In order to protect the interests of weavers and craftsmen these sectors should be kept out of the preview of the GST. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has already placed the demand before the Central Government expressing concern but nothing has been done.
This was observed by the speakers at a seminar, ‘GST on the handloom and handicraft products: Impediments to the growth and development’ held at Soro on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Prafulla Samal said, “In view of interest, growth and development of the sector, the Centre should exempt it from the GST.”
For the betterment of already hard-pressed fraternity fighting for survival of the diminishing art, they should be kept out of the purview of GST, said MP RK Jena, addressing gathering .
“The handloom products, such as Sambalpuri, Bomkei, Manibandha and Tussar sarees manufactured by weavers, were exempted from value added tax (VAT) and similarly the handicraft products, including appliqué, stone works, woodworks, terracotta products, patta paintings and tribal handmade products, were also out of the purview of VAT. With the implementation of GST from July 1, more than 3.5 lakh weaver and artisan families of the State depending on the sector have been hit hard due to the burden of the new tax,” Jena observed.
Soro MlA Prasuram Dhada, Nilgiri MlA Sukanta Nayak, Chairman, labour Welfare Board Subash Singh, Assistant Director, Handicraft, AK Panigrahi and General Manager DIC D Raju , among others, spoke
About 2,300 artisans of Baleswar, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur were given identity cards on the occasion.