E-way bill exemption for gold turns boon for tax evaders

After seeing a drastic fall in the tax revenue from gold sales, the State Government of Kerala has asked the GST council to reverse the exemption of e-way bill for the transport of gold and make e-way bills mandatory. The Kerala State finance minister stated that the tax revenue at the end of the VAT regime was ₹627 crore a year and had fallen to ₹220 crores per year under the GST regime. Tax authorities have stated that jewellers in Kerala are utilising the e-way bill exemption for illegal trade worth crores of rupees. Moreover, traders are using this exemption to their advantage to smuggle gold across the country.