Indian Jewelers Down Tools Over PAN Requirements

(IDEX Online News) – Thousands of Indian jewelers shuttered their stores yesterday (Wednesday) to protest the government’s move to require the use of PAN, a permanent account number, according to report in The Wall Street Journal.

The rule came into effect on January 1, amid jewelry industry fears that its introduction would further reduce the number of people buying jewelry. The striking jewelers have said those fears have been realized, as the government’s attempts to control the amount of “black money” in the system has reduced sales.

Some jewelers claimed that customers who do have the PAN cards, and are therefore, part of the less than 3 percent of India’s 1.2 billion population that pays income tax, don’t always admit it.