With finance minister Pranab Mukherjee refusing to roll back increase in gold import duty – it has been doubled to 4 per cent — lovers of the yellow metal and smugglers are resorting to innovative ways to save tax.
Customs officials at Chennai Airport seized more than 3 kg of gold worth over Rs 85 lakh from S.M. Rifai and software engineer couple S. Kannan, 40, and Mohanavalli, 35, in the past two days.
While Rifai, who arrived from Colombo on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight Thursday, was carrying 890 gm (worth Rs 25,69,430) moulded into rings, rods and buttons of an abacus and spiral binding of two photo albums, the Madurai couple, which reached the city from the US via Dubai on an Etihad Airways flight Friday, was carrying 2.36 kg worth Rs 60 lakh hidden in Mr Kannan’s pant pocket.