The limit on keeping gold at home was abolished in the 90s. However, in view of the increasing tension between income tax payers and Income Tax Department officials during raids, a circular in this regard was issued in 1994.
Gold Limit At Home: Gold is given great respect in Indian homes. Gold is a symbol of prosperity. Apart from jewellery, it is a good investment option. Nowadays a question is being discussed a lot that is there any limit for keeping gold at home? The simple answer to this is that no, the government has not imposed any limit on keeping gold at home. Recent questions have come to light regarding the incidents of raids conducted by the Income Tax Department.
During the raid, the Income Tax Department used to confiscate all the jewelery etc. found in the house and take it away. Many times the jewelery worn by women was also confiscated. There used to be a lot of problems regarding this and a situation of tension was created between the income tax payer and the tax department.
To solve this problem, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a circular. It was said in this circular that gold will not be seized up to a limit in any raid. According to tax and investment expert Balwant Jain, this limit is as follows – A married woman can have 500 grams of gold, an unmarried woman can have 250 grams of gold and a man can have 100 grams of gold. Even if you do not have documents containing that much gold during the raid, they cannot be confiscated. It is noteworthy that this is only about jewellery. There is no mention of gold biscuits and bricks in the CBDT circular.
Earlier there was a limit
Balwant Jain says that under the Gold Control Act 1968, a limit was imposed on keeping gold in the house but it was abolished in 1990. In 1994, CBDT issued a circular directing its officers not to seize gold jewelery up to the above mentioned limit. This was done to reduce the situation of tension between taxpayers and income tax officials. However, when the income tax payers are asked to appear before the department during the investigation, they will have to show the correct documents related to this much gold.
What about inherited gold?
If a person has inherited gold jewelery from grandparents or ancestors, then the same rule will apply. They will have to show his documents. They will have to provide proof that this jewelery belongs to their ancestors. If the documents are correct then they will not be confiscated. If it is not so, then the Income Tax Department officials can take that gold with them. You can get them released later with the correct documents.
