The electoral law requires people to present valid documents when transporting more than 50,000 rupees ($ 722) in cash, otherwise valuables may be seized. This rule is detrimental to the jewelry industry, especially in rural areas where more than half of gold is bought with cash.
India's Election Commission has seized $ 365 million in cash, gold bars, alcohol, drugs and other goods in the past month as of April 14, more than double the $ 172 million confiscated value seized during the last election cycle in 2014.
The decline in smuggling has led to an increase in gold imports in the banks of the country - the second largest buyer of the precious metal in the world.
This week, even in the cash market, gold was sold at market prices, says Ashok Jain, owner of the Mumbai wholesale gold store Chenji Narsingji.
Gold smuggling in India has risen after the government raised the import duty to 10 percent in August 2013.
According to the World Gold Council, up to 95 tons of gold was smuggled into India in 2018, although the Indian Association of Gold Refineries and Mints and other industry bodies consider this figure to be almost half as low.
