The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) recently notified that branded gold and silver coins of purity 99.5 and above are exempted from excise duty. However, the 1% rate on articles of the goldsmith or silversmith wares of precious metal, bearing a brand name as per Notification No. 12/2012 dated 17.03.2012 remained the same.
Brand name for the purpose of the Notification means a brand name or trade name, whether registered or not, that is to say, a name or mark, such as a symbol, monogram, label, signature or invented words or any writing which is used in relation to a product, for the purpose of indicating, or so as to indicate, a connection in the course of trade between the product and some person using such mane r mark with or without any indication of the identity of the other person. However, the “house mark” put by a jeweler or job worker will not be considered a “brand name” for the above purpose.
Read the Full Text of the Circular below
