Pune: Jewellers claim loss of Rs 100 crore daily as strike completes a fortnight
Excise duty will bring back dreaded inspector raj, lead to harassment of small traders, say jewellers.
2 min read
A jewellery shop closed due to the strike. Sandeep Daundkar
With no solution in sight, the deadlock between jewellers and the Centre over levying excise duty that has been continuing for 15 days, is costing city jewellers Rs 100 crore per day. The strike, incidentally, comes at a time when gold prices have touched an all-time high and the marriage season is just round the corner.
Jewellers across the country have embarked on an indefinite strike over the Centre’s decision to levy excise duty on their goods. Jewellers from Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad claimed that the excise duty will bring with it the dreaded inspector raj and endless harrasment of small-time jewellers. Although senior leaders like Sharad Pawar met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely to resolve the matter, an amicable solution is yet to be found.
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Fatechand Ranka, president of Pune Saraf Association, said that the strike is resulting in a loss of around Rs 100 crore daily. He said that Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad have more than 1,700 shops employing over 40,000 workers.
“The strike has hit workers the hardest as many of them are daily wage earners. We had organised food packets for the workers in view of the strike,” Ranka said, adding that the association is against the excise duty as it is regressive and will give rise to harassment by excise inspectors. He also said that jewellers in Baramati had reported excise inspectors at the doors as early as March 1.
Meanwhile, many customers are left in the lurch due to the strike, which started on March 1. “All business has come to a standstill. On March 17, over 5 lakh jewellers are congregating in Delhi to protest the decision,” said Sourabh Gadgil, PN Gadgil Jewellers.
On Tuesday, the excise department issued a press note trying to assuage the fears of jewellers. The note stated that as per the Centre’s guidelines, only jewellers with an annual turnover of Rs 12 crore and above would come under the gambit. The department also said that there would be no harassment of jewellers as most of the work would be done online.
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