Jewellers association holds candlelight morcha

Thane Jewellers Association on Tuesday held a candlelight morcha in protest against the proposed one per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery. The government in the Budget for 2016-17 had proposed 1 per cent excise duty on jewellery without input credit or 12.5 per cent with input tax credit on jewellery excluding silver other than studded with diamonds and some other precious stones. A large number of gold traders and jewellers continued their strike for the 28th day against it. Most jewellery shops and establishments in the country are shut since March 2 after finance minister Arun Jaitley announced one per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery. Jewellery sales is likely to fall by 40-50 tonnes in the January-March period due to the ongoing strike, according to ICRA. The Union government has constituted a panel under former chief economic advisor Ashok Lahri to look into the demands of jewellers.