The jewellers in Bathinda, on Monday, removed the black flags from their shops and hailed the withdrawal of the central excise duty on gold. The jewellers had put up the black flags to mark their protest against the hike in central excise and custom duties on gold.
Jewellers, not only in Bathinda, but across the country had been protesting against the hike in the custom duty levied on gold, as announced by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in the Budget 2012.
Jewellers in Bathinda had launched a citywide protest against the hike and had even called for a five-day long bandh, starting March 17.
Moving the Finance Bill, 2012 for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha, the Finance Minister said, “The government has decided to withdraw the levy (one per cent excise duty) on all precious metal jewellery, branded or unbranded, with effect from March 17, 2012.”
