Mumbai Diamond Industry Calls For Strike In Support of Jewelry Retailers

Indian jewelry retailers have already been on strikes and have organized protest rallies all around the country. The strike call by the Bombay Diamond Merchants Association (BDMA) moves the protest way upstream to the diamond manufacturers and dealers. The BDMA is asking dealers in the Opera House diamond district of the city as well as those located in the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) to keep their offices shut on Friday.

Until now, only branded jewelry has a 1 percent excise duty on it. Retailer associations like the All India Gem & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) say that the inclusion of unbranded jewelry in the tax net will result in small and medium retailers being subjected to official harassment over the valuation of the goods they sell.

According to analysts, the 1 percent excise duty – part of the Indian government’s budget proposal for fiscal 2012-13 – is a preliminary step towards the implementing of a unified General Services Tax (GST) throughout the country. Currently, Indian businesses pay varying central and state taxes. This, apart from adding to the complexity of doing business, has led to uneven costs of goods and services across the country.

The implementation of the GST, however, is scheduled for 2014 and jewelry retailers fear that in the interim period, with the ambiguous nature of valuations, they will be subject to a great deal of official harassment.