Tax sleuths raid railway stations, seize smuggled goods

Thiruvananthapuram, June 18 (UNI) Commercial Tax officials today conducted simultaneous raids at all major railway stations in Kerala and seized huge quantity of consumer goods smuggled into the state.

''On an average, Kerala suffers a revenue loss of Rs 200 to 300 crore a year due to tax evasion through Railways,'' State Finance Minister Thomas Issac told newspersons here.

He said in today's raid till 1300 hrs, as many as 3,784 bundles, mostly readymade garments, electronic items, plastic goods and even liquor, without any valid documents had been seized and their total value was estimated at Rs 3.32 crore.

Stating that the Railways was abetting tax evasion by not sticking to guidelines issued by the Kerala High Court on January 20 last year, Mr Issac said the state government was willing to hold talks with Railways to find a solution to this vexed issue.

The government would not allow the Railways to be used as a medium for tax evasion.

''We will even consider approaching the High Court for ensuring that its earlier orders are enforced,'' he added.

He said the Commercial Tax Department should be allowed to operate check posts in railway station premises to curb tax evasion.

UNI