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The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for ecommerce exports of jewellery via courier mode.

“A simplified regulatory framework for e-commerce exports of jewellery through courier mode has been issued on 30.06.2022 by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in the form of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)”, said a press release by the CBIC.

The government will allocate a period of one month for a smooth transition to the new regime. The first phase of the framework will be implemented by operating exports through Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.

As per a statement by the CBIC, the SOPs govern the handling, movement and other procedural aspects of the jewellery exports, based on electronic declarations, through International Courier Terminals. 

It also noted that the new framework keeps forth the need for uniformity of action by Customs and addresses a ‘unique requirement of the ecommerce ecosystem for re-import of rejects in certain cases to the prescribed extent’.

The simplified framework was promised by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech this year. Post that, the CBIC held discussions with relevant stakeholders and formulated the SOPs.

As part of the guidelines, the courier will have to digitally file the courier shipping bill on behalf of the exporter on the Express Cargo Clearance System (ECCS). Payment for the export has to be made in advance and a slew of documents and photos of the items have to be uploaded on the ECCS.

Assessment would be carried out by the Risk Management System and X-Ray scanning of the items will be done at the international courier terminal. The government has also made the provision of re-import of returned jewellery items, albeit under certain conditions. 

The move is likely to spur the exports of gems and jewellery across the globe. India’s gems and jewellery exports rose 21.41% to INR 25,295.69 Cr in June 2022 as compared to June 2021.

According to government estimates, exports of cut and polished diamonds (CPD) grew 8.45% to INR 15,737.26 Cr in June this year, up from INR 14,510.48 Cr in June 2021. The total exports of gold jewellery soared 35.25 % to INR 5,641.28 Cr in June 2021 as against INR 4,171.06 Cr in June last year.