Jaipur: With one percent increase in excise duty on gold and diamond jewellery, industry experts are being pessimistic about the job loss in the industry when the Union Budget 2016 was presented in the Parliament.
The owners of Motisons Jewellers Limited, Sandeep Chhabra and Sanjay Chhabra said: “The one percent increase in excise duty has not only shattered the hopes of cut in import duty from ten percent to two percent but it will also create more trouble for jewellery industry.”
Where India Bullion and jewellers association limited is afraid that this slight jump in the excise duty will cost a number of job losses in the gem and jewellery sector, some people, on the other hand, are not being that much pessimistic.
“The Modi government has disappointed us in this year’s budget. While the cost of jewellery will go up, it will be very difficult for the government to implement the excise duty. Jewellery in India is not machine made and are mostly handcrafted. Therefore, to implement the excise duty the government will face a lot of problems,” director of all India gems and jewellery trade federation, Bachhraj Bamalwa said.
Just like these worrisome individuals, the Vice Chairman of India Bullion and Jewellers Association Limited, Saurabh Gadgil said: “The introduction of 1 per cent excise duty will lead to excise raj in the country and harassment to the trade. The budget reflects to tax the rich people in general. And therefore, an excise duty has been imposed.”
The Budget 2016 brought happiness for some and proved the other way round for some other industries. Union budget always gets a mixed bag of reactions, this time, it has been proportioned with gold and diamond jewellery industry’s reaction. (ANI-BusinessWire)