Gemstones and jewelry have been omitted from the special commodities list in the 2019 Union Tax Bill submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on August 7.

The Myanmar Gemstones Law came into operation this year and covers taxation for gemstones and jewelry. The law was passed by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw in late December last year and was enacted from late January this year. In the 2018 tax bill, raw jade allocated for exports were taxed at 15pc while rubies, sapphires and other raw gemstones were taxed at 10pc. Jewelry made from jade, rubies, sapphires and other gemstones were taxed at 5pc.

Data from the Natural Resource Governance Institute(NRGI) showed that Myanmar registered selling an average of US$1.2 billion a year worth of jade between 2012 and 2016 at emporiums the government organized but China, which buys most of the jade, reported importing US$2.6 billion over the same period, according to The Diplomat. NRGI data also showed that in fiscal year 2015-16, Myanmar’s jade production alone was between US$3.7 billion and US$43.1 billion.

Source: Myanmar Times 

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