Govt. clarifies jewellers concerns over imposition of excise duty

 The Dollar Business Bureau

In a relaxing move to jewellers who have been on strike asking for a rollback of 1% duty on certain jewellery articles, the government on Friday came out with simplified procedures offering them clarity on the same. Following the government’s move vide a notification on March 4, 4016 (key features of simplified procedures for imposition released), key representatives from the jewellery industry met the Revenue Secretary, GoI and CBEC Chairman on Thursday to raise concerns over duty imposition. The members were said to have expressed deep concern that duty re-imposition would bring back the old Gold Control Act, that would badly affect the growth of jewellers, especially that of goldsmiths and artisans. This will also bring back the Inspector Raj regime, where in jewellers would have to face frequent inspections. The industry representatives were also said to have sought rise in exemption limit from Rs.6 crore in a year to Rs.10 crore. In response to the industry concerns, the government is said to have given clarity over concerns related to compliance and procedures to the duty. With regard to liability-holding in case of manufacturing, it was clarified that the principal manufacturer of jewellery would be liable to pay duty and file returns and not the worker. With regard to exemption of excise duty, the Govt clarified that the manufacturer who holds domestic clearances below Rs.12 crore would be exempted from excise levy up to a clearance limit of Rs.6 crore. Under the new clarifications, artisans and workers are exempted from duty, payment of taxes, registration procedures and filing of returns. Addressing the concerns related to the myriad application forms for excise registration, the government introduced a web portal (www.aces.gov.in) for ease of filing online. Accordingly, directions have also been issued to concerned authorities to ensure speedy registration procedures within a two-day period. The government has also cleared that there would be no need to produce pre-budget stocks and has also done away with frequent visits to jewellers. The jewellers who were striking against the imposition of excise duty on certain jewellery articles for the 17^th day on Friday, have expressed their willingness to pay taxes in some other way.  

March 19, 2016 | 05:05pm IST