Dhanteras 2026 Gold Buying Guide: Jewellery, Coins, ETF, Gold Fund or Digital Gold?
Last updated: 13 October 2026
Quick answer: Dhanteras 2026 falls on Friday, 6 November; the Pune puja muhurat is 6:32 pm to 8:31 pm. For wearing or gifting, buy BIS-hallmarked jewellery with a 6-digit HUID and a clear GST bill. For investment, gold ETFs or gold funds avoid making charges and GST and are SEBI-regulated. Digital gold apps sit outside SEBI's oversight.
Last updated: 13 October 2026 Quick answer: Dhanteras 2026 falls on Friday, 6 November; the Pune puja muhurat is 6:32 pm to 8:31 pm. For wearing or gifting, buy BIS-hallmarked jewellery with a 6-digit HUID and a clear GST bill. For investment, gold ETFs or gold funds avoid making charges and GST and are SEBI-regulated. Digital gold apps sit outside SEBI's oversight. Key takeaways Date: Dhanteras is on Friday, 6 November 2026 (Drik Panchang). Costs differ sharply: jewellery carries making charges plus 3% GST; ETFs and gold funds carry no GST, only an annual expense ratio. Purity: hallmarking is mandatory in 380 districts; check the HUID in the BIS CARE app. Regulation: SEBI said on 8 November 2025 that digital gold is outside its purview. Tax: gold ETFs turn long-term after 12 months; physical gold, digital gold and gold funds after 24 months, then 12.5%. Sizing: many planners keep gold at 5-15% of a portfolio. Gold has had an unusual year in India. In May 2026 the government raised the effective import duty on gold from 6% to 15%, and the Prime Minister publicly asked citizens to put off gold purchases for a year to protect foreign exchange reserves. Yet Indians spent a record ₹1.98 lakh crore on gold in April-June 2026, even as they bought fewer grams. So this Dhanteras 2026 gold buying guide is less about whether to buy and more about how. Jewellery, coins, gold ETFs, gold mutual funds and digital gold all let you "buy gold", but they differ on cost, purity guarantees, regulation and tax. This guide covers the date and muhurat, what each route really costs, the hallmark checks, the tax rules as of October 2026, and how much gold makes sense. When is Dhanteras 2026, and what is the muhurat? Dhanteras (Dhantrayodashi) is on Friday, 6 November 2026 , according to Drik Panchang. The evening puja muhurat varies by city because it depends on local sunset. City Dhanteras puja muhurat, 6 Nov 2026 Pune 6:32 pm to 8:31 pm Mumbai 6:35 pm to 8:35 pm New Delhi 6:02 pm to 7:57 pm Bengaluru 6:25 pm to 8:20 pm Hyderabad 6:15 pm to 8:13 pm Ahmedabad 6:30 pm to 8:28 pm Muhurat timings are for the puja, not a rule about when a purchase "counts". Jewellers stay open all day, and many let you book in advance and collect on the day. If you are buying an ETF or gold fund, remember that markets will be closed in the evening; the stock exchanges hold a separate one-hour session around Diwali, covered in our guide to Muhurat trading 2026 (/insights/muhurat-trading-2026) . What is happening to gold demand in 2026? The World Gold Council's India report for Q2 2026 shows a market adjusting to very high prices. Total demand fell 6% to 131 tonnes, but its value rose about 50% to ₹1.98 lakh crore, a record for a second quarter. Dhanteras 2026 gold buying context: India gold demand Q2 2026 was 131 tonnes, value a record ₹1.98 lakh crore, jewellery down 15% Jewellery bore the brunt: 75.1 tonnes, down 15.4% year on year and the second-weakest Q2 since 2000. Investment held up better. Bar and coin demand rose 8.9% to 50.3 tonnes, and gold ETFs took in a record 24 tonnes in the first half of 2026. Digital gold purchases were estimated at 4.8 tonnes, down from 6.5 tonnes in Q1. The shift to financial gold has continued. AMFI data show gold ETFs drew ₹4,451 crore in September 2026, a seven-month high, even though domestic spot prices fell nearly 5% that month. January-September inflows of about ₹45,925 crore already exceed all of 2025. The global picture Globally, Q2 2026 demand was flat at 1,269 tonnes. Central banks bought 289 tonnes, while jewellery volume fell to its lowest since the pandemic as the LBMA price averaged US$4,506 an ounce, 37% higher than a year earlier. The WGC reports that global gold ETFs added a record US$31 billion in Q3 2026. In other words, the world is buying gold as an asset and less of it as ornament. Indian buyers are following the same pattern. Jewellery vs coins vs gold ETF vs gold fund vs digital gold: how do they compare? A gold ETF is a SEBI-regulated mutual fund scheme whose units are backed by physical gold of 99.5% purity held in vaults and traded on the stock exchange. A gold fund of funds (FoF) invests in a gold ETF, so you can buy it without a demat account and by SIP. Digital gold, by contrast, is a contract with a private seller, sold through apps, that is not regulated as a security. Dhanteras 2026 comparison of gold jewellery and coins, gold ETFs and gold funds, and digital gold on cost, regulation and tax Feature Jewellery Coins / bars Gold ETF Gold fund (FoF) Digital gold Regulator BIS (purity), GST law BIS (purity), GST law SEBI SEBI None for the product GST on purchase 3% on full bill 3% Nil Nil 3% Other costs Making charges, wastage Small