Over 300 associations, which include three lakh manufacturers, retailers and artisans among others, are participating in the protest across the country, according to earlier dna report.
Bullion market in Chennai was closed for the third day on Friday in response to the call for the three-day nationwide strike to protest the plan to re-impose 1% excise duty and mandatory use of PAN cards for transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above.
More than three lakh jewellers are participating in the three-day pan-India strike which started this Wednesday to protest against the proposed re-imposition of 1% excise duty on gold and diamond jewellery, according to earlier dna news report.
Over 300 associations, which include three lakh manufacturers, retailers and artisans among others, are participating in the stir across the country, the news report said.
The jewellery industry has been forced to go on strike due to the government's apathy towards the sector reflected in the proposal to re-impose 1% excise duty in the Budget 2016 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 29.
"We are disappointed with the Budget 2016. The proposed 1% excise duty will reduce the ease of doing business as the gems and jewellery sector consists of less educated but highly skilled manpower, who are not equipped to deal with the cumbersome process required for it," All India Gems and Jewellery Federation (GJF) Chairman Sreedhar G V had told PTI earlier this week.
Jaitley has also imposed mandatory quoting of PAN card numbers by the consumers for the transaction of Rs 2 lakh and above.
Our business is already facing challenges and has gone down by 25-30% after the government's decision in January to make PAN cards mandatory for any transaction of Rs 2 lakh and above, Sreedhar G V had told ANI earlier this week.
(With Agency Inputs)
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