Roll back of duty on unbranded jewellery: Narendra Modi writes to Pranab Mukherjee

NEW DELHI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has joined several leaders and association in the demand for roll back of excise duty on unbranded jewellery and customs duty increase on gold.

In a letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, he also urged for a review of the provision relating to mandatory use of PAN card for purchase of jewels above a certain limit.

Bringing to the Finance Minister's notice, the "anguish" of the gems and jewellery sector over the imposition of one per cent excise duty on unbranded jewellery in the budget, Modi said closing down of jewelry shops in the last 10 days has resulted in a loss of Rs 16,000 Crores in Gujarat alone.

"Livelihood of more than four lakh Bengali workers in Gujarat, who are specialised in jewellery manufacturing, are also severely affected," he said in the letter.

He said the hike in import duty on customs would lead to to smuggling and also to vicious circles of illicit money laundering, financing of drugs and weapons.

Various political parties and leaders have appealed to the Finance Minister to roll back these hikes. Yesterday, Mukherjee had hinted in Lok Sabha at a review of the excise duty levy on unbranded jewellery but ruled out a roll back of the duty hike on gold.