Budget proposal is for "principal trader" and not on jewellery maker: Jaitley

New Delhi, Mar 15 (KNN) On one hand Finance Minister Arun Jiatley ruled out rollback of one per cent excise on non-silver jewellery, on the other hand the jewellery traders are adamant to continue with their strike until the government changes its decision. The Minister however said that this is not applicable on small traders and would be only for jewellers with Rs 12 crore turnovers.

Jaitley, on Monday, said the move is aimed to align gold with GST which he hopes will happen soon.

"The day we get your (Congress) blessing and GST will be implemented. Then all goods will come under GST and so will be gold. This (one per cent excise duty proposal) is a preparation towards it," he said while replying to a debate on General Budget in Lok Sabha.

He, however, further said that "This is not applicable on small traders" and it has been ensured that there is no harassment of jewellers by tax officials.

He said clear instructions have been issued to field officers that no inspector will enter the premise of jewellery makers because there is provision of self-certification.

The 1 per cent levy on non-silver articles would be only for jewellers with Rs 12 crore turnover and not small traders.

Jaitley said the budget proposal is for "principal trader" and not on jewellery maker.

Meanwhile, in support of the protest by jewellers from across the country, the traders across Delhi have decided to observe bandh on March 17. They will hold a rally on Thursday in this regard at Ramlila Maidan.

“The bandh has been called in support of the jewellers. If they call off the ‘bandh’, we will also call it off,” Praveen Khandelwal, National General Secretary, CAIT told KNN.
Talking to KNN, the spokesperson of India Bullion and Jewellers Association of India, Ketan said that the Government has called them for a meeting which can take place in a day or two.

However, he said that the industry will stick to its demand.

He said that the jewellery traders would not settle for a mid-way solution as their demands are “genuine”. (KNN Bureau)