premium Expense ratio, brokerage Expense ratio (FoF + ETF) Buy-sell spread, fees Minimum A few grams 0.5 g to 1 g upwards One unit SIP from a small amount Tiny amounts Long-term after 24 months 24 months 12 months 24 months 24 months Best for Wearing, gifting, tradition Gifting, small savings Investment with demat Investment by SIP Small, short-term use only Jewellery: the most expensive way to own gold Jewellery is consumption with some residual value, not a pure investment. Making charges commonly run from a few per cent for machine-made chains to well into double digits for intricate work, and the jeweller sets them. Take an illustrative 22K necklace with ₹1,00,000 of metal value and 12% making charges. The taxable value is ₹1,12,000 and 3% GST adds ₹3,360, so you pay ₹1,15,360. When you exchange or sell it later, you usually get only the metal value, minus any deduction. Gold would need to rise roughly 15% just to get back to what you paid. Coins and bars: cheaper, but check the premium Coins from banks and jewellers carry a smaller premium than jewellery, plus 3% GST. Many jewellers buy back bank-sold coins only at a discount, so buy from a seller with clear buyback terms. Look for the BIS hallmark and 24K purity (995 or 999). Gold ETFs and gold funds: the efficient investment route For pure investment, financial gold usually wins on cost. There is no GST on purchase, no making charge and no purity risk. Expense ratios for gold ETFs are typically well under 1% a year; a gold FoF adds its own expense ratio on top of the underlying ETF's. You can learn more about how they work in our gold ETF guide (/insights/gold-etf) , and buy them through our mutual fund services (/products/mutual-funds) . The trade-off is choice of wrapper. An ETF needs a demat account and trades at market prices, so check liquidity and bid-ask spreads. A gold FoF works like any mutual fund and suits monthly SIPs, but it takes 24 months, rather than 12, for long-term tax treatment. Digital gold: convenient but unregulated Digital gold lets you buy gold worth a few rupees on a payments app, with the metal held by a private seller and a trustee. On 8 November 2025 SEBI cautioned investors that such products are neither notified as securities nor regulated as commodity derivatives, so its investor-protection mechanisms do not apply. You also pay 3% GST up front and a spread between buy and sell prices. Our explainer on why SEBI warned investors about digital gold (/insights/digital-gold-sebi-warning) covers the risks in detail. Electronic Gold Receipts: a regulated newcomer Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) are SEBI-regulated, exchange-traded receipts backed by gold in accredited vaults, held in your demat account and convertible into physical gold. BSE has offered them since 2022 and NSE launched its EGR segment on 4 May 2026. Liquidity is still thin and few brokers offer them as easily as ETFs, so they suit larger, patient buyers for now. How do you check gold purity and HUID before buying? Hallmarking of gold jewellery has been mandatory since 23 June 2021. After the sixth phase took effect on 2 March 2026, it covers 380 districts, and BIS says more than 60 crore items have been hallmarked with a HUID. Mandatory grades are 14, 18, 20, 22, 23 and 24 carat; 9 carat is covered by the standard but voluntary. A valid hallmark has three marks: BIS logo (the triangle mark). Purity grade , such as 22K916 (91.6% gold) or 18K750. HUID , a six-character alphanumeric code laser-marked on each piece. Type the HUID into the "Verify HUID" feature of the BIS CARE app before paying. It should show the jeweller's registration, the article type and purity. If the details do not match the piece, do not buy it. Dhanteras 2026 gold buying checklist: purpose, HUID hallmark, making charges, GST invoice, buyback terms, allocation What should be on your invoice? Ask for a GST invoice showing gross and net weight, purity, gold rate per gram, making charges, stone charges if any, and GST. For a normal retail jewellery sale, GST is 3% on the whole bill, including making charges. Keep the invoice safely: it is your proof of cost when you sell, and your proof of source if ever asked. PAN, cash and how much gold you can keep A jeweller must take your PAN for purchases above ₹2 lakh. Separately, the Income-tax Act, 2025 bars anyone from receiving ₹2 lakh or more in cash for a single transaction or event (section 186, formerly section 269ST), so pay large bills by card, UPI or bank transfer. On holdings, a 1994 CBDT instruction says officers should not seize up to 500 g for a married woman, 250 g for an unmarried woman and 100 g for a man during searches. That is a search guideline, not a cap: gold from explained sources, including inheritance, can be held without limit. How is gold taxed in 2026? Gold's tax treatment depends on the form you hold, and none of it qualifies for the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption that applies only to equity. