CHENNAI: Indians are fascinated with gold, and during festive season, the love for the yellow metal takes centre stage for many.
The pandemic has also not acted as a deterrent against gold investors, and industry experts say that many jewelers have begun breaching their pre-Covid sales figures.
If you are also planning to buy gold during the festive season, experts say there are few things you should keep in mind.
Purity—It is always better to buy hallmarked and BIS certified jewellery which indicates the purity of gold. Gold that does not carry certification may not be a good deal.
Making charges and other charges—Whenever you buy jewellery, you have to pay for making charges or wastage along with the gold. Making charges is usually a percentage of the current gold price. Hence, experts advise you to choose classic and simple pieces, since these charges would be higher for intricate and complicated designs.
Transparency—To ensure transparency in your purchase always ask for a bill with all transaction details as it makes it easier for you to approach authorities in case of any discrepancy.
Check buyback terms—Most jewellers offer the option of buyback, wherein one can exchange their old jewellery set for a new one. Always check the buyback terms properly since there are chances that you may get bored of piece and may want to change it after a few years have gone by.
Another important thing if you are buying gold exclusively for the purpose of investment, you may go for paper gold options such as gold mutual funds, gold exchange traded funds (ETF), or sovereign gold bonds(SGB). In SGBs, you can get an annual interest of 2.5 per cent on the total invested capital.
They are also more tax efficient, since capital gains are tax-exempt if they are held for eight years.