CBIC issues Guidelines for Sale of Seized or Confiscated Gold

Guidelines for the selling of seized or confiscated gold were released by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

The Board recommended that the Ministry‘s letter F. No. 711/164/93-Cus (AS) dated 08.08.2005 and Circular No. 57/2016-Customs dated 01.12.2016 on disposal of seized/confiscated gold, as well as the Board’s letter F. No. 50711/5/2021-Inv-Customs, dated 22.09.2021, be consulted. The sale of seized/confiscated gold (other than gold ornaments/jewellery) shall be routed through all public sector banks (authorised by RBI to import and sell gold), MMTC Ltd., and STC Ltd., and related procedures for such sale, according to paragraph 11.2 of the Disposal Manual 2019.

With the consent of the competent authority, it has now been decided that seized/confiscated gold will only be sold to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from now on (except from gold ornaments/jewellery/articles). In this regard, the Board has sought advice from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), with whom it has also inked a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU specifies the roles and responsibilities of the CBIC, RBI, and SPMCIL in the collection, transportation, and standardisation of seized/confiscated gold, as well as the delivery and payment of standard gold bars.

The gold that has been seized/confiscated (apart from gold ornaments/jewellery/articles) will only be sold to the RBI. Any mention of gold in the following paragraphs refers to gold that isn’t gold decorations, jewellery, or products. SPMCIL has been hired to collect the gold, transport it, convert it into conventional gold bars, and deliver it to the RBI. The SPMCIL has gold melting facilities at the India Government Mints (IG Mint) in Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai. As a result, the Customs Commissionerates of Hyderabad, West Bengal (P), and Mumbai (General) have been designated as Focal Customs Commissionerates. Based on their location, Customs Commissionerates have been assigned to one of the three mints. In the presence of a Customs Officer, IG Mints will perform activities such as pre-melting, assaying, and weighing.

The Department of Labor must keep accurate records of gold, which will be kept on a physical/electronic ledger. The ledger must include information on HOGS Notes received from Customs Commissionerates, PW and FW Notes received from focal Customs Commissionerates, RBI Delivery Memos, and SPMCIL invoices. The gold handed over by the Customs Commissionerates, the charges payable to SPMCIL, the gold deposited with RBI, the amount credited by RBI to CBIC, the weight adjustment required due to melting and refining, and the balance quantity of gold carried over to the next cycle by SPMCIL should all be clearly stated in these details. As previously stated, SPMCIL must finish the processing of gold acquired from Customs Commissionerates within one month of receipt.

This time limit will be monitored by the Principal Commissioner of the Department of Labor. After receiving the invoice from SPMCIL and the delivery cum acknowledgement memo from RBI, DoL will make the payment to SPMCIL.

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