New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India on June 19, announced the launch of Sovereign Gold Bond 2023-24 Series I. Opened for five days the government securities which are denominated in grams of gold will be available till June 23.

Where to go for investing?

The bonds which are issued by the RBI on behalf of the government, can be issued by visiting designated post offices, the issuing banks and the agents who will provide an application form.

With this, the form is also made available on the RBI’s website, whereas, banks are also offering online application services.

The issue price

SGBs are usually equated in terms of the price of one gram of gold. The bonds will be issued to investors at Rs 5,926 per bond. But amidst issuing there is a catch for a discount of Rs 50 for investors applying and choosing to pay through digital modes; then in such cases, the issue price will be Rs 5,876.

Interest rates on SGBs will be at 2.5 per cent, payable half-yearly.

Tenor

These SGBs have an eight-year tenor with listing on stock exchanges. Bonds can be transacted in SGBs on the exchanges, being redeemable with the RBI after five years.

Purpose

Being tax-efficient bonds, which means that they are exempted from tax collected through capital gains if held until maturity, these bonds also offer the purpose of being used as loan collateral. However, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio must be determined at the standard golf loan requirement imposed by the RBI from time to time.

How much can be issued?

For individuals along with HUF, the maximum amount for subscription is 4 KG, whereas, it is 20 KG for trusts and other entities like it every fiscal (April-March), as and when announced by the Government.

Market experts say that even if these bonds are saleable on the exchanges, one must ideally invest with a view of holding them until maturity.

SGBs applied for under Sovereign Gold Bond 2023-2024 Series I will be issued on June 27.