Over 15,000 jewellers throughout Gujarat saved their companies shut on Monday as they joined the nationwide strike towards the implementation of Hallmarking Unique ID (HUID) system, business stakeholders claimed.
The ‘token strike’ towards HUID was known as by the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) and supported by numerous associations throughout the nation, together with Gujarat.
In Ahmedabad, practically 6,000 jewelry retailers and showroom homeowners joined the strike demanding a less complicated hallmarking course of, claimed Jigar Soni, president of the Jewellers’ Association of Ahmedabad.
“The call for strike was received well as majority of the jewellers kept their businesses shut,” he stated.
Besides Ahmedabad, all distinguished jewelry markets in Rajkot and numerous different cities additionally wore a abandoned look since morning as retailers remained closed.
Industry stakeholders claimed that round 4,000 models in Rajkot and three,500 retailers and showrooms in the whole south Gujarat, together with Surat, remained shut.
Hundreds of jewellers in different elements of state additionally prolonged their assist and shunned opening their retailers, they stated.
“We are not against hallmarking. We are worried about the newly introduced HUID, because it will consume a lot of our time and the process is also not simple,” stated Arvind Patadiya, a distinguished jeweller from Rajkot.
Under this new system, a novel code shall be given to each piece of jewelry on the time of hallmarking, he stated, including that the code will assist in figuring out the jeweller in addition to the client.
“It will take over two weeks just to get an HUID stamp on a piece of jewellery. This will finish our business. Imagine the time and energy we will spend just to get an HUID stamp,” he stated.
He claimed this method will finally deliver the “Inspector Raj” again.
“To keep a check on benami transactions, the HUID also carries information about customers. We want the government to make the process more simple and fast. I am confident that the Centre would take a favourable decision,” stated Patadiya.Surat-based jeweller Dipak Choksi claimed that round 3,500 jewellers from south Gujarat joined the strike on Monday
He stated the HUID will solely enhance the clerical work of jewellers and it lacks readability on the modification problem.
“Customers usually want us to incorporate some minor changes even after a jewellery is ready. This is a normal practice. But, there is no clarity in this new system whether such modifications are allowed after the jewellery is stamped with the unique ID,” he stated.
Choksi expressed confidence that the Centre will think about such issues and determine in favour of jewellers.
