"On behalf of GJF, we appreciate the government's support towards the gems and jewellery industry. This will boost the trade as the industry was eagerly awaiting the clarifications on the levy of excise duty," All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) Chairman G V Sreedhar said.
He also urged the government to further support the industry by raising the PAN card limit from the current Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
"This is surely a sigh of relief for the trade, as the government has simplified many procedural and compliance hurdles pertaining to the excise duty. We are hopeful that the government will soon issue notifications and circulars on all points considered and accepted," GJF Director Ashok Minawala said.
PNG Jewellers CMD Saurabh Gadgil said, "The government has announced relief measures for gold jewellery industry to soften the impact of the excise duty levied in the budget."
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In view of the upcoming festive season, Dussehra and Diwali, the government increasing small scale industry (SSI) eligibility will ultimately help manufacturers to cover the loss this season, he added.
Also, the Finance Ministry said no excise audit will be carried out, for the first two years, for units whose duty payment is less than Rs 1 crore (that is turnover of manufactured goods less than Rs 100 crore).