Today’s Gold Rate in Varanasi

With the implementation of GST on gold, customers would be required to pay 3% tax on gold. In addition, an additional 8% tax on the making charges and 10% of the import duty.

Gold tends to benefit during economic uncertainty and geo political tensions as it is often seen as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation. Gold as a safe haven has gained grip as currencies are being devalued by massive stimulus programmes and lower interests.

Amid the nationwide lockdown in India and other parts of the world to curb COVID-19 spread , stock markets remain subdued which has resulted in the demand for gold and gold prices in Varanasi to increase. Analysts believe uncertainty in other asset classes and further economic concerns due to Coronavirus, gold futures are more likely to surge further.

• Sovereign Gold Bonds: Issued by RBI and backed by sovereign guarantee, Sovereign Gold Bonds is the most convenient way to own gold in paper form. Their prices are linked to the price of 24K 0.999 fineness gold published by the Indian bullion and Jewellers Association limited for the preceding 3 working days.
  Moreover, you will get fixed 2.50% interest on initial investment which is payable every six months.One can buy SGBs from designated banks and post offices after completing the KYC. The value of one bond will represent the price of 1 gm of gold. The minimum one can invest is 1 gm and maximum up to 4Kg in a financial year.  It comes with tenure of eight years with an exit option available from the 5th year.
• Gold ETFs (Exchange traded funds): Another way to own gold in paper form, investors receive units in an electronic form representing physical gold when they invest in Gold ETF. These funds invest in physical gold of 99.5 % purity sourced directly from the RBI approved banks and rest in debt instruments. Just like SGBs, One gold ETF unit represents 1 gram of gold on paper. However, one should know that a Demat account is a prerequisite to buy/sell Gold ETFs.
• Gold Accumulation plans/E-gold/Digital gold: Powered by MMTC-PAMP and Safegold, they allow investors to accumulate gold through the wallets of mobile applications they have partnered up with. Paytm, Freecharge, Gpay, Freecharge, to name a few of the platforms one can transact through and accumulate gold in their wallet.
  The gold you buy will be secured in physical form with MMTC-PAMP/ Safegold until you redeem/ sell back or till 5 years from the date of purchase.To buy digital gold, customers first need to register on any of the platforms and complete their KYC requirements. After that, one can buy gold worth Rs 1 or 0.1 grams and above and said quantity of gold will get credited into your wallet.

Certain points to know gold investment are listed below:

1. Sovereign Gold Bonds
   • Not available ‘on-tap’ basis but are notified by the government from time to time
   • Customer will get discount of Rs.50/gram provide s/he buy these bonds online
   • These bonds are exempt from capital gains tax if held till maturity that is 8 years
2. Gold ETFs (Exchange traded funds)
   • Since ETF units are held in demat form, it does come with demat charges and total expense ratio.
   • If you sell them after 3 years of holding, capital gain will be taxed at 20 % after providing indexation benefit. If you sell them before that, capital gain will be taxed at the applicable slab  rate.
3. Digital gold
   • While redeeming accumulated gold into physical gold, one has to pay making charges based on the weight and design of the coin along with delivery charges
   • Digital gold doesn’t assure any interest or return
   • Minors are not eligible to buy and sell digital gold

It is important to check whether the physical gold you have purchased is of the purity claimed by the retailer or not. The only way to ensure you are not being cheated while purchasing physical gold is to buy one with a hallmark sign. In India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is a government body which certifies the purity of gold and this process is called hallmarking.

Hallmarking ensures that the gold being used adheres to the international standards of purity.  Listed below are the components which one needs to look on the hallmarked gold to ensure you are getting the purity, net weight as written on the tag:

1. BIS mark
2. Purity in karat and fineness
   

   Karat	Fineness
   22 karat	22K916
   18 karat	18K750
   14 karat	14K585

3. Assaying and hallmarking center’s Identification mark/number
4. Jeweller’s Identification mark/number

Note: Currently, hallmarking in India is optional but from 15th January 2021, any jeweller/ retailer selling gold jewellery can only sell 14K, 18K, 22K karat if it is hallmarked.

Gold can easily be used as collateral for you to get a loan in Varanasi. Being a secured loan, customers need to approach the bank/ or other financial institution offering a gold loan with the gold they are ready to pledge. Based on the net weight of gold in gold ornaments, purity, loan requirement, loan amount will be sanctioned to the customer.

In return, s/he needs to pay EMI monthly/quarterly or either lump sum payment at the end of the tenor, depending upon the repayment mode chosen at the time of availing loan. Until then, your deposited gold will be kept in the secured locker of the bank.

If you are taking gold loan money lenders, make sure they have a license and do receive the acknowledge receipt after you have deposited gold with them.