India just took a significant step toward becoming the world’s rough diamond trading hub, and if you’re studying gemology, diamond grading, or jewellery merchandising, this is the kind of industry shift you should understand, not skim past.
The government’s proposed 15-year income tax exemption for overseas companies selling rough diamonds through India’s Special Notified Zones (SNZs). It’s a policy move, yes – but it’s also a signal about where the jobs, the trade volume, and the opportunities in this industry are heading over the next decade.
Here’s what’s happening, and why it matters if you’re building a career in diamonds.
What the Government Has Approved
Under the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, eligible foreign entities selling rough diamonds through India’s SNZs will get a 15-year income tax exemption, running from October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2041, now that both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have passed the Bill, pending only presidential assent.
Who the Exemption Covers
The proposal isn’t limited to mining companies. It extends to:
- Overseas diamond mining companies and Sightholders
- Brokers and aggregators
- Tender and auction operators
Where It Applies
The exemption is tied to India’s Special Notified Zones (SNZs), most notably the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai and the Surat Diamond Bourse. Sales must involve rough diamonds that carry a Kimberley Process Certificate and fall within the statutory definition of “rough diamonds” to qualify.
Why This Matters?
For years, traders have routed a large share of global rough diamond trading through Dubai and Antwerp, even when the diamonds were ultimately headed for Indian cutting and polishing units. Suppliers would often display rough diamonds in India, then close the actual sale overseas, largely for tax and structural reasons.
This exemption is designed to change that. By making it commercially attractive for overseas sellers to complete transactions within India’s own trading zones, the policy aims to bring more dealmaking, not just manufacturing, onto Indian soil.
Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), has said the council pushed for this measure specifically to help smaller Indian diamond manufacturers buy rough directly from mining companies, auctioneers, and traders, rather than going through multiple overseas intermediaries.
What It Means If You’re Studying Gemology or the Diamond Trade
Policy shifts like this rarely make headlines outside trade publications, but they quietly reshape where the industry’s demand for skilled people shows up. Here’s the practical read for students and early-career professionals:
Growing Demand for Grading and Certification Skills
More rough diamond transactions happening inside India’s SNZs means more diamonds physically moving through Indian trading floors, which increases demand for trained diamond graders, valuers, and certification professionals who understand Kimberley Process compliance and international grading standards.
More Opportunities in Sourcing and Procurement
If smaller manufacturers can now buy rough directly from miners and auctioneers, that opens roles in sourcing, procurement, and vendor negotiation, functions that didn’t exist at scale for smaller players previously reliant on multiple middlemen.
A Stronger Case for Learning the Business Side of Diamonds
This is a good reminder that a career in diamonds isn’t only about design or manufacturing. Trade policy, compliance, international certification, and bourse operations are entire career tracks of their own, and they’re exactly the kind of context a structured gemology or diamond trade program should be teaching alongside stone identification and grading fundamentals.
Why Location Still Matters
With Bharat Diamond Bourse (Mumbai) and Surat Diamond Bourse named as key notified zones, India’s diamond trade continues to concentrate around Mumbai, Surat, and, for cutting, design, and export-linked education hubs like Bengaluru feeding trained talent into that ecosystem.
The Bigger Picture
None of this changes overnight. Both Houses of Parliament have cleared the exemption, which now awaits only presidential assent; industry adoption will take time to show up in trade volumes. But the direction is clear: India wants a bigger share of the rough diamond trade, not just the finished goods export business.
For anyone building a career in gems and jewellery, that’s worth watching. The institutes, courses, and skill sets that stay ahead of moves like this rather than reacting to them are the ones that keep producing graduates the industry actually wants to hire.
FAQ
A Special Notified Zone is a designated facility, such as the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai or the Surat Diamond Bourse, where overseas diamond sellers can display and sell rough diamonds under specific regulatory and tax conditions, without those sales triggering a full taxable presence in India.
Having passed both Houses of Parliament, the exemption is set to apply from October 1, 2026, through March 31, 2041, once it receives presidential assent.
Overseas rough diamond mining companies, brokers, aggregators, tender and auction operators, and sightholders selling within India’s notified zones.
Policies like this tend to increase trading volume and transaction activity within India, which typically raises demand for trained diamond graders, valuers, sourcing professionals, and certification specialists.
It’s an international certification confirming that a rough diamond is conflict-free. Under this proposal, rough diamonds sold through India’s SNZs must carry this certificate, reinforcing why certification knowledge is a core, employable skill in the diamond trade.
| Want to understand how policy shifts like this shape real careers in diamonds and gemstones? Explore IIG South’s Gemology and Diamond Grading programs and learn the industry from the inside, not just the headlines. |
