CM Omar rules out GST hike on Kashmiri shawls

Jammu: The Jammu &Kashmir chief minister (CM) Omar Abdullah on Saturday has ruled out increase in tax on shawls, especially famed pashmina shawls weaved in Kashmir.
From past many days, the Opposition parties, especially PDP, had flagged the issue that tax on handicrafts will be hiked, especially tax on the shawls weaved in Kashmir, which had caused panic among the artisans who had termed it as a death knell for one of the famous trades of Kashmir.
Omar after attending a meeting on GST with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman ruled out any tax being imposed on the shawls, especially pashmina shawls.
“We had come prepared to ensure something like this does not happen, but thankfully the increase in taxation on shawls was not the agenda. In future also we will ensure that this is not taken up,” Omar told reporters soon after the meeting.
Earlier, the Jammu & Kashmir government had assured to safeguard the interests of Kashmir’s famed handicraft and handloom sector, which is directly linked to the livelihood of lakhs of artisans associated with the heritage craft.
Responding to certain reports that have appeared in a section of the media with regard to proposed revision of tax slab in the upcoming GST council meeting, a government spokesman clarified that the UT government has already taken up the matter with the Union ministry, requesting therein for lowering the GST rate structure from existing 12% to 5% uniformly, including shawls priced above ₹1,000, with the objective of reducing the tax burden on this artisan-driven industry and supporting marketability.
The spokesman described Handicrafts as a labour-intensive industry which constitutes 80% of human workforce. He further stated that all efforts shall be made to revive the handicrafts sector, keeping in view the stiff competition from global markets and machine-made imitations.