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, long-term gains on gold are taxed at 12.5% without indexation (section 197). Short-term gains are added to your income and taxed at slab rates. Gold tax holding periods 2026: gold ETF 12 months, gold fund of funds 24 months, physical and digital gold 24 months Gold ETFs and EGRs (listed): long-term after more than 12 months. Gold funds of funds: long-term after more than 24 months. Jewellery, coins, bars and digital gold: long-term after more than 24 months. Sovereign Gold Bonds: no new issues since February 2024. From 1 April 2026, the tax-free maturity applies only to original subscribers who held continuously; exchange buyers pay 12.5% after 12 months. See SGBs discontinued: the alternatives (/insights/sovereign-gold-bonds-discontinued-alternatives) . For worked examples, set-off rules and the old-gold exchange question, read our full guide to tax on gold in India (/insights/tax-on-gold-india) , and the companion piece on capital gains tax on mutual funds in 2026 (/insights/capital-gains-tax-mutual-funds-2026) . How much of your portfolio should be in gold? Gold earns no income, so its job is to diversify. It has often held up when equities or the rupee came under stress, which is why many planners suggest 5-15% of a portfolio. The lower end suits young investors with long equity horizons; the higher end suits those who want more stability or have rupee-linked worries. Count what you already own. Many families already hold far more than 15% in jewellery, and your multi-asset or hybrid funds may hold gold too. Jewellery you will never sell is better treated as family heritage than as part of your investment allocation. For a fuller framework, see how much commodity exposure you should have (/insights/commodity-allocation-portfolio-india) and our comparison of gold vs silver (/insights/gold-vs-silver-investment-india) . A simple Dhanteras plan Buy jewellery only for use: keep it to what you will wear or gift, and negotiate making charges. Buy the investment portion as financial gold: a gold ETF if you have demat, a gold FoF if you prefer SIPs. Avoid timing bets: prices fell nearly 5% in September 2026 alone. Spreading purchases over months reduces regret. Rebalance once a year: trim gold if it climbs well above your target, and top it up if it falls below. Related reading Tax on gold: physical, ETF, gold fund, SGB and digital (/insights/tax-on-gold-india) Digital gold: why SEBI warned investors (/insights/digital-gold-sebi-warning) Gold ETFs explained (/insights/gold-etf) SGBs discontinued: where gold money should go now (/insights/sovereign-gold-bonds-discontinued-alternatives) Multi-asset allocation funds explained (/insights/multi-asset-allocation-funds) Frequently Asked Questions What is the date of Dhanteras in 2026? Dhanteras 2026 is on Friday, 6 November 2026, according to Drik Panchang. The evening Dhanteras puja muhurat in Pune is 6:32 pm to 8:31 pm, in Mumbai 6:35 pm to 8:35 pm and in New Delhi 6:02 pm to 7:57 pm. Timings vary by city because they depend on local sunset, so check your city before planning the puja. Is it better to buy gold jewellery or a gold ETF on Dhanteras? It depends on purpose. Jewellery is right if you will wear or gift it, but making charges and 3% GST mean gold must rise about 15% before an illustrative piece with 12% making breaks even. For investment, a gold ETF or gold fund avoids GST and making charges, is SEBI-regulated, and has no purity risk. Many families split the budget between the two. What is HUID on gold jewellery? HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) is a six-character alphanumeric code laser-marked on each hallmarked piece, alongside the BIS logo and the purity grade such as 22K916. You can enter it in the BIS CARE app's "Verify HUID" feature to confirm the jeweller and purity. Hallmarking is mandatory in 380 districts as of March 2026. How much GST is charged on gold jewellery in 2026? GST on gold jewellery, coins and bars is 3%. For a normal retail jewellery purchase it is charged on the full invoice, including making charges. A 5% rate applies to job work, such as a jeweller making jewellery from gold you supply. Gold ETFs and gold mutual funds carry no GST on purchase; GST is applied only to the fund's fees, which are built into the expense ratio. Is digital gold safe to buy this Dhanteras? Digital gold is not regulated by SEBI or RBI as an investment product. SEBI warned in November 2025 that it falls outside its framework, exposing buyers to counterparty and operational risks without investor-protection cover. If you want small, regular gold purchases, a gold fund SIP or gold ETF offers a regulated alternative without the 3% GST charged on digital gold. Can I still buy Sovereign Gold Bonds? No new Sovereign Gold Bonds have been issued since February 2024. You can buy older tranches on the stock exchange, but since 1 April 2026 the tax-free maturity applies only to original subscribers. If you buy on the exchange, gains at maturity are taxed at 12.5% if held over 12 months. Check the price discount and liquidity before buying. How much gold should I hold in my portfolio? Many financial planners suggest 5-15% of investable assets in gold, depending on age, risk tolerance and existing holdings. Gold diversifies a portfolio but pays no income, so a larger