India Trade Ministry is said to seek lower tax on diamond miners

India’s Trade Ministry is seeking a cut in taxes for overseas diamond miners to boost trading in the world’s largest hub for polishing the gems, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Commerce Department in a letter to the Finance Ministry has sought to scrap levies and instead introduce a presumptive tax of 0.25% on diamond mining companies to lure such firms to sell the stones in special notified zones, the people said, asking not to be identified as the plan isn’t public. Currently, miners refrain from selling diamonds in India as it attracts as much as 33% tax, at par with those paid by local companies on their income, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.