Gem export from Sri Lanka: the process in plain terms
· GemColony
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This is a plain-language overview based on public guidance from the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA). Fees, forms, thresholds and procedures change, and several official pages are dated, so confirm everything with the NGJA and Sri Lanka Customs before you ship. It is not legal advice.
You need a licence
Exporters must hold a valid gem dealer licence issued by the NGJA and register with its export services division. Each licence is issued for a stock value, and consignments must stay within the ceiling shown on it.
What can be exported
Public guidance says Sri Lanka permits export of cut and polished gemstones, and that rough stones cannot be legally exported. Check the current position for the specific goods you plan to ship, including jewellery and diamonds, which have their own arrangements.
Inspection, invoice and customs
Consignments are examined by NGJA officials and valuers, in the presence of the exporter or an authorised representative, and parcels are sealed. The commercial invoice should show details such as your licence number, the FOB value and per-carat weights. Customs requires an export declaration for every shipment, and NGJA has announced that exporters must submit the Sri Lanka Customs CUSDEC and be registered on the Asikuda system. Clearance units are located at Bandaranaike International Airport and, for geuda, at the NGJA branch office in Ratnapura.
Laboratory certificates
A laboratory certificate is not required by law for every shipment, and it can come from any recognised laboratory. Overseas buyers usually expect one for valuable stones, so most exporters include it.
Keep the paper trail
Match each shipment to the stones, the purchase records, the invoice and the clearance documents. In GemColony you can raise export invoices in the buyer's currency and track each shipment with declared value and customs details.