Finance Minister Arun Jaitley rules out rollback of 1 per cent excise on jewellery

NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding demands by allies and opposition and protest by jewellery traders, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today ruled out rollback of one per cent excise on non-silver jewellery, saying the move is aimed to alligning gold with GST which he hopes will happen soon.

"The day we get your (Congress) blessing and GST will be implemented. Then all goods will come under GST and so will be gold. This (one per cent excise duty proposal) is a preparation towards it," he said while replying to a debate on General Budget in Lok Sabha.

At the same time, he said, "This is not applicable on small traders" and it has been ensured that there is no harassment of jewellers by tax officials.

He said clear instructions have been issued to field officers that no inspector will enter the premise of jewellery makers because there is provision of self-certification.

The 1 per cent levy on non-silver articles would be only for jewellers with Rs 12 crore turnover and not small traders.

Jaitley said the budget proposal is for "principal trader" and not on jewellery maker.

Earlier, ruling NDA constituent Shiv Sena was among those who demanded that the excise proposal should be withdrawn.

Rahul Shewale (Shiv Sena), while making the demand, said the proposal should be put off till GST is implemented.

Participating in the debate, several MPs had raised the issue of jewellers strike and demanded withdrawal of the duty.

Jewellers have been on a strike since March 2 protesting against the proposed excise duty imposition on non-silver jewellery items.