Jewellers strike against excise duty continues

Jewellers and bullion traders across the country went on with their protest for the 37th straight day on Thursday demanding withdrawal of the proposed 1 per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery items.

They are also opposed to mandatory quoting of PAN by customers for transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above.

In support of the ongoing strike by jewellers, traders in Chandigarh also observed "bandh" today and closed their shops.

Various market associations including the apex body of the traders - Chandigarh Beopar Mandal- had urged traders to shut shops in the Union Territory.

Bullion traders and jewellery establishments in several parts of the country, including small towns, have been observing strike since March 2 after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget proposal on February 29 levied 1 per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery.

However, most of the jewellery showrooms in Tamil Nadu remained open today.

The government has constituted a panel under former Chief Economic Advisor Ashok Lahri to look into the demands of jewellers.

The panel, which has been asked to submit its report in 60 days, will look into issues related to compliance procedure for the excise duty, including records to be maintained, forms to be filled, operating procedures and other relevant issues.