Jewellers rush to bring unaccounted gold on to books

Over 300 tonnes of jewellery made legitimate in last four months as GST deadline nears

The impending goods and services tax (GST) is forcing jewellers to replace unaccounted inventory with stocks they can show on their books.

Once GST is implemented on July 1, jewellers will have to declare stocks and all subsequent sales will be at the new tax rates.

Jewellers are selling old jewellery for cash or managing bills to bring their inventory on their books. Market estimates suggest 300 tonnes of gold jewellery have been moved on to jewellers’ books in the last four months. This is 40 per cent of India’s annual gold imports.

Tax evasion was a