THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The All-Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants' Association on Monday staged an agitation in front of Accountant General’s office here against the raids by officers from the AGs on jewellery shops in the state.
Association president B Govindan said the AGs office did not have any right to raid or inspect jewellery shops in the state. The AGs office is only authorised to audit government accounts and it was illegal to inspect private firms, he said.
The merchants were engaged in gold business after completing all registration process under the Commercial Taxes Department. No other department other than the officials with the Commercial Taxes Department is authorises to inspect the shops, he said. He said the raids were being held under the guise of collecting purchase tax to the tune of `2,600 crore from jewellery shops.