New Delhi, Feb. 2 -- In a setback for investors, Budget 2026 imposed capital gain taxes on Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) that have not been directly bought from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), after years of the tool being celebrated as a tax-free investment.

SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of gold and are considered as substitutes for holding physical gold. Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds are redeemed in cash on maturity after eight years without paying capital gains tax till now.

Announcing the decision during her Budget 2026 speech, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said that only those SGBs that have been subscribed by an individual at the time of the original issue and are held continuously until ...