TN fireworks manufacturers withdraw GST strike

Fireworks manufacturers in Sivakasi have decided to withdraw their strike against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) after the Tamil Nadu government promised to take up their concerns in the next GST Council meeting on August 5.

With just over two months left for production of fireworks for Diwali this year and the next GST Council meeting not scheduled before August, it was decided to withdraw the strike as the industry would not have survived till then, said K. Mariappan, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association.

The fireworks manufacturers had been on a strike since June 30 protesting the imposition of 28 per cent GST on their products.