Retail Jeweller Dubai Forum 2023 Insights: Tawhid Abdullah highlights international standards of Dubai’s jewellery industry

The Chairman of Dubai Jewellery Group lauds Dubai’s role in the industry’s transformation and heralds 2023 as a milestone year

Tawhid Abdullah, Chairman of Dubai Jewellery Group, says international organizations have helped Dubai’s jewellery industry become more qualified according to international standards.He emphasizes the importance of Dubai in shaping the jewellery industry and adds that the year 2023 is a milestone year for it.

Addressing some of the most prominent jewellery designers and enthusiasts from the GCC countries recently, Abdullah noted that the industry is currently undergoing a significant transformation, and for the past few years, Dubai has sought help from international organizers to provide more training on compliance. Most companies now have compliance officers and Quality Inspection Certificates (QIC), even among small manufacturers. Dubai has also changed the format of its books to a more international standard and has seen more banks involved in the industry.

Abdullah pointed out that during the pandemic, the UAE government stood by the industry, protecting the traders and helping them conduct their business. The Chamber of Commerce, the Economy department, the police, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and the banks were all involved in supporting the industry. This support has helped Dubai attract 15-17 million tourists annually, and after the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (CPA) contract was signed and the bilateral agreement with India, Dubai has seen a lot of new companies enter the market. Abdullah said that over 23,000 companies have come up in the past two years alone, and India has contributed majorly to the growth of Dubai’s jewellery industry.

Abdullah also expressed his gratitude to the Customs Department for facilitating the import of jewellery versus export and highlighted the tremendous support from Customs regarding importing jewellery at short notice. He also acknowledged the VAT department for helping the industry with some topics that were unclear since 2018.

He thanked IT companies for helping the industry bring their programmes faster to think about the needs of the Tax department. Overall, Abdullah believes that Dubai is one of the top leaders in the world, adapting to the circumstances and the more international open market. He expressed the need for insightful discussions about the future of the jewellery industry and called for jewellers to chart the future of the business pragmatically.

(This article is the first of a series of insights from the recently held 4th edition of Retail Jeweller Dubai Forum, at which Tawhid Abdullah was a speaker. To register your interest for the 5th edition of the Forum to be held in February 2024, write to rjmarketing@retailjewellerindia.com)

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