Jewellery Hand Carriage Facilitation Centre opens at Mumbai Airport

Mumbai, Jul 17 (PTI) The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) in collaboration with Mumbai Customs, has inaugurated the Jewellery Hand Carriage Facilitation Centre at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

The new facility, inaugurated on Wednesday, is aimed at streamlining export procedures for high-value gem and jewellery shipments carried by hand, bringing greater transparency, faster clearance, and enhanced ease of doing business for exporters.

"The inauguration of the Jewellery Hand Carriage Facilitation Centre at Mumbai Airport is a milestone in our ongoing efforts to boost ease of doing business for exporters.

"Alongside the e-commerce export channel, hand carriage will prove especially beneficial for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and high-value shipments, especially to free trade agreement (FTA) partner nations such as UAE under CEPA, Australia under ECTA and UK FTA," GJEPC chairman Kirit Bhansali said in a statement.

Hand carriage provides immense potential for boosting gem and jewellery exports, especially from Mumbai, which accounts for nearly 65-70 per cent of the country's exports, GJEPC said.

The Centre is fully operational, ready to facilitate round-the-clock hand carriage exports, is now notified as a Customs area and Bharat Diamond Bourse is appointed as its custodian.

"With Santa Cruz Special Economic Zone (SEEPZ) contributing a significant share (around 13 per cent) to India's gem and jewellery exports, the availability of a dedicated hand carriage facility just minutes away will enable faster clearances, reduce logistical hurdles, and provide greater flexibility for companies handling high-value, urgent shipments." Dnyaneshwar B Patil, Development Commissioner, SEEPZ-SEZ said. PTI SM DRR