How much gold can you keep at home in India? The familiar 500g, 250g and 100g figures are often described as legal ownership limits. That is not what CBDT’s rule says.
The figures come from CBDT search-and-seizure guidance for gold jewellery and ornaments. They describe quantities that ordinarily need not be seized during an income-tax search: up to 500 grams per married woman, 250 grams per unmarried woman and 100 grams per male member of the family.
They are not the maximum amount of gold jewellery you are legally allowed to own. CBDT has separately clarified that legitimately acquired jewellery can exceed those quantities when the source is explained.
CBDT non-seizure guidance for gold jewellery and ornaments per married woman during a search.
CBDT non-seizure guidance for gold jewellery and ornaments per unmarried woman during a search.
CBDT non-seizure guidance for gold jewellery and ornaments per male family member during a search.
500g / 250g / 100g does not mean maximum legal ownership
The most important distinction is between ownership and seizure during a search.
CBDT Instruction No. 1916, dated 11 May 1994, tells authorised officers that certain quantities of gold jewellery and ornaments need not be seized during a search in specified circumstances.
It does not say that a married woman may legally own only 500 grams, that an unmarried woman may own only 250 grams or that a man may own only 100 grams.
CBDT later issued an official clarification stating that there is no limit on holding gold jewellery or ornaments when they have been acquired from explained sources such as disclosed income, exempt income, reasonable household savings or lawful inheritance.
What CBDT Instruction 1916 actually says
| Family member | Jewellery ordinarily not to be seized | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Married woman | Up to 500g | Search-and-seizure guidance for gold jewellery and ornaments, not an ownership cap. |
| Unmarried woman | Up to 250g | Search-and-seizure guidance for gold jewellery and ornaments, not an ownership cap. |
| Male family member | Up to 100g | Search-and-seizure guidance for gold jewellery and ornaments, not an ownership cap. |
Instruction 1916 also allows the authorised officer to exclude a larger quantity from seizure after considering the family’s status, community customs and practices and other circumstances.
That discretion is another reason the three gram figures should not be presented as hard legal ownership ceilings.
Does this CBDT guidance still matter in 2026?
Yes, in its proper search-and-seizure context.
CBDT’s Search & Seizure Manual 2025 continues to refer officers to Instruction 1916 when dealing with jewellery. The same manual also tells officers to examine the nature of possession and the source of acquisition.
That current reference is important because it confirms that the older instruction has not simply disappeared from operational search guidance.
Can you legally own more than 500g, 250g or 100g?
Yes, provided the holding is legitimate and its source can be explained.
CBDT’s official clarification specifically recognises jewellery acquired from sources such as disclosed income, exempt income including agricultural income, reasonable household savings and lawful inheritance.
The quantity by itself does not decide whether the jewellery is legitimate.
A household may therefore lawfully possess jewellery exceeding the Instruction 1916 non-seizure quantities. The important question becomes how the jewellery was acquired and whether the explanation is supported by the available facts and records.
Does gold above the CBDT quantities get automatically seized?
No.
The instruction itself gives the authorised officer discretion to leave a larger quantity of jewellery unseized after considering family status, community customs and other circumstances.
The 2025 Search & Seizure Manual also directs officers to examine the source and acquisition of jewellery rather than applying weight alone as the complete test.
That does not mean all jewellery above the figures is automatically protected. It means the three quantities are not a simple line separating legal gold from illegal gold.
Does the 500g / 250g / 100g rule cover gold bars and coins?
TPS did not find support for extending those specific quantities to every form of gold.
Instruction 1916 refers specifically to gold jewellery and ornaments. CBDT’s current Search & Seizure Manual discusses bullion separately.
Therefore, a reader should not assume that a 100g gold bar receives the same treatment merely because 100 grams appears in the jewellery instruction.
Does jewellery below the threshold never need explanation?
Do not treat the non-seizure quantities as a universal tax or assessment immunity.
