Levy 1.25% GST rate on jewellery sector : Industry body

Mumbai: A jewellers body today demanded that the GST rate on the jewellery sector should be 1.25 percent if the government wants the industry to be "compliant and organised".[caption id="attachment_3077430" align="alignleft" width="380"] Reuters[/caption]"We are now gearing up for GST and have proposed that the GST rate for the gems and jewellery sector should be 1.25 percent if the government expects the industry to be compliant and organised," All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) Chairman Sreedhar G V said in a release.A delegation of the jewellers' body today met Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar at Nagpur and submitted its representation on Goods and Services Tax (GST). GJF, he said, will send the representation to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on GST, highlighting various concerns of the sector."We have been constantly highlighting various contentious issues such as smuggling of gold and increasing PAN card limit for purchases, lack of hallmarking infrastructure and high Customs duties on raw material gold," he added. GJF, he said, is closely evaluating the implications of Model GST Law and has already started mapping the business practises of the sector with the Model GST Law and Draft GST Rules.GJF Director and Member-High Level Committee (HLC) Ashok Minawala said, "The HLC Report, which was unanimously accepted by the government, was prepared after taking the suggestions and recommendations from over 60 associations of India into consideration.""Keeping in mind, the unique characteristics of the gems and jewellery sector, the kaarighars and small jewellers were kept out of purview of the Excise Duty. Therefore, while we welcome GST we request the GST Council to recognise the practical issues faced by the sector as highlighted in the HLC report," Minawala added.