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With the government increasing the duty on import of gold to arrest foreign exchange drain and revive the economy, smuggling through the three international airports in Kerala, home to a large number of expatriate workers in the Gulf, is on the rise. |
According to reports, at least 20kgs of gold smuggled in through the northern Calicut airport alone was seized during the past two months.
Officials say much more might have slipped past the security scanners at the airports.
Earlier this month, Shamseen, a native of Kozhikode, was arrested on his arrival in Mumbai on his way home from Dubai with 1kg of gold biscuits worth Rs2.37mn concealed in his undergarments.
Gold bars are also being smuggled in concealed objects like the capacitors of television picture tubes, emergency lamp batteries, computer hard discs and even converting it into stapler pins and other materials with a silver-colored coating.
This month a passenger on a Dubai-Kozhikode flight, was detained by Air Customs Intelligence officials after a 1kg gold bar was found hidden in his shoes.
Customs officials also foiled another bid to smuggle in 3kg of gold by a passenger who arrived at the Calicut airport from Dubai.
Gold weighing 3.99kg was seized from a Sharjah passenger who tried to smuggle in the yellow metal concealed in a metal box in a television set. However, the gold was detected during an X-ray scan.
Last week, two gold bars of 1kg each was seized from a man identified as Sameer of Malappuram who arrived at the Cochin International Airport from Dubai.
The gold bars were concealed in carbon paper inside his socks.
So far this month, 9kgs of gold bars worth Rs25.2mn were seized from the corporate airport in the central Kerala.
Officials attribute the spurt in attempts by passengers to smuggle in gold to the considerable price difference between Indian and international prices after the increase in import duty. The duty-free allowance on gold, Rs50,000 for men and Rs100,000 for women, is applicable only for ornaments and not on import of gold coins, biscuits and bars.
A person coming from abroad after a continuous stay of six months can bring in gold up to 1kg in any form which attracts a customs duty of 10% and an education cess of 3%.
Gold imports fell by 80% from 160 tonnes in May to only 31 tonnes in June. The sudden fall suggest large-scale smuggling since the import duty was increased from 6% to 8%, feels experts.
India imports gold mostly from Switzerland and Dubai. The curbs imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on banks and ban on the sale of gold coins and bars also contributed to the sudden spurt in smuggling.
Customs agencies have seized 150 consignments of gold totalling over 500kg at Indian airports and sea ports during the past two months. According to the World Gold Council, 963 tonnes of gold was sold in in India in 2010. This is one-third the global demand.
In the last financial year, the country imported gold worth $58bn against $38bn the previous fiscal. This rose to 1,017 tonnes in 2012-13 - a sharp rise from 471 tonnes in 200-01. The government wants to bring import down to 700 tonnes.