CBIC Shifts the Rough-Diamond Special Notified Zone to Surat Diamond Bourse

What changed: CBIC has issued Circular No. 44/2026-Customs, dated 28 September 2026, authorising the relocation of the rough-diamond Special Notified Zone (SNZ) from the Gujarat Hira Bourse to the Surat International Diatrade Centre (SIDC) at the Surat Diamond Bourse in Khajod, Surat. Who it affects: rough-diamond importers, the Surat cutting-and-polishing industry, and the gem & jewellery export trade. What to do: if you buy rough diamonds through the SNZ mechanism, note the new venue and its procedural conditions, and factor the 60-day repacking and 75-day re-export timelines into your buying cycle.

What Happened

A Special Notified Zone is a customs-supervised facility where foreign mining companies can bring rough diamonds into India for viewing, auction and negotiated sale without treating the goods as a normal dutiable import at the point of entry. Stones that are sold are cleared through the regular process; stones that remain unsold are re-exported. The mechanism lets Indian manufacturers inspect and buy rough directly on Indian soil instead of travelling to overseas trading hubs.

Circular 44/2026 shifts this facility to the Surat International Diatrade Centre inside the Surat Diamond Bourse. The circular sets out the operating conditions:

• Import by air cargo only — no hand carriage and no courier for stones entering the SNZ.
• Documentation on import must include the invoice, packing list, insurance documents and the Kimberley Process Certificate (per the long-standing Circular 53/2003-Customs), ensuring the stones are conflict-free.
• Permitted activities in the zone: viewing, auction and negotiated sale of rough diamonds, and re-export of unsold inventory.
• Timelines: repacking of sold/unsold lots within 60 days of import, and re-export of unsold diamonds within 75 days via a shipping bill.
• Assessment and duty are required before any stones are removed into the domestic tariff area (i.e., when actually purchased and cleared).
• Lot integrity: lots cannot be sub-divided and mixing is prohibited, preserving the identity of each parcel through the process.

Eligible participants include foreign mining companies of the type recognised under the earlier RBI framework, and Indian diamond manufacturers and traders as buyers, with the centre operator and bourse acting as custodian and cargo-service provider.

Why / Background

Surat cuts and polishes the overwhelming majority of the world's diamonds by volume, but much of the rough has historically been bought in overseas centres. SNZs were created to bring the rough-viewing-and-sale function into India so that Surat's manufacturers could source closer to home. Locating the SNZ inside the Surat Diamond Bourse — a very large, purpose-built trading complex — consolidates the rough trade at the same address as the cutting industry that consumes it.

Who Benefits

Surat's diamond manufacturers gain more convenient access to rough parcels for inspection and purchase without international travel. Foreign miners get a controlled, customs-supervised venue to present goods to Indian buyers. The wider gem & jewellery export sector benefits from a stronger domestic rough-sourcing ecosystem. Logistics operators serving the bourse (air-cargo handling, secure transport, custodianship) also gain activity.

What Rough-Diamond Importers Should Do Now

• Note the new venue and operator (Surat International Diatrade Centre at Surat Diamond Bourse) for any SNZ transaction previously routed through Gujarat Hira Bourse.
• Plan around the timelines: build the 60-day repacking and 75-day re-export windows into auction and negotiation schedules so unsold lots are not stranded.
• Confirm air-cargo routing: ensure stones are moved by air cargo with the full document set, including a valid Kimberley Process Certificate; hand carriage and courier are not permitted into the SNZ.
• Keep lot integrity: do not plan to sub-divide or mix lots within the zone.
• Budget for assessment and duty at the point of purchase/removal into the domestic area, separate from the SNZ entry.

What CHAs and Logistics Providers Should Do

• Update SNZ clearance SOPs for the new location and the air-cargo-only condition.
• Verify the Kimberley Process Certificate and insurance/packing documents at import, and track the 60/75-day clocks per lot.
• Ensure re-export shipping bills for unsold stones are filed within the window.

The Bigger Picture

The move is incremental in mechanism but strategic in intent: it concentrates India's rough-diamond entry point at the heart of the world's largest cutting centre. For the trade, the practical takeaways are the procedural specifics — venue, air-cargo-only entry, Kimberley Process documentation, and the fixed repacking and re-export clocks — rather than any change to the underlying duty treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Special Notified Zone? A customs-supervised facility where foreign miners can bring rough diamonds into India for viewing, auction and sale; unsold stones are re-exported, and only purchased stones are cleared into the domestic market with duty.

What did Circular 44/2026 change? It relocated the SNZ to the Surat International Diatrade Centre at the Surat Diamond Bourse and restated the operating conditions.

Can stones enter the SNZ by courier or hand carriage? No. Entry is by air cargo only, with the prescribed documents including the Kimberley Process Certificate.

What are the key deadlines? Repacking within 60 days of import and re-export of unsold stones within 75 days via a shipping bill.

Does this change the duty on diamonds? No. The SNZ concerns viewing and sale logistics; assessment and duty still apply when stones are purchased and removed into the domestic tariff area.

Conclusion

If your business touches rough-diamond sourcing, update your SNZ playbook for the Surat Diamond Bourse address and its conditions. The mechanism is familiar; the venue, the air-cargo-only rule and the 60/75-day timelines are the operational points to get right.

Verify the full conditions against Circular No. 44/2026-Customs on the CBIC website (cbic.gov.in) before transacting through the Special Notified Zone.