Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme

The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme was launched by Ministry of Finance in November 2015 to curb the import of Gold from other countries thus controlling Current Account Deficit. The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme encourages people to buy paper bond as an alternative to investment in physical Gold. The Sovereign Gold Bond are issued by RBI in denomination of one grams.



Read summary and important points related to Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme.

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme

1) Sales Channels:

i.    banks,
ii.   Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL),
iii. designated post offices and
iv. recognised stock exchanges viz., National Stock Exchange of India Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange.

2) Issuance :

Issued by Reserve Bank India on behalf of the Government of India.


3) Eligibility:

The Bonds will be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities including:
  • Individuals,
  • Hindu Undivided Families (HUF),
  • Trusts, Universities and Charitable Institutions.


4) Denomination:

In multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram.


5) Tenor:

The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option from 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.


6) Minimum permissible investment: will be 1 gram of gold.


7) Maximum limit of investment per fiscal year:

  • Individuals : 4kg,
  • Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) : 4kg,
  • Trusts : 20kg


Ceiling on investment doesn't include the holdings as collateral by Banks and Financial institutions.


8) Issue price :

Price of Bond will be fixed in Indian Rupees on the basis of simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Limited for the week (Monday to Friday) preceding the subscription period.

The issue price of the Gold Bonds will be 50 per gram less than the nominal value.



9) Payment option:

Payment for the Bonds will be through cash payment (upto a maximum of Rs. 20,000) or demand draft or cheque or electronic banking.



10) Issuance form:

The Gold Bonds will be issued as Government of India Stocks under GS Act, 2006. The investors will be issued a Holding Certificate for the same. The Bonds are eligible for conversion into demat form.


11) Redemption price:

The redemption price will be in Indian Rupees based on previous week’s (Monday-Friday) simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by IBJA.


12) Interest rate:

The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.50% per annum payable semi-annually on the nominal value.


13) Collateral:

Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time.


14) Tax treatment:
The interest on Gold Bonds shall be taxable as per the provision of Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961). The capital gains tax arising on redemption of SGB to an individual has been exempted. The indexation benefits will be provided to long term capital gains arising to any person on transfer of bond


15) Tradability:

Bonds will be tradable on stock exchanges within a fortnight of the issuance on a date as notified by the RBI.


16) SLR eligibility:

The Bonds will be eligible for Statutory Liquidity Ratio purposes.


17) Commission:

Commission for distribution of the bond shall be paid at the rate of 1% of the total subscription received  by  the  receiving offices and receiving offices shall share at least 50% of the commission so received with the agents or sub agents for the business procured through them.


Launched by : Ministry of Finance on 5th Nov, 2015


Advantages of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme:

1) Helps to reduce the import of gold from other countries to meet the domestic demand,

2) Control current account deficit by reducing demand for physical gold,

3) Gold available in demat or physical paper format with fixed interest rate equivalent to ongoing market rate,

4) Acts as alternate investment for physical gold,

5) It frees investor from the risks and cost of storage,

6) Free from purity issues and making charges.


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