A recent report by World Gold Council (WGC) revealed that India bought 191.7 tonnes of gold worth Rs 85,010 crore in Q3 2022 and also defied the international gold investment trend by posting a positive gold investment figure.
India’s demand for gold for Q3 2022 was up by 14 per cent at 191.7 tonnes. In Q3 2021, the demand was 168 tonnes.
But this also leads to another question. How much gold one can keep at home?
What The Law Says
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT ) had earlier issued instructions directing its officials not to seize any gold ornaments and jewellery up to a certain limit from individuals based on their gender, marital status, and relationship as a family member of the person being subject to the tax raid.
Technically, there is no limit up to which one can own gold jewellery or ornaments in India.
However, married women In India can keep up to 500 grams of gold jewellery and ornaments, without any proof, according to an income tax notification dated May 11, 1994. For unmarried women, the maximum amount of physical gold they can keep at home is 250 grams. Men are only allowed to keep up to 100 grams irrespective of their marital status.
Anything kept beyond these limits without required income proof, will be subject to investigation and possible seizure.
That said, gold coins and bars can be seized even if they fall within the specified limit if there is no necessary documents to prove their acquisition, according to Chartered Club, a tax related information platform.
Says Manish P. Hingar, CEO and founder at Fintoo, a financial services company: “Your income tax return (ITR) should reflect the amount of gold that you are holding and should be supported by the source and amount of income declared by you as a taxpayer in your ITR. If not, the gold could be seized, and an assessing officer may charge you with a penalty for the underreported income.”
Is It A Good Idea To Keep Gold At Home?
According to investment experts, it is not a good idea to keep physical gold at home owing to safety concerns and the risk of theft.
“It’s best to keep only the bare minimum jewellery which you would use regularly. Rest should be kept in your bank locker,” says Hingar.
Rajesh Shet, CEO and CoFounder of SahiBandhu, a gold loan platform says he noticed a new trend lately where people are more eager to take out gold loans against their gold assets in order to turn their dreams into reality.
“People are using their gold that was sitting unused in their homes, because a gold loan is one of the simplest, safest and quickest ways to raise funds,” he says.
Idle sitting gold is not of any use to the customer, except for use on special occasions as ornaments.
“Keeping gold at home or a bank locker is similar to investing in an apartment but not putting it up on rent,” says Deepak Singhal, SVP – business, Rupeek, a digital gold-backed loan provider.
