By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government has lifted a six-month ban on gold imports and exports, easing restrictions that had crippled the nation’s jewellery industry and aiming to revive trade in a key cultural and economic asset amid efforts to stabilise foreign reserves.
The Ministry of Commerce rescinded the suspension of Statutory Regulatory Order 760 of 2013, which governs the trade of precious metals, allowing for the import and export of gold. The move reverses a May directive that imposed a 60-day ban on precious metals and gemstones, a measure tied to bolstering forex reserves and potentially curbing flows through Dubai amid military tensions with India.
In a new SRO 2198 dated Nov. 21, the ministry nullified its earlier ban, stating that the period of suspension under SRO 760 was “accordingly condoned, thereby enabling exporters to avail the mandatory entitlement period of 120 days under the entrustment scheme.” The entrustment scheme lets exporters ship jewellery made from imported gold, provided as a partial advance payment by foreign buyers, with a requirement to complete exports of eligible items within 120 days of import.
Gold remains a traditional store of value in Pakistan, underpinning cultural practices, financial holdings and manufacturing. The country mainly sources imports from the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and other trading hubs.
Industry executives had warned that the curbs paralysed the gold and jewellery export sector, leaving firms unable to meet orders despite holding raw gold under binding contracts from overseas clients. In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Atif Ikram Sheikh called for the immediate restoration of SRO 760 to protect the jewellery export industry.
The reversal follows an October decision by the Economic Coordination Committee to extend the existing framework while introducing enhanced transparency and automation to boost efficiency and traceability in the precious metals and jewellery trade policy.
Separately, the ministry amended SRO 760, originally known as the Import and Export of Precious Metals, Jewellery and Gemstones Order 2013. It renamed the order to Import and Export of Precious Metals and Jewellery Order 2013, and broadened the definition of “jewellery passbook” in Clause 2(j) to encompass “either paper or digital” formats. Issued by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, the passbook records all transactions authenticated by the authority, which oversees gold imports and jewelry exports.
The amendments clarified the trade scope under Clause 3(2) to cover “the import of precious metals and gemstones and export of jewellery.” For customs stations handling such trades per Clause 3(9), a new provision addresses disruptions: “In the event of operational constraints, a no objection certificate shall be required from the respective additional or deputy collector of customs to allow one-time change of customs stations.”
On imports via the entrustment scheme, Clause 4(2)’s second provision now permits contracts to be apostilled. It states: “TDAP shall ensure that the contract signed by the supplier is notarised from the relevant foreign country’s legal authorities, duly attested by the relevant Pakistan Missions abroad or apostilled under the Apostille Convention, 1961 where applicable. The contract shall contain inter alia, all information as prescribed in Annex-D.”
Finally, a new paragraph (iii) under the “export proceeds” section of Clause 4(2) mandates: “All the transactions under the entrustment scheme shall be processed exclusively through the same bank, ie export of jewellery from the same bank that processed or handled the corresponding import of precious metals.”
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