Indicating a surge in cases of gold
smuggling, sleuths of revenue department have seized the yellow metal
worth about Rs 245 crore being pushed illegally through the country's
borders in the past one year. As many as 700 cases of gold smuggling
have been reported across the country so far during 2013-14, official
sources said. These cases were reported by customs and Directorate of
Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials, among others, through
international airports and land borders, and involved seizure of gold
valuing about Rs 245 crore, they said. There were 870 cases of gold
smuggling reported during 2012-13 involving seizure of the yellow metal
worth Rs 99 crore, the sources said. The increase in cases of gold
smuggling has been a matter of concern for Finance Ministry which is
grappling to rein in Current Account Deficit (CAD), difference between
the outflow and inflow of foreign currency. The CAD touched a historic
high of USD 88.2 billion or 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13 and was
mainly attributed to high imports of petroleum products and gold.
India, the largest gold consumer in the world, has imported 830 tonnes
of gold in 2012-13. Finance Ministry has been taking various steps to
curb gold imports. Revenue department officials blame gold import duty
hike for rise in cases of smuggling. The Finance Ministry had in
January, 2012 decided to hike duty to two per cent by making it
ad-valorem (according to value). Earlier, Rs 300 was charged as tariff
on the import of 10 grammes of gold. Subsequently, it was raised to
four per cent in 2012-13, six per cent in January 2013, eight per cent
on June 5 and 10 per cent in August last year.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has appealed to people to control their appetite for the precious metal. He had on Thursday said that curbs on gold imports can be rolled back only after India obtained a firm grip on the CAD. "Until we have a firm grip on the CAD, I don't contemplate any rollback of any measure," he had said in Davos. The Finance Minister was there to participate in World Economic Forum (WEF). Besides smuggling, authorities are also worried over a new trend of Indians, who have lived abroad for over six months, bringing gold into the country. An Indian citizen who has been living abroad for over six months can bring in 1 kilogramme of gold legally after payment of duty. The duty, which is charged at the rate of 10 per cent, is payable in currency of the nation where the gold was bought, according to norms. At least 3,000 kg of gold has been legally brought into the country after payment of customs duty during 2013-14, officials said. Now, the customs and DRI officials are sharing PAN card details with Income Tax departments to check suspicious ferrying of the yellow metal into the country, the sources said.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has appealed to people to control their appetite for the precious metal. He had on Thursday said that curbs on gold imports can be rolled back only after India obtained a firm grip on the CAD. "Until we have a firm grip on the CAD, I don't contemplate any rollback of any measure," he had said in Davos. The Finance Minister was there to participate in World Economic Forum (WEF). Besides smuggling, authorities are also worried over a new trend of Indians, who have lived abroad for over six months, bringing gold into the country. An Indian citizen who has been living abroad for over six months can bring in 1 kilogramme of gold legally after payment of duty. The duty, which is charged at the rate of 10 per cent, is payable in currency of the nation where the gold was bought, according to norms. At least 3,000 kg of gold has been legally brought into the country after payment of customs duty during 2013-14, officials said. Now, the customs and DRI officials are sharing PAN card details with Income Tax departments to check suspicious ferrying of the yellow metal into the country, the sources said.
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