The Hindu Business Line : IA ban on `bulk valuable cargo' hits bullion trade

THE non-acceptance of `bulk valuable cargo' by Indian Airlines (IA) has put the stakeholders of bullion trade in this part of the country in a quandary.

They believe that the ban imposed during the last week of August could have been due to the reported theft in handling valuable cargo.

The last fortnight, however, has not been easy for the bullion dealers, banks (only select banks such as SBI, Union Bank of India, Bank of Nova Scotia and ICICI Bank deal in bullion), custodian service providers and the trade.

Coimbatore, incidentally, is next only to Chennai in the South in bullion imports.

Industry insiders said that 8-10 consignments weighing close to two tonnes totally were being handled on a month-on-month basis.

Following IA's embargo on accepting bulk valuable cargo beyond 35 kg per consignment in transshipment, the importers had to necessarily make arrangements with the next nearest air terminus at Kochi, Chennai or Bangalore for taking delivery of the consignment.

Industry insiders said that the octroi and freight charges differed from State to State.

"That is not all. There is tremendous risk in transshipment in terms of safety. The time lag in taking delivery of the consignment ranges between three and five days.

The revenue loss (Customs duty) to the Coimbatore Commissionerate is as high as Rs 10.20 lakh for every 100 kg of imported gold," the source said.

According to a source in the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the annual jewellery exports from Coimbatore in 2003-04 stood at Rs 34.19 crore against Rs 40.88 crore in the previous year.

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