Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme FY19:
- The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme FY19 retains the incentives offered in the earlier tranche—of 2.5% interest rate and capital gains tax exemption on redemption.
- Sovereign gold bonds will be sold every month from October 2018 to February 2019 through banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd, designated post offices, and recognized stock exchanges, a finance ministry statement said.
- The tenor of the bond will be for a period of eight years with exit option in the fifth, sixth and seventh year.
- Payment for the bonds can be made through demand draft, cheque and electronic banking, while cash payment is allowed up to a maximum of ₹ 20,000.
- Comment:
- Since their introduction in late 2015, the gold bonds were never issued with such high frequency. The last tranche of such bonds was issued only in April.
- The government has decided to promote gold bond scheme, conscious of the fact that that hiking the customs duty on gold from the current 10 per cent to trim imports also raises risks of smuggling.
