New Delhi: In order to further incentivise the Gold Schemes introduced by the government earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, as part of his budget announcements, announced the waiver of various taxes relating to the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme and the Gold Monetization Scheme, 2015.

For one, the redemption of bonds procured under the Sovereign Gold Bond scheme by an individual will be exempt from capital gains tax. Deposit certificates issued under the Gold Monetization Scheme, 2015 will also not be subject to a capital gains tax. However, the timing for the implementation of both is different. The waiver on capital gains tax with reference to the Sovereign Gold Bond scheme will be effective post April 2017; while the exemption with regards to the Gold Monetization Scheme will be applicable from April 1, 2016. Where the latter is concerned, deposit certificates issued under the scheme, Jaitley said, will not be classified as capital assets.

The aim of the Government in doing so is to extend to the Gold Monetization Scheme 2015 the same benefits as were available under the Gold Deposit Scheme of 1999. Further, the FM announced that The Income Tax Act would also be amended to make interest earned on deposit certificates under the Gold Monetization Scheme 2015 exempt from Income Tax.