Today’s Gold Rate in Kolkata

Gold rates tend to vary from state and state and following could be the reason behind this variation:

Transportation cost: Transportation cost plays a very important role in determining the final gold price in that particular state. Physical movement of gold from one to another requires suitable security arrangement and this further adds up to the price of gold rate in Kolkata.

Bullion Association: Different states have different bullion associations that determine the gold price. 

Before the implementation of GST, one had to pay 1% as Excise duty, 1.2% VAT (varies with state) along with 10% custom duty on the price of gold. With the introduction of the GST on July 2017, VAT and Excise Duty have been replaced by 3% GST. Additional 5% GST will be levied on the making charges of the jewellery.  The custom duty was 10% even after the introduction of GST but later it was changed to 12.5%. For better understanding about how GST on gold have impacted the prices of gold in Kolkata, look at the table below:

Gold prices are influenced by a number of different economic, social and political factors. This is why one cannot point fluctuation in gold rate in Kolkata to one single event. Despite this, listed below are some of the factors that affect the price of gold in Kolkata and they are:

• Interest Rates: Overall, the gold rate in Kolkata and even across the world is dependent on the interest rates. There is a negative correlation with gold and interest rates. When interest rates increase, the investors flock to fixed-income investments that generate a fixed return unlike gold which doesn’t carry any such return and vice-versa.
• Rupee-dollar equation: International gold prices are set in dollars and under normal circumstances, gold and dollar share an inverse relationship. If the dollar weakens, the gold prices will increase and vice versa. It is mainly because when the US dollar starts to lose its value, investors look for alternative investment sources.
• Inflation: When inflation index rises, the value of the currency depreciates relative to gold. During those times, having money in the form of gold becomes a tool to hedge against inflationary conditions. This pushes up the demand for gold which usually impacts the gold rate in Kolkata.
• Geo-political tension: Gold usually does well during geopolitical turmoil. The most recent being the Coronavirus outbreak (which is expected to cause prices to move upwards, US-Iran tension and US-China trade war to name few. Gold is seen as a safe haven and during political uncertainty people start to park their funds in gold that assures safety.

It is a widely accepted fact that investment in gold will generate returns if kept for a long term. Listed below are some of the options through which you can invest in gold:

Gold Coins: Gold coins can be your best bet if you are just getting started with the investment in gold. Available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams, one can buy gold coins through online, Jeweller or through MMTC outlets. If you buy gold coins from MMTC-PAMP, you can later sell your coins to them also as they offer a buyback policy. All gold coins sold in India are certified as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Hallmark. This implies that when you buy gold coins, you will get 24 carat with 99.9 % purity.

Gold Monetisation Scheme: This scheme is a modified new version of Gold Deposit Scheme. It is intended to mobilise gold held by households and institutions of the country and facilitate its use for productive purposes. One can deposit gold under this scheme with designated banks and earn interest decided by the central government and notified by the RBI from time to time. The customer can make the deposits either short term (1-3 years), medium term (5-7 years) and long term (12-15). The minimum lock in period for medium and long term deposits are 3 and 5 years respectively.

Sovereign Gold Bonds: Issued by the Reserve Bank of India, it is one way to own gold in the paper form. They are sold through banks and designated post offices. The investment limit is minimum 1 gram and maximum up to 4 kg for individuals. The tenor of the bonds is 8 years with the exit option after the 5th year. By investing in this scheme, one can earn an assured rate of interest (2.5% currently) along with gold price prevailing at the time of selling.

Gold ETF: Also known as paper gold, it is similar to buying an equivalent sum of physical gold but minus the hassle of storing and making charges which physical gold comes with. They are listed and traded on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). One has an option to either trade through mutual fund houses such as SBI, HDFC, Reliance, etc. or can get started with online portals such as Paisabazaar and ET money, etc. where it is not prerequisite to have a demat account.

Digital Gold: One of the easy ways to get started with investment in gold in Kolkata is through digital gold. Various recognised platforms such as Paytm, Freecharge and

Me-Gold allows investors to purchase gold from as low as Rs.1 and value of gold prevailing at that time will be deposited in your account.

There are certain things you should know before you are out buying gold/gold jewellery:

• Before buying gold jewellery, make sure you know the value of gold per gram that helps you to calculate the cost of gold at the time of billing
• Always buy BIS hallmarked items as it will help you get better resale value at the time of selling
• If you are purchasing gold jewellery online, make sure you get a Hallmark certificate as it gives you an accurate and official recording of total gold in your gold jewellery.
• Gold coins come in tamper-proof packaging. If you are planning to sell it,  it is recommended not to open or the packaging and keep the original invoice at the time of selling
• Don’t forget to collect your bill and ensure that the bill mentions important details about the gold jewellery such as karat, weight, and price per gram
• Check buy-back terms from the seller if you want to exchange it latter

Whether you are buying gold from a shop or through an online platform, it is important to check whether the gold you have purchased is pure or not. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), government body, certifies the purity of gold and this process is called hallmarking. It ensures that the gold used for making jewellery adheres to the international standards of purity. As per the website of BIS, the following are the components that one needs to look on the hallmarked gold jewellery/ gold coins to ensure the purity of gold. One should know that these details are engraved on the hallmark gold.

For Gold Jewellery,

1.   BIS Mark
2.   Purity in Karat and fineness- It is classified as
   • 958-23 Carat
   • 916-22 Carat
   • 750-18 Carat
   • 585-14 Carat
3.   Assaying and Hallmarking Centre’s Identification mark/number
4.   Jeweller’s Identification mark/number

Before 2017, year of marking denoted by a code letter was also there but now one needs to look only the aforementioned components on the gold jewellery

In case of gold coins, there are two ways to measure the purity of gold coins:

• BIS Mark
• Karat
• Fineness

Note: From 15 Jan 2021, it will be mandatory for jewellers to sell only 14 carat, 18 carat, 22 carat hallmarked jewellery.

In case of financial emergency, one can use gold jewellery as a collateral to get loan against jewellery in Kolkata.  One needs to approach the bank and based on the purity and weight of the gold jewellery, they will decide the amount of loan that can be sanctioned. In return, the borrower needs to pay the interest on gold. Until the loan amount is repaid, the bank will keep the deposited gold in a vault.