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the creation of National Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). It is a step ahead in the row of ease of doing business (EoDB) in India.   The National Bench of the Appellate Tribunal shall be situated at New Delhi. GSTAT shall be presided over by its President and shall consist of one Technical Member (Centre) and one Technical Member (State). The creation of the National Bench of the GSTAT would be a amount of one time expenditure of Rs.92.50 lakh while the recurring expenditure would be Rs.6.86 crore per annum. Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal is the forum of second appeal in GST laws and the first common forum of dispute resolution between Centre and States. The appeals against the orders in first appeals issued by the Appellate Authorities under the Central and State GST Acts lie before the GST Appellate Tribu...