allocation can drag long-term returns. Count jewellery you might actually sell, plus gold inside multi-asset funds, before adding more. Sources: Drik Panchang, Dhanteras 2026 (https://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/dhanteras/festivals-dhanteras-puja-timings.html?year=2026) ; World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends India Q2 2026 (https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-demand-trends/gold-demand-trends-india-focus-q2-2026) ; WGC, Gold ETF flows September 2026 (https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-etfs-holdings-and-flows/2026/10) ; Business Standard on SEBI's digital gold caution (https://www.business-standard.com/amp/markets/news/sebi-warns-against-investing-in-digital-gold-says-it-may-contain-risks-125110801211_1.html) ; AIR News on hallmarking phase 6 (https://www.newsonair.gov.in/govt-adds-7-more-districts-in-6th-phase-of-mandatory-gold-hallmarking) ; BIS on hallmark marks and HUID (https://services.bis.gov.in/php/BIS_2.0/BISBlog/?p=560) ; Income Tax Department, section 197 (https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/section-197-78) ; Business Standard on September 2026 gold ETF flows (https://www.business-standard.com/markets/news/gold-etf-inflows-hit-7-month-high-in-sept-despite-5-fall-in-bullion-126101200525_1.html) ; Khaleej Times on the May 2026 import duty hike (https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/markets/indian-gold-silver-futures-jump-import-tariffs-raised) . Worked examples are Money n Wealth calculations. Not sure how much gold your portfolio really needs? The right mix depends on what you already hold, your goals and your tax position. Talk to Money n Wealth (/contact) for a free portfolio review. This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Figures and examples are illustrative. Please consult a qualified financial adviser for guidance specific to your situation. Money n Wealth (Predics Fintech Services Pvt Ltd) is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-121995) and APMI-registered PMS Distributor (APRN07444); it is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser and may earn distribution commission on investments made through it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the date of Dhanteras in 2026?
Dhanteras 2026 is on Friday, 6 November 2026, according to Drik Panchang. The evening Dhanteras puja muhurat in Pune is 6:32 pm to 8:31 pm, in Mumbai 6:35 pm to 8:35 pm and in New Delhi 6:02 pm to 7:57 pm. Timings vary by city because they depend on local sunset, so check your city before planning the puja.
Is it better to buy gold jewellery or a gold ETF on Dhanteras?
It depends on purpose. Jewellery is right if you will wear or gift it, but making charges and 3% GST mean gold must rise about 15% before an illustrative piece with 12% making breaks even. For investment, a gold ETF or gold fund avoids GST and making charges, is SEBI-regulated, and has no purity risk. Many families split the budget between the two.
What is HUID on gold jewellery?
HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) is a six-character alphanumeric code laser-marked on each hallmarked piece, alongside the BIS logo and the purity grade such as 22K916. You can enter it in the BIS CARE app's "Verify HUID" feature to confirm the jeweller and purity. Hallmarking is mandatory in 380 districts as of March 2026.
How much GST is charged on gold jewellery in 2026?
GST on gold jewellery, coins and bars is 3%. For a normal retail jewellery purchase it is charged on the full invoice, including making charges. A 5% rate applies to job work, such as a jeweller making jewellery from gold you supply. Gold ETFs and gold mutual funds carry no GST on purchase; GST is applied only to the fund's fees, which are built into the expense ratio.
Is digital gold safe to buy this Dhanteras?
Digital gold is not regulated by SEBI or RBI as an investment product. SEBI warned in November 2025 that it falls outside its framework, exposing buyers to counterparty and operational risks without investor-protection cover. If you want small, regular gold purchases, a gold fund SIP or gold ETF offers a regulated alternative without the 3% GST charged on digital gold.
Can I still buy Sovereign Gold Bonds?
No new Sovereign Gold Bonds have been issued since February 2024. You can buy older tranches on the stock exchange, but since 1 April 2026 the tax-free maturity applies only to original subscribers. If you buy on the exchange, gains at maturity are taxed at 12.5% if held over 12 months. Check the price discount and liquidity before buying.
How much gold should I hold in my portfolio?
Many financial planners suggest 5-15% of investable assets in gold, depending on age, risk tolerance and existing holdings. Gold diversifies a portfolio but pays no income, so a larger allocation can drag long-term returns. Count jewellery you might actually sell, plus gold inside multi-asset funds, before adding more.
Not sure how much gold your portfolio really needs?
The right mix depends on what you already hold, your goals and your tax position. Talk to Money n Wealth for a free portfolio review.