Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has said the government has been exploring the possibilities of making e-way bills mandatory for transporting gold within the State.
Replying to questions at the Assembly on Thursday, he also expressed concern over the large-scale evasion of Goods and Service Tax (GST) in the gold industry.
He added the demand had been raised at the meetings of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST along with a proposal to implement a long-pending hike in tax on gold. “While gold traders have opposed enforcing e-way bills for inter-State movement citing security concerns, the government firmly believed it could make them mandatory within the State. While several consultations have been held with gold traders, the Chief Minister have convened meetings to discuss the issue of tax leakage,” Mr. Balagopal said.
