Handicraft exporters seek removal of VAT

Raising protests against the state government's decision to levy five per cent VAT on handicraft items, the industrialists and exporters of such products met Jodhpur MP today and demanded a waiver of the tax.
A delegation of exporters, led by the President of Jodhpur Handicraft Exporters Association Nirmal Bhandari, met Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (local MP) and handed over a memoranda in support of their demand.
The MP assured them of taking up the issue with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
"The industry has a major role to play in employment generation and conservation of the art and heritage of the region. I would take up the issue with the CM in its entire perspective and am sure that the result would be positive," Shekhawat said.

The handicrafts industry in Rajasthan exports items worth Rs 4,000 crore per annum while Jodhpur alone accounts for exports worth Rs 1,500 crore per annum.
Bhandari said the decision to levy VAT would not only mean threat to the industrial prospects and employment but would also unnecessarily engage them in paper formalities.
"This decision of the government would prove destructive for the industry which has already been grappling with global competition and economic slowdown," Bhandari added.
In the Budget for 2014-15, the state government had announced levying 5 per cent VAT on handicraft items having a value of more than Rs 1,000.