Senior leaders of India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council welcome a new tax exemption on rough diamonds, viewing it as a pivotal move to enhance India’s position in the global supply chain and attract more international trade.
Senior leaders of India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council have welcomed a new tax change they say could strengthen the country’s standing in the global rough diamond trade.
According to the Jewellery Magazine, GJEPC chairman Kirit Bhansali and vice-chairman Shaunak Parikh met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on 17 August to thank her for the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The measure gives eligible foreign companies a full income-tax exemption on sales of rough diamonds routed through India’s Special Notified Zones.
The exemption is due to run from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2041, giving overseas traders 15 years of tax certainty. EY said the bill, introduced in Parliament on 4 August, also includes broader tax changes across the financial sector, but the rough diamond provision stands out for a business that has long complained about uncertainty and uneven treatment.
The council has spent months pressing for reforms that would make India more attractive to miners, brokers, sightholders, aggregators and auction houses. In March, GJEPC told the finance minister it wanted Special Notified Zones expanded and more trading activity shifted from hubs such as Dubai and Antwerp to India. Earlier industry representations in 2024 and early 2026 also called for tax relief, duty changes and other steps to improve competitiveness and lift exports.
For the sector, the new rule could do more than cut paperwork. India already dominates diamond cutting and polishing, but GJEPC sees the exemption as a chance to turn the country into a genuine marketplace for rough diamonds as well, deepening its role in the global supply chain and potentially drawing more international trade onshore.
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