Planning to sell gold for quick cash? Here's why you should not wait till next month

KOLKATA: Getting instant money against sale of your household gold may become tougher from April 1. The government, in its amendment to the finance bill, has reduced the cash limit for sale against gold from Rs 20,000 to Rs 10,000 per person a day, which means that even if one needs money during an emergency, he cannot encash his household gold and get the money on the spot.

If jewellers, or gold traders, raise multiple invoices for buying gold beyond Rs 10,000 in cash from the seller, they will come under the taxman’s lens under the new scheme of things.

"This will affect rural India the most where people are not yet accustomed to bank transfers or online transactions. In urban India, a buyer can transfer money to a seller’s account and the latter can withdraw it," said Saurabh Gadgil, national director, India Bullion & Jewellers Association.

Earlier, when the limit was Rs 20,000, gold traders would buy gold and raise a number of invoices against the purchase if the value exceeded Rs 20,000. With the government keeping a watch on gold trade, it will become difficult to raise multiple invoices. What can happen is that an entire family can come to a jeweller and sell gold individually and take a portion of the value of gold in cash. Even if that happens, the government can keep tabs on the transactions.“Initially, there could be some problems but people will get used to it. It may take some time,” said a Mumbai-based jeweller.