All the gold,diamond and silver jewellery houses across the tricity will remain closed till Wednesday on account of a call given by the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF). The federation is demanding a rollback in some new provisions in the budget which,according to the jewellers,will have a negative impact on the sector. The industry is objecting to four points. The first is the increase in the import duty of gold. The duty has been increased from Rs 200 to approximately Rs 1,200 per 10 grams in the last five months. This increases the price of gold for us. The disparity in price of gold internationally and in the local market will increase smuggling of the precious metal, said Rakesh Talwar,regional chairman of GJF. Talwar added that a major part of the manufacturing cost was the labour charges given to the craftsmen. The Finance Minster has announced service tax on the labour charges we pay to the craftsmen. This will increase the cost. In addition to all this is the excise and the cash transaction tax imposed on us, he said. We are already paying income tax,VAT,service tax. It is unfair to burden the industry this way. Therefore,there must be a rollback. The strike started on Friday. Our chairman will meet the Finance Minister today and take up the matter with him. Due to extensive pressure from grassroots-level jewellers from across the country,the federation decided to extend the strike for two more days, said Talwar.
