New Delhi, Oct 17 (KNN) With the festive season round the corner, contrary to the usual, different sectors of the market have registered a low sale record this Diwali, a study by The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) revealed.

CAIT in a press statement informed that unlike previous years, this Diwali witnessed a drop in the overall footfall in the market.

Citing numbers, CAIT said that there is a drop by over 40 per cent in sales across the country as compared to the Diwali season of the previous years.

Citing reasons, CAIT informed that the prime factors behind the slowed market response could be cash shortage prevailing the economy. Also the slowdown is a result of the glitches and complications that the stakeholders are experiencing under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was rolled out by the government on July 1.

The statement from the association added that with just few days left for Diwali, markets across the country are in a gloomy state with a deserted look and no zest of festivity around as it used to happen in the previous years.

Also earlier, different sectors raised similar concerns.

Talking to KNN, Nitin Khandelwal, President of All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) informed that gems and Jewellery sector comprising of a fair share of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have registered similar negative trends in terms of sales.

The sales of this sector have dipped by over 50 per cent in comparison to the sales from the previous years, GJF informed. (KNN/DA)