GST reduction, festive spirit boost Dhanteras sales in Ranchi

Ranchi: The lowering of GST, coupled with the festive spirit, led to a bullish market for a wide range of products from home appliances, automobiles, gold and silver jewellery to utensils during Dhanteras in the state.The president of the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce (FJCCI), Aditya Malhotra, said, “According to our estimates, overall business in Ranchi city during Dhanteras was estimated to be around Rs 600 to Rs 700 crore, while it was estimated to be around Rs 2,000 crore in the state. Overall, the estimated sales were up by 20% this Dhanteras compared to last year.”The sales were underway on Sunday as well.The gold and silver markets were buoyant as people were optimistic that the price of gold would go up further in the coming days and invested in the yellow metal.

Purchasing gold is also considered auspicious during Dhanteras, the customers said, adding that people getting ready for marriages bought jewellery as they felt that in case the price of gold went up, then they would run out of their budgets.FJCCI vice president and jewellery shop owner, Pravin Lohia, said, “The rising prices of gold and silver before the festivals made us slightly apprehensive about the market.

People, however, made massive purchases.”The patron of Sona Chandi Vyavsayi Sangh, Ravi Kumar Pintu, also said, “We estimate that gold and silver worth around Rs 300 crore were sold in Ranchi alone.”In the vehicle sector, FJCCI president said the lowering of GST from 28% to 18% in automobiles encouraged people from all walks of life to purchase vehicles.Interestingly, those with no vehicles bought two-wheelers, while people who had two-wheelers purchased four-wheelers, and people who already owned four-wheelers upgraded to better models, he said.“The vehicle dealers have registered almost double the sales compared to last year,” said Rohit Choudhary, a Hero bike dealer. He informed that Hero’s local official sent a message saying that the highest sales in the last five years have been achieved this Dhanteras.“Several of the Royal Enfield Hunter brands have also run out of stock due to the high demand. Four-wheeler sales have also seen a big rise,” the chairman of the Jharkhand chapter of the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association, Govind Mewar, said.Meanwhile, the chairman-cum-managing director Punit Kumar Poddar, of leading automobile house Premsons, said, “The sales of Maruti Suzuki brands in which we are dealing almost doubled this Dhanteras compared to last year. We were all geared up to meet the requirement.”