Baripada: The Commercial Tax and Goods and Services Tax (CT-GST) officials claimed to have achieved a breakthrough in this city of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district as they seized 20 kilograms of gold worth Rs. 20 crore from a pickup van, GST Department's Deputy Commissioner Kulamani Mallick said.
The van was caught on Friday while coming from Kolkata to Baripada, he said. The enforcement squad of the CT-GST division stopped the van at MKC Chhak in the city on Friday after suspecting gold smuggling.
“The vehicle was transporting gold jewellery from Mumbai to some jewellery shops in the Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts of Odisha via Kolkata. But when the officials stopped the vehicle for checking, the driver failed to show the required documents, nor could he give a satisfactory answer. Suspecting foul play, the CT-GST squad seized the gold and the vehicle for verification,” they said.
"As usual, we were visiting the area on Friday when we saw a custodian of 'Sequel Logistics' delivering jewellery to a local jewellery shop," Malik said. "We stopped the pickup van, and the bill they showed was not authentic. To rule out any fraud, we seized around 20 kg of gold and are investigating further."
The deputy commission further said that the van was coming from Mumbai via Kolkata and was to deliver gold jewellery at Baripada and Udala in Mayurbhanj and Balasore.
"We are still investigating the delivery of gold and the suspicious involvement of some jewellers from Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts. However, the details will be known after the verification is completed. If any irregularities are found, a penalty will be imposed as per the provisions laid down under the GST Act," he said.
“This gold was probably coming to a gold merchant from Mumbai. It is believed that a large amount of gold was ordered due to Dhanteras,” he said.
