Sovereign Gold Bonds

 

Sovereign Gold bonds are issued by RBI on behalf of Govt. of India. They are issued during a certain time window periodically. Below are the features of these bonds:

Advantages of investing in Sovereign Gold bonds?

  1. Demat format - no security worries / no locker charges
  2. 100% safe & guaranteed
  3. Discount of 50/- per gm (Current Issue Price: 6,213/- per gm)
  4. 100% Tax-free on maturity (8 years)
  5. Extra 2.50% p.a. as interest (payable half-yearly) 

What is the tenure of these bonds?

8 years; But there is an exit option after 5 years. 

What is the minimum & maximum amount that can be invested?

Minimum: 1 gm

Maximum: 4 kg per person per financial year

Taxability aspects

  • Held till Maturity: Tax-Free
  • Exit after 5 years before maturity: Capital Gains tax @ 20% post indexation
  • Interest payable half-yearly: Taxable as per your slab rate

Final Words:

If you are looking for investment in Gold as a long-term accumulation for say marriage, etc. then you may consider to invest in these bonds. It is certainly a better replacement for physical gold. But if you are looking at tactical buying / selling to book quick profits or looking for short-term rise in gold value, then these bonds can be given a miss. Also it is better to limit the gold exposure to about 5-10% of your total portfolio too…