Feeling the pinch

Why are jewellers getting support from political circles across the board on their demand to roll back the one per cent excise duty on non-branded jewellery that was proposed in the Budget? A revenue department official handling the issue had one explanation. The duty was introduced, he said, to curb money laundering since the jewellery and cinema businesses provide the two biggest avenues for doing so. The pressure from political quarters to retract excise duty on non-branded jewellery, he added, tells the true story of who it will pinch the most.