Extra vigil to check gold smuggling after import duty hike

NEW DELHI: Fearing spurt in attempts to smuggle gold into the country, financial intelligence agencies and customs department are keeping extra vigil and minutely scanning suspected passengers and commercial consignments.

Officials of the Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), mandated to check smuggling and evasion of customs duty, are coordinating with other agencies' staff posted at major transit points, including airports and international borders, to check gold smuggling and have alerted their field formations to remain more vigilant.

Sources said the customs department is scanning credentials of suspected cargo coming from Gulf countries and other nations like Malaysia to foil any bid to smuggle precious metal inside the country.

Officers of the Customs Overseas Intelligence Network posted abroad have also been asked to keep a hawk eye on any suspected consignment originating from there, they said.

"There have been some frequent incidents of gold smuggling this year. All officials posted at airports, cargo stations and land borders are keeping extra vigil to check any such incidents," a DRI official said.

Officials said the recent hike of 10 per cent in customs duty for gold by Finance Ministry may see increased attempts of smuggling of the yellow metal.

The duty on gold and platinum was raised from 8 per cent to 10 per cent, while the levy on silver was hiked by 4 per cent this week, according to a Finance Ministry notification.

Ten gram gold is being sold at about Rs 29,825 in Delhi's bullion market.

Owing to huge domestic demands, the import of gold had gone up by a huge 87 per cent from 205 tonnes in April-July 2012 to 383 tonnes during the corresponding period this year. In value terms, the increase was 68 per cent - from Rs 56,488 crore to Rs 95,092 crore.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram, while presenting the General Budget in Lok Sabha, had said "passion for gold" was one of the factors for the Current Account Deficit (CAD) which had touched at a record high of 4.8 per cent in 2012-13.

A man was arrested on Sunday by custom officials at the airport here for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold biscuits weighing 700 gm worth about Rs 18 lakh.

On July 13, another man was arrested at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold jewellery worth about Rs 25 lakh.

The accused, who had also arrived from Dubai, was a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka.

A week before, a Tamil Nadu resident was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold bars valuing at about Rs 40 lakh by hiding it in his lower abdomen at the international airport here.

The custom officials had on June 20 also arrested a Sri Lankan national for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold bars worth about Rs 57 lakh.