The Union Government’s decision to make it mandatory to produce the PAN card for any transaction of over Rs. 1 lakh has not gone down well with jewellers and customers.
Opposing the move, the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) has claimed that this will discourage customers from visiting large jewellery showrooms as many of them may not have a PAN card.
Members of the Federation recalled that the requirement of the PAN card had earlier been made compulsory for jewellery purchases above Rs. 5 lakh. Jewellers already have implemented tax collection at source (TCS), wherein sellers collect tax right at the time of purchase for transactions over Rs.5 lakh.
The Federation’s regional chairman N. Ananthapadmanabhan said most rural buyers may not have PAN cards.
This will further deter them from purchasing at big jewellery stores and it might even send them to smaller shops that are willing to overlook this rule.
High import duty
While welcoming the recent budget announcements on the gold monetisation scheme, jewellers also expressed their disappointment over continuing high import duty.
Unless the customs duty is brought down from the existing 10 per cent, gold smuggling from other countries cannot be curbed, they said.
The GJF members plan to meet the Union Finance Minister and Prime Minister soon to represent their issues.
