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The lightweight traditional gold jewellery of Bengal, popularly known as ‘Kolkati’, might soon bag a GI (geographical indication) tag.
According to Amit Mitra, State Finance, Commerce and Industry Minister, the government is in the process of applying for GI status for the handcrafted, lightweight gold jewellery, which is in good demand worldwide.
Interactive session “Bengal is known for its lightweight gold jewellery of unique designs. The GI status will help prevent these designs from being copied,” Mitra said at an interactive session on jewellery industry organised by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) here on Tuesday. IIT Kharagpur is providing technical support to the government to make the case for GI tag, he said.
The GI tag was primarily developed with the purpose of recognising the unique identity connecting different products and places. For a product to get GI tag it has to have a unique quality, reputation or characteristic attributable to its geographic origin.
Of the 267 odd products that have received GI tags so far, around 12 are from Bengal, including Darjeeling tea, Santiniketan leather goods, mango varieties such as Laxman Bhog, himsagar and fazli, Santipore saree, Baluchari saree, Dhaniakhali saree, Joynagarer moa and the more recent entrants — Bardhman Sitabhog and Bardhman Mihidana (both sweets).
Single gold authority According to Praveenshankar Pandya, Chairman, GJEPC, India, there needs to be a single gold authority to monitor the industry.
“Structured policy is the need of the hour. We need a single gold authority. Sometimes the RBI gives notification, sometimes it is the DGFT and sometimes it is the Finance Ministry. This is not desirable,” he said.
The gem and jewellery industry will have nearly ₹8,000 crore worth working capital locked because of the imposition of GST on exports, he said.
The provisions related to export in GST regime requires payment of tax on procurement of material used for exports and then claim refund.
“The GST on exporters will lead to a situation wherein working capital worth ₹4,000 crore each on diamond and gold jewellery will get stuck,” he said. Internationally this is not the practise, he added.
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