Sri Lanka, July 17 -- Sri Lanka's gem and jewellery sector is unlikely to see immediate relief from high gold import taxes due to ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) regulations, but authorities are actively exploring the establishment of a local gold refinery to ease raw material shortages for the industry.

Addressing concerns raised during the official media launch of the FACETS Sri Lanka 2027 exhibition, National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) Chairman Prof. S. P. Chaminda explained that treating gold purely as an industrial raw material is complicated by its status as a financial reserve asset.

He noted that the government's fiscal flexibility is currently heavily constrained by the macroeconomic parameters set under the ...