Jewellers across the nation would continue their silent protest against the proposed re-imposition of 1 per cent excise tax on gold and diamond jewellery, till 7^th March 2016.

GJF CoA has given clear mandate for BANDH to continue till Monday, 7^th March 2016, till the next decision is taken. Meanwhile, the GJF along with many gems and jewellery associations are trying to meet senior MPs and finance ministry officials to resolve the issue.

“Senior officer bearers of All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) along with representatives from All India Jewellery Associations had held a meeting with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and apprised him about the problems to be faced by jewellers, manufacturers and artisans. If the excise duty implement as proposed in the budget announcement, it will be detrimental to the survival of the industry, says Sreedhar GV, Chairman, GJF .

On the second day of the strike, jewellers staged dharna at the Dagina Bazar (Zaveri Bazar), Mumbai putting down shutters of all jewellery shops to protest against the excise duty proposals. Protest also continues in other cities like Amritsar, Kolkata, Shimla, Kashmir, Indore, Jabalpur, Bhopal, Chandrapur, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Satana, Pune and more.