Gold Glitters More At Kerala Airport

Karipur airport near here has stolen a march over busier airports in the country by recording the maximum gold import by NRIs.

About 370 tonnes of gold has been imported through the airport in the six years of its existence. Consequently, Karipur is the airport contributing the highest revenue to the national exchequer by way of gold imports.

Customs duty totalling about Rs 8.14 billion was collected during the six-year period. With the gold inflow though the airport touching 94 tonnes in 1997-98 so far, an all-time record, the yearly import is poised to touch the 100 tonnes mark by the year-end.

 

Ever since the airport was opened on February 14, 1992, gold import showed a steady rise year by year. In 1992-93, 14 tonnes of gold was imported. The figure rose to 30 in 1993-94, 60 in 1994-95, 67 in 1995-96, 84 in 1996-97 and 94 till February 13, 1998.

The total gold arrival in Karipur from 1993-94 till February 98 comes to 349 tonnes as against 283 tonnes in Mumbai during the same period. The year-wise gold import through the Mumbai airport during the period: 44 tonnes in 1993-94, 38 tonnes in 1994-95, three in 1995-96, 88 in 1996-97, and 110 till February 1997-98.

Karipurs is an amazing feat considering that the airport operates just four international flights a day as against Mumbais 40. The flow of gold through the Thiruvananthapuram airport during these years was round three tonnes, except in 1993-94 when it touched 10.37 tonnes.

When the gold import policy was first liberalised in 1992, NRIs were allowed to bring home five kg of gold each once every six months. The policy was further liberalised early last year and the ceiling was raised to 10 kg. The import duty, however, remained unchanged at Rs. 200 (five dollars) per 10 grams of gold.

The legally brought in gold swiftly change hands through agents waiting outside Karipur airport and no one knows where the gold biscuits disappear. Only five to ten per cent of the imported gold is consumed by the local market. Nobody knows where and how the rest vanishes, according to local bullion market sources.

It is generally believed that the gold is quickly removed to neighbouring states. If the yellow metal was used locally, the streets of Karipur could have been paved with gold. Almost 90 per cent of the gold is imported from Sharjah.

Airport authorities say that most of the passengers who bring gold are couriers who themselves are drawn from the expatriate labour force in the Gulf. They get a two-way flight ticket and a nominal amount as pocket money. Their job is done once they hand over the gold to the agents waiting outside the airport.

There is also a currency smuggling racket on here. Officials say that the foreign currency being smuggled out from Karipur is meant to buy gold and to meet the import duty being paid by the couriers, since the duty has to be paid in a foreign currency.

The gold flow, though legal, has given rise to a rash of crimes, besides currency smuggling. Several gold carriers have been reportedly waylaid and robbed. Some cases of carriers themselves arranging to get robbed with a view to hoodwinking financiers have also been reported. In effect, the legal import too has underworld trappings.

The steady flow of the yellow metal despite its drop in price and the government decision to allow certain banks and other agencies to import the metal is baffling. Maybe the market for the yellow metal is apparently assured for many more years, given the ordinary Indians seemingly insatiable quest for gold ornaments.

The country imported 453.45 tonnes of gold in 1992, 405.4 tonnes in 1993, 415 tonnes in 1994, 477.2 tonnes in 1995, 507.8 tonnes in 1996 and 535.3 tonnes in three quarters of 1997. The total gold brought into the country since its import was legalised in 1992 totals 2,795 tonnes till December 1997, according to latest available official figures.