Traders under the aegis of Bombay Bullion Association have vowed to clean up the mess and restore the good name of the bullion trade that has been built over centuries. President of BBA, Mohit Kamboj said that the Income-Tax officials were doing the right thing by conducting raids at a few big bullion traders’ prem-ises, specifically noting the ongoing raid against Riddhi Siddhi Bullions Ltd. The association has also urged the government to ban gold import by private players in line with the recent restrictions imposed on banks.
Mr Kamboj said, “The entire bullion trader fraternity got maligned due to the work of few bullion dealers and hence, the BBA has vowed to clean up the trade and restore its past glory,” adding, “This clean-up operation by the government will create a healthy market for genuine bullion traders and jewellers, which will ultimately benefit all customers. It will also reduce smuggling that will in the long run, reduce the growing current account deficit.”
Mr Kamboj has also written a letter to FM P. Chidambaram. “Indian public and private sector banks have lent around `3,00,000 crore to bullion dealers, jewellery manufacturers and retailers. If common people would not buy gold, then servicing this debt would be a problem,” he said.