Small jewellers to be GST-exempt

LAHORE: Jewellery businesses having showrooms/stores smaller than 100 square feet will be exempted from the levy of General Sales Tax (GST) on sales and purchases, a statement said on Wednesday.

Punjab Sarafa Gems & Jewellery Association in a statement said Javed Memon, Senior Chief Sales Tax, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), extended this assurance to a 20-member delegation of the business body in a meeting at his office.

The statement also quoted Memon as promising the jewellers that a notification to this effect would be issued next week. The group, led by Muhammad Ahmad, the association's chairman, briefed the tax official about the hardships being faced by the jewellers and their business due to burdensome taxation policies.

Ahmad informed the FBR officers that in 1998, the then government had tried to impose GST on this sector, but the stakeholders convinced the authorities to reverse their decision through an exemplary unity and peaceful protests.