Instruction 1916 is a search-and-seizure guideline. Whether the source of an asset can be examined in an assessment, or how a particular court decision applies to a particular taxpayer, is a separate legal question.
TPS therefore does not describe 500g, 250g or 100g as a statutory tax-free allowance or a guarantee that the source can never be questioned.
What evidence should you keep for gold jewellery?
There is no single document that proves every possible jewellery holding, especially jewellery that may have been in a family for decades.
CBDT’s current search guidance nevertheless makes source and acquisition important. Depending on how the jewellery was acquired, useful evidence can include purchase invoices, payment or bank records, valuation documents, inheritance or succession records, wills, gift documentation and older tax or wealth records where relevant.
Keep invoices and related payment records when they exist.
Retain evidence showing payment from disclosed or explainable sources where applicable.
Preserve wills, succession records, family documentation or other evidence supporting inherited ownership.
Keep credible records when jewellery was received as a documented gift.
Older valuation or wealth records can help establish the history of long-held jewellery.
The 500g, 250g and 100g figures do not replace evidence about how the jewellery was acquired.
What if inherited jewellery has no old purchase bill?
Lack of an old purchase invoice does not automatically make inherited jewellery illegal.
CBDT’s own clarification recognises legally inherited jewellery as a legitimate source. The relevant question is whether the source and ownership can be reasonably supported by the evidence available in the particular case.
For the separate question of who receives gold after death, wills, nomination and succession, TPS covers that reader job in What Happens to Gold After Death? Inheritance, Will, Nomination and Transfer in India.
Can family customs justify more jewellery?
Instruction 1916 expressly gives the authorised officer discretion to exclude a larger quantity from seizure after considering the family’s status, customs and practices of the community and other circumstances.
This is particularly relevant in India, where jewellery holdings can vary materially across families, communities, marriages and inheritance patterns.
But this is discretionary guidance, not an automatic entitlement to any unlimited quantity.
Non-seizure is not the same as tax exemption
This distinction is critical.
A rule telling a search officer not to seize a certain quantity of jewellery does not itself create a statutory tax exemption, an ownership ceiling or permanent immunity from questions about source.
There are three separate issues:
- Can you legitimately own the jewellery?
- Should it be seized during an income-tax search?
- Can its source or tax treatment be examined separately?
The 500g / 250g / 100g figures principally answer the second question.
What should you actually remember?
The safest way to understand the CBDT rule is:
- 500g / 250g / 100g is not a legal ownership ceiling.
- The figures relate to gold jewellery and ornaments in a search-and-seizure context.
- Legitimately acquired jewellery can exceed those quantities.
- Source and acquisition evidence still matter.
- The instruction does not automatically extend the same gram protection to bullion, bars or coins.
- A larger quantity of jewellery may also be left unseized depending on family status, customs and circumstances.
Direct answer
There is no 500g / 250g / 100g maximum legal gold-ownership rule in India. Those numbers come from CBDT Instruction 1916 and refer to quantities of gold jewellery and ornaments that ordinarily need not be seized during an income-tax search: 500g per married woman, 250g per unmarried woman and 100g per male family member.
Legitimately acquired jewellery can exceed those quantities. CBDT’s current search guidance still requires attention to the nature of possession and source of acquisition, so documentation and a credible explanation remain important.
Verification note
TPS reviewed CBDT’s Search & Seizure Manual 2025, the official text and reproduction of Instruction No. 1916 dated 11 May 1994, and the Ministry of Finance/CBDT clarification explaining that the three gram figures are seizure guidance rather than general ownership limits.
Limitations and unresolved facts
Search and assessment outcomes depend on individual facts, ownership, source evidence and applicable law. TPS does not treat Instruction 1916 as a universal assessment exemption or extend its jewellery quantities to bullion, bars or coins. The sufficiency of invoices, inheritance records, gift evidence or other documentation can only be evaluated in the context of the particular holding.