Govt reviews November gold import data, error suspected

NEW DELHI: The commerce department and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs are reviewing the gold import numbers for Nov, amid concerns that some error may have crept in to push up the overall figure.

Latest data released by the commerce department earlier this week pegged gold imports at $14.9 billion, an over four-fold jump from $3.5 billion reported a year ago. As a result, total imports soared to a record $37.9 billion, while the trade deficit widened to an all-time high of almost $70 billion.

The problem seems to be the way of data release by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), which is part of the commerce department.

"On noticing unusual surge, DGCIS has taken up detailed examination of the gold import data and reconciliation would be done with the data received by CBIC," a source in the department said.

CBIC is also looking at the numbers. A senior govt official explained that the indirect taxes wing of the revenue department shares the overall data from ports. Where DGCIS seems to have made an error in the way it has interpreted movement from warehouses in special economic zones to the domestic tariff area, which could have resulted in some double counting, the officer said. The extent of double counting is, however, unclear at the moment, officials said.

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