Dear Comrades,
PATNA: Following the Centre's decision to halt the import of gold coins and bars in the country, the department of post will stop their sales from its counters from August 1. So, if you want to buy 24-carat gold coins with India Post logo, better hurry up. Otherwise, you will miss the last chance - for the time being - to buy them.
The department has so far been selling gold coins from 0.5gm to 50 gm in weight. To provide people 99.9% fine pure gold coins, India Post had entered into a tie-up with a private sector company to sell gold Suisse which were certified by the Switzerland-based International Gold Council. For the next few days, these coins will continue to be available with post offices across the country in a foolproof, tamper-proof, high-quality and high-strength polymer boxes.
"There is no scarcity of lovers of foreign gold and those who buy them. With mounting current account deficit, leading to fall in rupee value in comparison to dollar, the government had taken measures to check gold imports in the country. With rupee continuing to plummet, the central government has now put a halt on the import of gold coins and bars in the country," said Anil Kumar, marketing director, India Post, Bihar. The government has asked India post, banks and other financial institutions to stop the supply of gold.
Kumar added, "We will, therefore, stop the sale of gold coins after July 31 till further orders. However, we hope that during the occasions such as Dhanteras and Akshaya Tritiya, the government would allow us to sell gold coins."
During the last two years, post offices in Bihar had sold gold worth Rs 34 crore. Last fiscal year, Patna GPO sold over 47kg of gold, while this year from April to June it has made sales of over 22kg gold.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
