Jewellers with over 12 cr turnover liable to pay 1% excise on non-silver jewellery items: FinMin

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The finance ministry has clarified that only those jewellers who have a turnover of Rs 12 crore or more will be liable to pay one percent excise duty on non-silver Jewellery.

Protesting throughout the country against the government proposal to re-impose 1 percent excise duty in the Budget 2016, jewellers went on strike from March 2, and extended it till March 7.

"The excise guidelines which have been drafted for the Gems and Jewellery are not practically implementable and will be detrimental to the survival of the industry, Gems and Jewelley fedration had announced.

We are expecting positive results from the government, but our agitation and protest continues," All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) Chairman G V Sreedhar said. GJF along with All India Jewellery Associations has decided to extend the strike till March 7.

Jewellers went on strike for three days from March 2.

In the Budget 2016-17, the government has reimposed 1 per cent excise duty on gems and jewellery sector without input credit and 12.5 per cent with input credit.

GJF past Chairman and Director Bachhraj Bamalwa said: "We fail to understand what is bothering the government to reintroduce it again, since such Excise Duty measures in the past did not provide any tangible results and were withdrawn at later stages. Does the Government wants Inspector Raj in this sector? Is this "Ease of doing business?"

GJF along with many Associations have met senior ministers, MPs and Finance Ministry officials requesting the government to rollback excise from gems and jewellery sector.