Jewellers take out rally opposing excise duty levy

Protesting the excise duty levy on gold and diamond studded ornaments, members of Bezawada Jewellery and Diamond Merchants Association had taken out a rally from Jai Hind Complex to sub-collector’s office here on Thursday.

It is known that, the Jewellery shops across the city were on strike from March 1, following the call given by the National Gems and Jewelers’ Federation opposing the Central Government’s rule of mandatory permanent account number (PAN) card submission on the purchase of jewellery worth of Rs 2 lakh and above.

Speaking to the media persons, Association secretary Tmairi Annapoornaiah said that the bandh will be observed till the government withdraws its decision on imposing burdens on customers and traders in the name of PAN card.

“This is the second time we are observing a bandh for the removal of PAN submission for gold purchase above Rs 2 lakh. It seems like the government has been very reluctant about catering to our problems,” he said.

Annapoornaiah further pointed out that only 22 crore people out 120 crore in the country (only 18 per cent) have PAN cards and this makes their business unviable. Many sections of the people such as agriculturists, farmers, and self-employed were not provided with the PAN cards.

“While a big chunk of people do not posses PAN cards, making it mandatory would be a detrimental step for the industry, which has 3.5 per cent share in the country’s GDP,” he complained. The jewellery shops in the city will remain closed until the government withdraws its decision, he observed.

Association treasurer Dinesh Kumar Jain, Bullion Merchants Assocaiton president BV Krishna Rao, secretary K Venkateswara Rao, Swarnakari Sanghma president M Ramanjaneyulu and others also took part in the rally.