October 25, 2024: In a landmark operation dubbed "Torre del Oro" (Tower of Gold), the intelligence wing of Kerala's GST department has successfully seized 108 kg of unaccounted gold during a series of overnight raids targeting 78 jewellery manufacturing units and wholesale dealers in the Thrissur district.

The operation, which commenced on Wednesday around 4:30 PM and continued until 11 AM Thursday, involved over 700 officials discreetly mobilized from across the state. To maintain the element of surprise, the personnel were disguised as tourists on a pleasure trip.

GST Special Commissioner Renn Abraham reported that the raids spanned a range of businesses, from large enterprises to smaller units. Notably, the owner of one of the firms confessed to a staggering suppressed sales turnover amounting to Rs. 1,200 crore. The investigation will delve into the unaccounted gold stock and sales over the past five years.

While some firms showed unaccounted turnover of less than Rs. 10 crore, others appeared to be compliant, with no significant evasion detected. Abraham emphasized that a comprehensive examination of records from the past five years is necessary to ascertain the full extent of tax evasion, a process that may take weeks or even months to complete.