The government should back out from the shop raids which it has been conducting of late on the gold and silver shops, All- Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants’ Association demanded in a memorandum submitted to the Finance Minister K M Mani on Monday.
The memorandum said that subjecting traders who have been exempted from the compounding tax system to inspection is a vengeful action by the government.
The four-fold increase in the import duties of gold, the control imposed by the commercial banks on gold loans and the phenomenal increase in the price of gold have slowed down the gold market by registering a steep 40 per cent decrease in the import of gold.
The government should discard the policies harmful to small gold and silver traders, the memorandum said.
P C Natesan, general secretary, B Bindu Madhav, vice-president and state council member Rajan J Thoppil were among those who met the minister