The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation has approached the Centre with a plea to reconsider the proposed threshold of Rs 20 lakh for exemption under GST and to raise it to Rs 1 crore. "The gems and jewellery industry is labour intensive and close to a crore artisans and karigars are engaged in this sector across the country," said Nitin Khandelwal, chairman, All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation. A higher threshold can help and we are in constant dialogue with the Centre over the issues that the industry might face," said Khandelwal. Although the Centre has not formalised the tax rate for the gems and jewellery industry under GST, the jewellery federation has proposed a 1.25 per cent GST rate for the sector. The GST Council had decided on four tax rates under GST: 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent.

Source: The Telegraph April 08, 2017 20:23 UTC