Kerala plans video surveillance at jewellery shops to curb tax evasion

In a bid to check tax evasion by gold merchants, the Kerala government is considering the option of live video surveillance at jewellery shops apart from intensifying surprise checks.

The fresh move has triggered resentment from the thousands of gold merchants in Kerala, which is one of the thriving markets of the yellow metal. A fall in the tax revenue from gold has prompted the state government to tighten its grip on gold merchants. The fresh moves are also a sequel to Kerala’s long-pending demand for introducing e-way bill for gold.

A meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday decided to intensify inspection by tax officials at jewellery shops. The Chief Minister explored the option of imposing video surveillance at major jewellery shops with tax officials and police getting access to the CCTV units of the shops.

Irked by the moves, All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association representatives said that the government’s fresh moves would aggravate the harassment already being faced by the merchants from tax enforcement officials.

According to sources, Kerala's tax revenue from gold that used to be above Rs. 600 crore came down to nearly Rs. 250 core after the introduction of GST. Kerala has around 7,000 registered jewellery merchants. Gold smuggling to Kerala from other countries through airports is also considered to be alarmingly high.

The state government has been demanding that e-way bill should be introduced for gold, citing that the lack of e-way bill was the major reason for tax evasion. However, the gold merchants of some states like Gujarat were opposing it citing security risks involved while transporting gold as an e-way bill could make details of the gold movement known to others. The state government is also in the process of introducing e-way bill for the intra-state movement of gold.

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