KOCHI: The Intelligence Wing of the State Goods and Services Tax, Ernakulam on Thursday seized 3 kg of gold from a Mumbai native in Kochi. According to officers, the gold is suspected to have been brought to a jewellery shop here.The seizure was made when one of its squads was checking vehicles at the Ernakulam market area in the afternoon. “Our squad number 6 was deployed at TD Road for vehicle checking.
In the afternoon, a middle-aged person identified as Dattatreya Yashwant Yadav was found roaming in a suspicious manner carrying a handbag. On checking the bag, we found the gold bars,” an officer said. The person carried no relevant document, including the receipt for the gold purchased or GST papers for the gold bars. “We have submitted the gold bars to the district treasury.
Time will be given for submitting the related documents. Only then will the gold be released. Further interrogation is needed to get more details about the person who sent the gold and for whom it was meant,” the officer said.The gold bars were worth Rs 88 lakh. “If the person fails to produce the documents, an additional penalty of Rs 90 lakh will be imposed,” the officer said.Several squads have been deployed across the district as goods evading tax from other states are likely to arrive during Christmas and New Year.