Jewellery stores empty on first full day of GST as buyers stay away

Consumers bought heavily ahead of rollout to avoid paying more, pushing jewellery sales up by 50%

Jewellery stores remained empty on the first full day of GST (Goods and Services Tax) rollout on Monday as consumers stayed away from new orders after booking heavily last week.

Robust buying during the week to June 30 pushed jewellery sales up by 50 per cent as consumers advanced their orders to avoid higher payment outgo on price increase following GST rollout effective July 1. The tax independence, as coined by the government to explain GST levy, has made gold costlier by 1-2 per cent across the country.

Jewellery sales, therefore, declined by over 70 per cent on Monday due to the