Jewellers in Bangladesh have revised the prices of gold, three days after hiking it in wake of the proposed budget last week.
In a statement on Monday, Bangladesh Jewellers Samity (Bajus) said that the new prices will be effective from Tuesday (Jun 18).
On Friday (Jun 14), traders increased prices following the budget proposal for FY20 in parliament, which had proposed to cut duty on import of the precious yellow metal.
They had then raised rates of 22-, 21-, and 18-carat gold by Tk1,666 per bhori (11.683 grams) each. However, the rates of traditional method and silver per gram remained unchanged.
After the latest revised on Tuesday, consumers will have to pay the previous rate – per bhori of 18-carat gold at Tk42,807, 21-carat at Tk47,822 and 22-carat at Tk50,155.
The budget for 2019-20 proposes to reduce the specific duty on the import of gold, to facilitate the situation for travellers bringing in gold bars and jewellery through appropriate channels.
According to the budget speech for the 2019-20 fiscal year, a passenger will be able to bring 11.664 gm—one Bhori, or tola—of gold; after paying duty charges proposed at Tk2,000 from existing Tk3,000 for both unwrought, and semi-manufactured gold.
To import gold bars—up to 234gm—the proposed budget reads that the price should drop from Tk3000 to Tk2000.
Furthermore, the association has fixed the price of platinum for the first time, setting the price for 23-carat platinum at Tk64,152 per bhori.
Meanwhile, the government is allowing jewellers and traders to legalize their gold stocks by Jun 30 and has issued a gazette notification in this regard. The traders have to pay Tk1,000 per bhori of gold they want to legalize.
The Gazette also said diamonds may be legalized by paying Tk6,000 per carat, and silver may be legalized by paying Tk50 per bhori.
The National Board of Revenue has offered the scope for the legalization of gold stocks, as it is believed that a large quantity of the precious metal is undeclared for the purposes of tax returns.
Following the government’s offer, traders are organizing a fair for jewellers to legalize the undeclared gold. The three-day fair is scheduled to be held from Jun 23 to 25 at Dhaka’s Hotel InterContinental.
