Will gold become cheaper in the budget? Last time the government reduced the tax.

The price of gold has once again crossed Rs 80,000 per 10 grams in the country. In July, when the government presented the full budget for the financial year 2024-25, the import duty on gold was reduced. Its benefit was seen in the market and the price of gold went down significantly from Rs 80,000. In such a situation, will Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman insist on bringing down the price of gold in the Budget 2025 to be presented on February 1, so that the common man can buy it again.
The country's jewelery and bullion dealers want the country's finance minister to focus on bringing down gold prices. According to ET's report, the government can create a mechanism for buying gold on EMI for this. Not only this, the need for a single regulator to standardize the gold business is also being felt among experts.
There should be a single gold regulator in the country
At present, gold is traded in different ways. This includes gold ETFs, digital gold and physical gold. Therefore, these are regulated by different regulators. These include Securities Regulatory Board of India (SEBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). Apart from this, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry also monitor the gold business.
Therefore, experts believe that there should be a single regulator to regulate the gold business. This will make it easier to fix the prices of gold. Establishing a standard will also bring uniformity in gold prices across the country.
Tax should be reduced to improve margins
If we look at the refiners who deal in gold jewellery and physical gold, they have been working on a margin of just 0.65 percent for the last several years. Prithviraj Kothari, president of IBJA, the largest organization of bullion and jewelers in the country, says that to improve this margin, the government should reduce the import duty on raw gold. This will also bring down the overall prices of gold.
Apart from this, there is also a need for skilled labour to make gold jewellery in the country. Therefore, the government should also focus on their skill development. This is also what industry veterans say. India is one of the largest gold importers in the world. India's gold import is increasing every year.