Visakhapatnam: Principal commissioner of customs and central excise C. Rajendiran on Tuesday clarified that the proposed central excise duty on gold and jewellery will be imposed only on jewellery manufacturers but not on the sellers, goldsmiths and artisans. Further, the jewellery manufacturers with an annual revenue of Rs 6 crore are exempted under small-scale industries sector. Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, Mr Rajendiran allayed fears of the bullion traders and jewellery merchants saying they will not be put to any discomfort or inconvenience.
“The private records of the jeweller, the records for State VAT or records for Bureau of Indian Standards (in the case of hallmarked jewellery) will be accepted for all central excise purposes. Even a certificate from a chartered accountant based on the accounts for the years 2014-15 and 2015-16, would suffice. The central excise officers have been directed not to visit the premises of the jewellery manufacturers. The jewellery manufacturers should register themselves online, pay the excise duty and file the returns,” said C Rajendiran.
The jewellers also need not file the stock declaration to the jurisdictional central excise authorities. He further said that the excise duty will be imposed only on jewellery manufacturers. The new tax regime will come into force from April 1 and all the jewellery manufacturers with a turnover of '12 crore for the fiscal 2014-15 should pay the excise tax for the month of March, 2016, before this month end.
