HP Excise Department seized Gold worth Rs.1.10 Crore

A consignment of roughly 2 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 1.10 crore was seized in Hamirpur of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday during a GST evasion operation by the State Taxes and Excise Department.

State Excise Commissioner Yunus informed this here on Wednesday that a penalty of Rs 6.55 lakh had been levied for the violations. In Shimla, the department also performed an inspection of a tobacco dealer accused of GST evasion.

The dealer admitted to obtaining some brands of cigarettes without appropriate documentation.

According to the Commissioner, the department has been keeping a close eye out for those evading GST in order to maximise revenue collection and minimise evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST), with a particular emphasis on evasion of GST on gold and tobacco.

“Gold and silver have a very low GST rate of 3%, whereas tobacco has a GST rate of up to 188 percent, including compensation cess. Although the GST rate on gold is the lowest, there is a high incentive for tax evaders in this commodity due to the high value involved,” he said.

Similarly, because of the high GST rate, the incentive for tax evasion in tobacco items is very high, he noted.

According to him, the department keeps a special emphasis on tax evasion-prone commodities such as gold and tobacco.

In the financial year 2022-23, the department collected Rs.8 crore in penalties on products transported in violation of GST provisions, according to Yunus.