Jewellers to observe strike against mandatory PAN card proof

New Delhi: Jewellers across the country will observe a nationwide strike tomorrow against the government’s decision to make PAN card mandatory for transactions worth Rs 2 lakh and above. From January 1, PAN Card has been made mandatory for all transactions above Rs 2 lakh in cash or through card in entire gems and jewellery sector. Over 300 associations of jewellery trade with over 100,000 shops across the country will observe a day-long token strike because the business has fallen by 30 per cent since January 1, the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) said in a statement. “This is a crisis situation for the entire industry to survive because jewellers are losing customers mainly in small towns and rural areas where a majority of population doesn’t have PAN card in their names,” GJF Chairman G V Sreedhar said.