Tax raids on jewellery shops across Kerala have unearthed tax suppression worth ₹70 crore, the State Goods and Services Tax department said on Saturday.

The raids begun at 3 p.m. on July 30 and continued till the morning hours of July 31. So far, a fine of ₹2.87 crore has been collected as part of the raids titled ‘Operation Aurum.’

The inspections were conducted in establishments that specialised in purchasing and trading old ornaments and converting them into gold bars and new ornaments.

The raids were carried out by the intelligence wing of the department across 79 locations including 37 jewellery showrooms, branches and residences. State GST officials said that the scrutiny of transactions for the previous years is expected to provide details of more tax evasion.

The simultaneous raids across multiple locations were the result of careful planning over the past few months, the commission, State GST department, said. ‘Aurum’ means gold in Latin. The chemical symbol for gold, ‘Au,’ originates from this word.

The department also urged customers to demand bills when making purchases to make sure that the GST amount collected by the traders reaches the government.

Published - August 01, 2026 05:13 pm IST