Govt assures to safeguard Kashmir’s handicrafts

Srinagar, Dec 20: The Jammu and Kashmir government Friday 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 about the proposed revision of tax slab in the upcoming GST Council meeting, a government spokesman said that the J&K government had already taken up the matter with the Union Ministry for Commerce and Industry, requesting therein for lowering the GST rate structure from existing 12 percent to 5 percent uniformly, including shawls priced above Rs 1000, to reduce the tax burden on this artisan-driven industry and support marketability.

The spokesman described handicrafts as a labour-intensive industry which constitutes 80 percent of the human workforce.

He said that all efforts should be made to revive the handicrafts sector, keeping in view the stiff competition from global markets and machine-made imitations.