Jewellers on Wednesday started their three-day pan-India strike to protest proposed re-imposition of 1 per cent excise duty on gold and diamond jewellery and mandatory quoting of PAN by consumers for transaction of Rs2 lakh and above.
More than 3 lakh jewellers participated in the strike on Day 1, an industry body claimed.
“Over 300 associations, that consists of over 3 lakh manufacturers, retainers, artisans among others, participated in the stir across the country. The strike has been 100 per cent successful,” All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) Chairman Sreedhar GV told the news agency .Sreedhar said the gems and 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 per cent excise duty in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 29.