Though Kerala has the dubious distinction of being a ‘smugglers’ paradise’ with four international airports in a small geographical area and a large overseas diaspora, the data available with the Centre reveals that the State ranks only third with regard to gold smuggling cases registered in the country in the last 10 years.
Neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are in the first and second positions respectively, although there has been a spurt in cases in Kerala in recent times, especially since the COVID-19 outbreak.
As per the data available with the Union Ministry of Finance on gold seizures made by Customs field formations and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) since 2012 to 2022 (up to June), Tamil Nadu registered the highest annual average of 772 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 705 cases. The annual average of Kerala during this period is just about 295 cases.
The details of Delhi were not available separately, but Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Leh and Laddakh together accounted for an annual average of 356 cases during this period. However, since 2020, Kerala is at the top of the list with a total of 1,880 cases up to June 2022, followed by Tamil Nadu with 1,632 cases and Maharashtra with 776 cases.
Speaking to The Hindu, a senior Finance Ministry officer said there was nothing surprising about the figures as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have a strong domestic market for gold jewellery just like Kerala.
Asked if the gold smuggled into the country through various States would reach Kerala, he said perhaps a small portion may, especially from Tamil Nadu due to its proximity to the State. However, it is not a good idea to smuggle large quantities of gold to other States and bring them to Kerala by road and rail due to the big risk involved. Further, as per current market rates, the smuggling syndicates receive around ₹3 lakh-₹4 lakh as profit margin for each kg of gold smuggled in.
Former Cochin Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar, who is now posted at the Bhiwandi GST and Central Excise unit, said: “there is no correlation between gold smuggling cases registered in the country and the actual quantity of gold smuggled in. The seizures would come around only less than 5% of the total gold market. Only through a comparative analysis of the legal import of gold and the actual domestic sale can the magnitude of illegal smuggling be gauged.”
