Gold smuggling goes unchecked

Vijayawada: Traders, who don’t like tax on gold, have been indulging in smuggling of the yellow metal for quite some time. The seizure of two kg and 13 kg gold from jewellers by the railway police is just tip of the iceberg. Transportation of gold in baskets of fruits and boxes of perishable products goes unchecked through all means of transport is an open secret now.

• A city-based goldsmith says it is an open secret that there is no documentation for gold ornaments made by many jewellers
• Except for showrooms, all the gold that circulates among goldsmiths and customers has no paper work. It is only trader-consumer relation that works in gold trade
• The gold smugglers have been using different methods to avoid suspicion. Such cases cannot be stopped as the precious metal can be made into any form to shift it to desired destinations
• Investment gold is one way of saving money and getting good returns for many especially businessmen

The smugglers have been using packing paper to illegally transport gold. The paper used for fruits transportation is also being used for wrapping gold ornaments and gold bars.

On August 31, two jewellers were taken into custody by the railway police only to know that they had no proper answer on the documents related to two kgs of gold they were carrying with them. The police found that the Nellore-based jewellers were on their way to transport the gold up to Jaggaiahpet in Krishna district.

The very next day, one jeweller was found in possession of 13 kg gold by the railway police. He was on his way to Nellore with the gold ornaments. The ornaments were stuffed in paper waste to avoid suspicion.

The recovered gold rings, bangles, chains and other ornaments have no documentation to establish trade transaction. When the trader’s version was something different from the facts, the police understood, the trader was trying to avoid taxation on the gold ornaments.

These are the two cases caught by the police while many others easily smuggle gold, according to sources in the department. The gold smugglers have been using different methods to avoid suspicion. Such cases cannot be stopped as the precious metal can be made into any form to shift it to desired destinations.

Investment on gold is one way of saving money and getting good returns for many especially businessmen. Women prefer gold ornaments and dislike to pay tax as the jewellers always charge for making ornaments.

A city-based goldsmith said it was an open secret that there is no documentation for gold ornaments made by many jewellers. Except for showrooms, all the gold that circulates among goldsmiths and customers has no paper work. It was only trader-consumer relation that works in gold trade.

By Noor Shaik