BENGALURU: Buying gold on Akshaya Tritiya (April 18) is considered auspicious. But this time, high-value gold purchases will be monitored by the
Election Commission as there’s a strong suspicion that candidates will use the occasion to hand out gold pendants, nose rings, earrings and other ornaments as freebies to voters.
There are rumours of a city politician purchasing golden nose pins/ rings worth Rs 60 lakh and weighing about 2kg. Sources in the Election Commission said they have heard of some candidates and their supporters distributing gold items to women. Aspiring candidates are reportedly making bulk purchases of gold and silver through their supporters. Politicians also want to cash in on the belief that purchasing the precious metal, be it even a gram, on this auspicious day, will bring prosperity.
Gold purchases under scanner
Bengaluru district election officer N Manjunath Prasad said they’re keeping a close watch on gold and jewellery purchases. “We’ve had meetings with commercial tax sleuths who are keeping a tab on jewellery purchases through various modes. Any abnormal transaction, including bulk purchase of a particular item, will be questioned. However, people needn’t worry about buying gold or silver for Akshaya Tritiya as long as the transactions are genuine,” he added.
Akshaya Tritiya was observed for two days last year as per the Hindu calendar and jewellers recorded good sales. Flying squads of the EC have so far seized around 7kg gold jewellery worth Rs 1.7 crore and silver worth Rs 11lakh which were being transported without proper documentation.
Bengaluru Jewellers’ Association president YS Ravikumar said all their members are aware of the model code of conduct. “Even otherwise, GST compliance has brought in a lot of transparency and traders indulging in sales without proper billing will incur losses. The limit on cash transactions due to the code of conduct is worrisome for some customers who want to make cash purchases. Despite these restrictions, we hope for business as usual on Akshaya Tritiya.”
