Tamil Nadu’s gold, silver and diamond jewellery traders’ federation has announced an immediate halt to gold coin sales, citing the Centre’s decision to raise import duty on gold and silver.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, federation president Sabarinathan said the duty has been increased from 6% to 15% and will remain in force until March 31, 2027. He described the move as aimed at protecting foreign exchange and said the trade would stand with the government during the period.
As a show of support, jewellers in the state will stop selling gold coins with immediate effect. The federation also said it would avoid advertising gold savings schemes and other promotional offers that could attract customers.
To protect the livelihoods of over one crore workers dependent on the jewellery trade and to curb gold imports, the federation suggested two steps. It urged an immediate ban on gold investment products such as Gold ETFs and digital gold.
It also proposed that importers, distributors and all bullion dealers should sell gold only to registered sellers, according to the letter.
