Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has decided to make e-way bills mandatory for inter- and intra-state gold transport in a bid for to curb its smuggling.

The subcommittee of ministers, constituted by the GST Council, approved the proposal to implement e-way bills on gold in Kerala alone. The proposal to make e-way bill compulsory across the country was but turned down by many states.

All states but approved Kerala’s request and the rule will be in place a soon as a notification is issued. Also, those buying gold from jewellery shops will not come under the purview of this.

Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac said the GST Department would reward officials who seize gold, like the practice in Customs. Rules will be amended in conformity with the state GST laws for this.

Now, seized gold is given back to those carrying it if they pay 3 per cent fine and as much in tax. But the state received legal advice that the seized gold could be made state’s possession and auctioned, as per a ruling of the Gujarat High Court.

If there is any informer, he will get 20 per cent of the gold. If the consignment is let off after a fine and tax, 20 per cent of the tax would go to the informer. The officials will also get a reward of Rs.1500 per gram. As much a Rs.5 crore has been earmarked in the budget for rewards.

Isaac said the tax officials seized Rs. 110 crore of gold in the state in the past year. GST should be paid on gold which is brought out through the airport by paying tax.

Isaac said there was an increase in gold smuggling in the past three years and 15 per cent of this happened through Kerala.

As per Customs statistics, the gold seizure through the years is a follows: 2014-15, 890 kg; 2015-16, 863 kg; 2016-17, 600 kg; 2017-18, 1282 kg; 2018-19, 1440 kg; 2019-20, 1028 (kg till December).

What is e-way bill

E-way bill is the system of bill generation on the e-way portal to monitor the movement of goods from the point of manufacture to the seller. Only those goods worth above Rs. 50, 000 need e-way bills. The one who sends the consignment should prepare the e-way bill. So, the government would be able to extract end-to-end information on goods transport from the portal. For those purchasing gold from jewelleries, the GST bill from the shop may be produced in case of any query.  

The move comes weeks after a major gold smuggling controversy was unearthed in Kerala. A multi-agency probe was initiated after the Customs seized 30kg gold from a diplomatic baggage addressed to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested one of the key accused Swapna Suresh from Bengaluru last month.

Senior IAS official Sivasankar was suspended from service over his alleged association with Swapna and other accused and was removed from key posts including the post of principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.