Jewellery strike withdrawn, Govt assures rollback on gold price hike?

NEW DELHI: Meeting many Congress leaders sympathizing with agitating jewellers, the government may decide to rollback one percent of excise duty on non-branded jewellery today. “Congress has asked the government to consider the demand of jewellers sympathetically,” AICC General Secretary and media department chief Janardhan Dwivedi said on Friday. Meanwhile, meeting the agitating bullion traders early this morning, Congress president Sonia Gandhi assured them that their demands will be taken in to consideration. From sources close to Zeenews, it is learnt that the agitating bullion traders have told the Congress president that they have no issues with the hike in customs duty but excise duty on non-branded jewellery needs to go. In his attempt to fi nd a solution to the jewellers’ strike opposing the hike in import duty on gold bars and excise duty on unbranded jewellery, At the same time Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had a meeting with the members of the jewellers’ community today. “ Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today assured to the representatives of jewellery manufacturers that appropriate steps will be taken by the central government in favour of jewellery community,” so the strike from jewellery manufacturers and sellers been with drawn from today . In the budget, Mukherjee had hiked the import duty on gold bars, coins and platinum from two to four per cent and levied one percent excise duty. The jewellers across the country are demanding a complete rollback of excise duty on unbranded jewellery and a hike in import duty on gold.