Indian Jewelers Bring Strike Over Tax to End
Indian Jewelers Bring Strike Over Tax to End
The strike action began 18 days ago and led to jewelry store closures across the sub-continent.
Jewelry stores in India re-opened today (Monday) following strike action that lasted almost three weeks and led to losses for jewelry businesses and lost taxes for the government of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The aim of the strike was to pressure the government to do away with a 1% excise duty imposed on gold and diamond jewelry as part of the 2016-17 budget.
The government has yet to announce whether the planned excise tax will be withdrawn. The tax would make gold and diamond jewelry more expensive. All sides agreed on the establishment of a task
force led by an economic expert to look into the tax plan.
The task force will number three industry representatives, and also include a legal expert and officials from the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
Media reports from Indian said that trade associations will be presented with the opportunity to submit representations.
