The All Indian Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council has said that the implementation of the E-way bill was not practical for gold jewellery business. The Council director S. Abdul Nassar said that the gold ornaments are processed at several stages in different units and making E-way bill compulsory was not a practical solution to tracking the business.
E-way bill involves any consignments of more than ₹50,000. The E-way bill is a system generated delivery note that contains the origin of the consignment, its destination, value, as well as details and Aadhar number of the carrier, vehicle number etc. The gold jewellers now follow these steps with delivery notes that are not system generated, said Mr. Nassar. He said that the demand for E-way bills also posed a great security threat as anyone could trace the movement of precious metal. Besides, he said that the rise in gold price had put even a small quantity of gold in the more than ₹50,000 bracket.
The Jewellery Council also said that the insistence on E-way bill prevented the free flow of business and could lead to "unnecessary" legal complications. There are ways available with the GST department to trace the business transactions, he added.
Gold business is rampant and even the smallest villages in the country are witness to transactions in gold jewellery and there are thousands who depend on handcrafted gold items, he added.
Gold and jewellery business in the State is worth around ₹50,000 crore annually and about eight lakh families depend on the business for their livelihood. There are around 15,000 small and big jewellers with around 5,000 processing units.
The Jewellery Council is of the opinion that the GST department should utilise its existing facilities to trace any cases of illegal transaction and gold smuggling.
