Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 7: Jewellers today took out a “Victory Rally” from Chowk Chabutra to Lakhdatta Bazar, in which hundreds of jewellers participated.
The rally was organised in the victory of the jewellers as Governments had decided to roll back excise duty on both branded and unbranded jewelleries, saying the move would help in the growth of the industry.
Talking to media, Raj Kumar Babber, president, Swarankar Sangh Jammu Province (SSJP) said that the entire industry is very happy that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee understood the plight of our industry and took the decision accordingly. He added that the decision has saved the gems and jewellery industry from difficulty.
It is to mention here that the jewellers had gone on a 21-day nation-wide strike beginning March 17 protesting against the budget proposal of an excise duty of 1 per cent on unbranded jewellery.
The strike was withdrawn after an assurance from Mukherjee that their demand would be considered during the passage of Finance Bill.
“The Government has decided to withdraw the levy (one per cent excise duty) on all precious metal jewellery, branded or unbranded, with effect from March 17”, Mukherjee announced in the Lok Sabha.
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