On Wednesday, it also decided to waive the levy on sale of traded goods and relaxed other procedural norms.
Shares of Tara Jewels soared 10.21 per cent, Shree Ganesh Jewellery House 9.5 per cent and Gitanjali Gems 4.53 per cent on BSE.
Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri rose 4.3 per cent, PC Jeweller 3.53 per cent and Titan Company 2.77 per cent.
Accepting the recommendations of a panel, the Finance Ministry yesterday said no excise audit will be carried out for the first two years for units whose duty payment is less than Rs 1 crore (that is turnover of manufactured goods less than Rs 100 crore).
The government has also decided, independent of the committee's recommendations, to increase for jewellery manufacturers "the SSI eligibility limit from Rs 12 crore to Rs 15 crore and the SSI exemption limit from Rs 6 crore to Rs 10 crore in a financial year and Rs 85 lakh for March 2016".