Mubashir Alam Wani
Srinagar, Jul 30: The duty cut in Gold has brought smiles on the faces of Jewellers in Kashmir as the sales in the markets here have increased in the past few days, bringing much-needed relief to the jewellers and delighting customers with more affordable prices.
The jewellers associated with gold and silver trade in Kashmir said that they are witnessing a surge in their sales.
President Gold Jewellers Association Kashmir, Bashir Ahmad said that prior to the slashing of custom duty on gold, the sales were extremely low, with a nearly 90% decline.
“There is some happiness now on our faces, it used to be gloomy as our sales were almost 90% down,” he said, adding that since the slash in custom duty on gold, they are witnessing a spike in daily gold sales by 10-15 per cent, and are further anticipating more spike in the coming months.
He, however, added that people have some confusion with regard to the prices, saying that the labour charges are to be included during the purchase of gold items.
Notably, the Government of India last week slashed import duties on gold to 6% from 15%, a move stakeholders said could lift retail demand.
Since the duty cut, customers in Kashmir have been flocking to jewellery stores to buy gold at reduced rates, with many opting for heavier pieces of jewellery that were previously out of reach when gold prices hit a record high of Rs 74,000 per 10 grams earlier this month.
Gold prices further dipped on Tuesday by Rs 950 to Rs 71,050 per 10 grams, compared to Rs 72,000 per 10 grams.
Gold with 99.5 per cent purity saw a more significant drop of Rs 1,650, settling at Rs 70,700 per 10 grams, down from Rs 72,350 per 10 grams on Saturday.
