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Indian Jewelers Strike over New 1% Excise Duty
Mar 2, 2016 10:42 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Jewelry shops in India threatened to down shutters for
three days starting March 2 to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to
impose a 1-percent excise duty, Bloomberg reported, citing the All India Gems
& Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF).
GJF director
Bachhraj Bamalwa said the new levy announced in this week’s budget should be withdrawn
because the industry is already suffering from weaker demand and higher import
taxes, according to the report March 1. The group represents 300,000 jewelers
and bullions dealers in India.
The India Bullion and
Jewellers Association is closing outlets at the country’s largest market,
Zaveri Bazaar, in Mumbai, until further notice, Bloomberg reported.
A three-week nationwide strike in 2012 was successful in
getting the former premier Manmohan Singh to scrap plans for an excise tax, but the
government still introduced a 10-percent import duty.
The
news comes after Indian jewelers last month stayed away from work for a day to
protest a new requirement for customers to provide their PAN cards – which show
tax identification numbers – when making purchases of INR 200,000 ($2,961) or
more.
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Tags:
All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation, Bachhraj Bamalwa, GJF, India, India Bullion and Jewellers Association, Jewelry shops, mumbai, Rapaport News, tax, Zaveri Bazaar
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