NOTES-EXCISE (RPT)

Jewellers asked to give details of gold sales

In another move to check illegal sale of gold on demonetised high-value notes, excise officials have summoned details of sale gold and ornaments from over 600 jewellers across 25 cities.

Officials of the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), an intelligence arm under the Union Finance Ministry, sent notices to these jewellers seeking details of gold sales in the past four days, beginning Monday, official sources said on Friday.

They have also been asked to give details like the quantity of stock held by them. Teams of DGCEI officials will also visited major jewellery stores and their manufacturing units to serve notices, the sources said.

Initially, jewellers in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Vijaywada, Nashik and Lucknow will be under the scrutiny. Sources added that the exercise may be extended to other cities later.

The move comes after the Union Finance Ministry directed jewellers to sell gold and gold ornaments only against a customer’s PAN card details.

— PTI