GST has led to a hike of 25 to 30 per cent in the cost of Chikan garments. Chikan goods had been exempt from tax since independence but now they are in the taxable category of readymade clothes.

Manufacturers have to start paying a 12 per cent service tax for employing artisans for various steps of manufacturing chikan clothes. There are 11 processes before the embroidered cloth finally reaches customers, including cutting, sewing, printing, embroidery, washing, charak etc and more than six workers are employed at each step, so there is bound to be a proportionate hike in the cost of garments.

With the implementation of GST, the process and equipment for chikan embroidery is costlier, so until the picture is clear traders are not placing any fresh orders. Chikan garments below Rs 1,000 will now come under the five per cent tax bracket and those costing more will be taxed at the rate of 12 per cent.

Fabrics and yarn, the two most essential items for the business, are now taxable at the rate of five per cent. The word chikan is probably derived from the Persian word chikin or chikeen, which means a kind of embroidered fabric. This art has its own royal significance covering the Mughal period to the era of the Oudh nawabs, later growing as a fashion-centric form of needlecraft recognised the world over.