Sovereign Gold Bonds

Highlights of the scheme:

Eligibility: Resident Individuals, HUFs, trusts, universities, charitable institutions, etc

Application Date: January 18 to 22, 2016

Bonds Issue Date: February 8, 2016

Price of each Bond: Rs 2,600 per bond [Weekly average price of closing price of gold of 999 purity as per India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd]. The first tranche was issued in November 2015 at Rs 2,684 per gram.

Interest Rate: 2.75% per annum payable semi-annually in the bank account

Minimum Investment Limit: 2 bonds

Maximum Investment Limit: 500 bonds per person per financial year

Tenure: 8 year [early exit possible from 5th year on wards interest payment dates]

Where to buy? Banks, Designated Post Offices and Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd. (directly or through agents)

 Application Form: You can download the form from RBI website or from respective banks. Also some banks might have option for online application.

KYC Documents: Voter ID, Aadhaar card/PAN or TAN /Passport i.e same as for purchase of physical gold

Payment Mode: Demand Draft, Cheque or Electronic Payment. Cash payment can only be done up to Rs 20,000.

Joint Holding: Possible (the maximum limit applies to first holder only)

Investment in the name of Minor is possible to be made by his/her guardian

Redemption Pricing: Based on previous week average price of closing price of gold of 999 purity as per India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd

Loan: bonds are allowed as collateral. The loan to value can be same as in case of physical gold

Listing: The bonds would be listed on stock exchange and can be sold/bought though demat account

Taxation of Sovereign Gold Bond:

There are two parts to taxation:

1. The interest received is added to the income and taxed at the marginal tax slab.
2. On redemption of the bond any gains would be considered as capital gains as in case of physical gold and taxed accordingly. If the bonds are sold with in 3 years of purchase its short term capital gains and is taxed at marginal tax rate. In case the sale is after 3 years its long term capital gains and is taxed at 20%, with indexation benefit

For more details:
http://apnaplan.com/sovereign-gold-bond-jan2016/#

Five Signs of Purity for Gold Jewellery

1.BIS Standard Mark
2.Purity Grade
3.Assaying and Hallmarking Center’s mark
4.Year of Marking
5.Jewellers’ Identification Mark

http://apnaplan.com/five-signs-of-purity-for-gold-jewellery/     

National Pension Scheme

Budget 2015 provided for additional exemption of Rs 50,000 for investing in NPS (National Pension Scheme) Tier 1 account u/s 80CCD(1B).

NPS account can be opened by anyone with age between 18 to 60 years. Even NRIs are eligible to open NPS accounts. NRIs can invest through normal banking channels or out of funds held in their NRE/FCNR/NRO account.

For Details: http://apnaplan.com/open-nps-account/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ApnaPlan+%28Apna+Plan%29#

 

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme – Salient Features

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme – an investment scheme where investors could buy gold in the form of Gold Bonds from Government of India. 

The bonds would be denominated in grams of gold and can be bought by paying in rupees.

The bond will have denominations of 5, 10, 50, 100 grams of gold.

The bonds will be backed by Government of India against default

Only resident Indians would be able to invest. NRI would not be eligible to invest.

The bonds would be distributed/sold by Banks, Post Offices, NBFCs and other intermediaries.

RBI (Reserve Bank of India) would issue these bonds on behalf of Government of India.

http://apnaplan.com/gold-bond-scheme/

Highest Interest Rate on Recurring Deposits (RD) – January 2016

Recurring deposits (RD) with banks are one of the most popular investment options for people with regular income. RD enables to deposit fixed amount every month for a pre-defined period which earns interest similar to Fixed Deposits (FD).

All about Recurring Deposits:

• Most banks offer RDs for tenure of 6 months to 10 Years
• The tenure of RD can be in multiple of 3 months
• The amount of installment and number of installment cannot be changed after opening of the account
• The interest on RD compounds quarterly
• In most cases the interest rate on RD is similar to Fixed Deposits offered by Banks for similar tenures. However some banks like Bank of India gives 0.5% extra interest rate for RD as compared to FD for similar tenure
• The minimum deposit amount can be as low as Rs 100 per month, though some banks may have higher limit
• There can be penalty for missing even one installment.
• In case you miss multiple installments the RD can be closed and amount returned to you
• Most banks offer Loan/Overdraft against the amount available in Recurring Deposit. The interest is generally 0.5% to 1% more than that offered to RD.
• There are penalty clauses for pre-mature withdrawal similar to Fixed Deposits

Recurring Deposit Interest Rates:

Following are the highest Interest rates on Recurring Deposits based on duration:

1. For RD duration of 1 Year The Ratnakar Bank & Bandhan Bank offers 8.50%
2. For 2 years The Ratnakar Bank offers 9.0% and Bandhan Bank offers 8.50%
3. For 3 to 4 Years the best offer is by The Ratnakar Bank offering 8.75% interest rate
4. For 5+ Years RD duration the best interest is offered at 8.75% by The Ratnakar Bank and 8.05% by Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd
5. The Post Office offers 5 Year Recurring Deposit Scheme offering 8.4% interest rate.

Disclaimer: The Recurring Deposit Interest Rates keep on changing. You are advised to check the interest rates with banks before making your RD.

http://apnaplan.com/highest-interest-rate-on-recurring-deposits-rd/

7.74% IREDA Tax Free Bond – January 2016

Salient Features: IREDA Tax Free Bonds 2016

• Offer Period: January 8 to 22, 2016 (the offer can be pre-closed on full subscription)
• Annual Interest Rates for Retail Investors: 7.53% for 10 Years; 7.74% for 15 Years and 7.68% for 20 Years
• The interest rates are 0.25% less for HNIs, QIBs and corporate subscribers.
• 40% of issue is reserved for Retail Investors
• Price of each bond: Rs 1,000
• Minimum Investment: 5 Bonds (Rs 5,000)
• Max Investment Limit for Retail Investor: Rs 10 Lakhs
• Date of first Interest Payment: To be updated
• Can be applied both in Physical and Demat Form
• Allotment: First Come First Serve
• Listing: Bonds would be listed on BSE and will entail capital gains tax on exit through secondary market
• Tax/TDS: As these are tax Free Bonds so no tax is to be paid and there is no TDS on interest

 Tax Free Bonds are suited for people in the tax bracket of 20% or higher who are looking for regular and safe income.

In case you do not want regular income you should first exhaust your Rs 1.5 lakhs PPF limit where the returns are 8.7% and tax free. Salaried employees should opt for VPF before looking at tax free bonds. Both the above options have higher returns, tax free and partial exit options after 5/6 years.

For detail :http://apnaplan.com/ireda-tax-free-bond-jan-2016/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ApnaPlan+%28Apna+Plan%29#