TARIFF LAWS ON PRECIOUS AND IMITATION STONES
Since it is necessary for a nation, as well as for an individual, to have an income, and since articles of luxury are more easily taxed than are those of necessity, the traffic in gems and their imitations has frequently been made a source of revenue to our government. Usually the per cent. charged as tariff has been comparatively low, especially upon very valuable gems, such as diamonds and pearls, for the reason that too high a tariff would tend to tempt unscrupulous dealers to smuggle such goods into the country without declaring them. When the margin of difference between the values, with and without the tariff, is kept small the temptation is but slight, when the danger of detection and the drastic nature of the usual punishment are taken into account. Rough stones have frequently been allowed to enter the country duty free because they were regarded as desirable raw materials which would afford employment to home industry.
The tariff laws of October 3, 1913, made, however, some sweeping changes in the policy of our government toward precious stones and as those laws are still in force (April 4, 1917) this lesson will attempt to set forth clearly the exact conditions under the present law.
Perhaps the paragraph of first importance to the trade is No. 357 which reads as follows.
"357. Diamonds and other precious stones, rough or uncut, and not advanced in condition or value from their natural state by cleaving, splitting, cutting, or other process, whether in their natural form or broken, and bort; any of the foregoing not set, and diamond dust, 10 per centum ad valorem; pearls and parts thereof, drilled or undrilled, but not set or strung; diamonds, coral, rubies, cameos, and other precious stones and semi-precious stones, cut but not set, and suitable for use in the manufacture of jewelry, 20 per centum ad valorem; imitation precious stones, including pearls and parts thereof, for use in the manufacture of jewelry, doublets, artificial, or so-called synthetic or reconstructed, pearls and parts thereof, rubies, or other precious stones, 20 per centum ad valorem."
It will be noticed that the chief changes over the previous law are first that which imposes a 10% duty on rough precious stones, which were formerly free of duty, and second the advance in the duty on cut diamonds and other cut stones from the former 10% to the present 20%.
This increase in the tariff was regarded as unwise by many conservative importers, as the temptation to defraud the government is made much greater than before. The change was even feared by honest dealers who were afraid that they could not successfully compete with dishonest importers who might smuggle gems into the country. In spite of a rather determined opposition the change was made and our most representative dealers have been making the best of the situation and have been doing all that they could to help prevent smuggling or at least reduce it to a minimum. Through their knowledge of the movements of diamond stocks and of prices they are able to detect any unduly large supply or any unwarranted lowness of price and thus to assist the government agents by directing investigation towards any dealer who seems to be enjoying immunity from the tariff.
The question of the status of Japanese cultured pearls has been settled as follows. Paragraph 357 (quoted above) is ruled to cover them and they are thus subject to a 20% ad valorem tax.
Carbonadoes—miners' diamonds—are free of duty, under paragraph 474. Crude minerals are also free of duty, paragraph 549. Paragraph 607 declares "Specimens of natural history and mineralogy" are free.
In case the owner is not prepared to pay the tax on imported merchandise the government holds the goods for a period of three years pending such payments.