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The Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, fears the levy on gold proposed in the Budget will lead to a revival in smuggling.
The Budget brought both non-branded and branded gold jewellery under the ambit of excise duty.
Similarly, the Customs duty on standard gold and platinum bars was increased from 2 per cent to 4 per cent, and on non-standard gold from 5 per cent to 10 per cent.
Besides this, PAN number is needed for buying gold jewellery worth Rs 2 lakh or more in cash.
Speaking at the Conference of Chief Ministers on Internal Security, Mr Modi said: “I fear that the levy on gold in the recent Union Budget has a strong possibility of giving a lease of life to dormant smuggling syndicates unless necessary safeguards in the implementation of these new policies are assured.”
The nexus between these criminal syndicates and terror groups is a dimension that must be seriously considered, he added. Mr Modi urged the Centre to look at the issue in a comprehensive manner.
Mr Modi also asked the Centre to formulate an effective strategy to counter the menace of fake currency notes.
Fake Currency
Meanwhile, Terming the inflow of fake Indian currency across the borders with Bangladesh and Nepal as worrisome, he said the suspected involvement of terror syndicates in several fake note cases requires that all the stakeholders must be involved in formulating an effective response to the scourge at all levels.
It should not be treated as a “mere criminal offence which is to be tackled by routine policing,” Mr Modi added.
Taking a cue from Mr Modi, Ms Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, suggested the Centre advise the Reserve Bank of India and all commercial banks, especially those located in vulnerable areas, to be equipped with fake-note detection machines.
Mr Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, urged the Centre to establish a laboratory for examining fake currency notes.
“There is no centre to examine fake currency in Northern India. This results in delays and difficulty in the successful disposal of cases,” he said.
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