Surprising that Govt championing ‘ease of doing biz’ chose to increase red tape for jewellery sector: Ahmed Patel

Gandhinagar, Apr 6 (KNN) After Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party, Congress too has asked Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to withdraw 1 per cent excise duty on gems & jewellery industry.

Political Secretary to Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, has written a letter to Jaitley stating that imposition of central excise duty of 1%, or 12.5% with input credit on gems and jewellery industry, is a massive disappointment for more than 1 crore artisans, karigars and goldsmiths whose livelihood is dependent on the industry.

Patel said jewellery industry is paying around Rs30,000 crore tax annually, and one crore people are directly, and six crore people indirectly employed in this industry.

He said that it is surprising that the government, which is championing 'ease of doing business'' and has launched programs like 'Make in India' has chosen to increase red tape for this critical sector.

The indefinite strike by jewelers has entered 37th day today and has incurred crores of loss.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been batting for the jewelers by asking the FM to withdraw the duty. (KNN Bureau)