Diamond merchants of Surat have decided to hold a protest against a Customs department notification issued two days ago that mandates that gems importers must declare the colour, quality and weight of the rough precious stones that they import. The Customs’ action comes in the wake of a case filed against absconding loan defaulter and diamond dealer Nirav Modi for overvaluing his imports. The notification warns that in the absence of such a declaration, shipments will not be released from Mumbai port, through which they are imported. Surat’s diamond merchants cut and polish imported rough diamonds and trade them with wholesalers and retailers both in India and abroad. On Friday, a meeting was held between the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJPEC) and Customs department officials at the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai, in which the export council objected to the notification on the ground that the quality, colour and weight of the diamonds could only be determined after the diamonds were polished. The notification, however, assumes significance as the Nirav Modi case is not the only case of overvaluation of diamonds; Customs officials have registered several such cases in Surat and Mumbai. The new Customs’ rule goes a step beyond a mandated Kimberley Certification for diamond imports that is in existence. Diamond shipments around the world are processed through Kimberley Certification to ensure that no conflict diamonds are sold in the market. The Kimberley Process is a multilateral trade regime established in 2003 to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds, by a Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, under which countries implement safeguards on shipments of rough diamonds and certify them as “conflict free”. Diamond companies source rough gems from various mines in Botswana, Namibia, Canada and South Africa through the Diamond Trading Company, which auctions the precious stones. Diamond importers are afraid that the new Customs rules will make business difficult. “Rough diamonds having KPC (Kimberly Process Certificate), are shipped from Belgium to India at Mumbai port. The diamond merchants of Mumbai and Gujarat claim their shipments and send them for polishing,” Gujarat Region president of GJEPC Dinesh Navadia told The Indian Express. “The rough diamonds are sourced from various mines and are of varied colours and weight, and are mixed, which makes it difficult to disclose in advance (the detail that the Customs department is seeking).” After the GJEPC met with Customs officials in Mumbai, the members of the council have decided to make a representation to the new upcoming government (after election results are declared on May 23). Sources said that the members had decided to form a committee to carry out talks with new government.
