Almost all jewellers in Ahmedabad downed their shutters on Monday as part of their protest against the HUID (Hallmarking Unique ID) system. Jewellers across the country are protesting the same with around 15,000 jewellers in Gujarat joining the protest.
In Ahmedabad, around 6,000 jewellery shops and showrooms joined the strike. Jigar Soni, president of the Jewellers’ Association of Ahmedabad said the call for strike was a success as most jewellers kept their businesses shut.
In Gujarat, the token protest was called by the All Gujarat Jewellers Association. The jewellers have said that the unique ID for each piece of jewellery is a very cumbersome and bureaucratic process. It will increase the clerical work for jewellery houses and will be difficult particularly for small jewellers.
Under the system, every piece of jewellery will be assigned a unique code at the time of hallmarking and this will help identify the jeweller who has the jewellery and the customer who buys it.
The association has further argued that providing unique IDs and having to upload it would mean the secrecy of design and quantity is not maintained. Moreover, the identity of the customer is also revealed.
They said they did not have a problem with hallmarking but their opposition was to the unique IDs as it would take more than a week to get each jewellery its unique ID. They want the government to make the process a simple one. They also fear that it will once again bring back Inspector Raj.
Across the country, the strike was called by the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC).
