The government has said that purchasing jewellery like gold, silver or precious stones below Rs two lakh does not require PAN or Aadhaar as a mandatory KYC document.

The Department of Revenue (DoR) has clarified that buying jewellery below Rs two lakh in cash does not require PAN or Aadhaar of a customer as a mandatory KYC document. DoR sources said the contention that any purchase, even if below Rs 2 lakh, of gold, silver, jewellery or precious gems and stones in cash require KYC are baseless.

Sources said that the notification issued under (Prevention of Money laundering) PMl Act, 2002, on December 28, 2020 is a requirement of FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Dealers in Precious Metals and Precious Stones (DPMS) to carry out KYC and Customer Due Diligence only when they conduct cash transactions above Rs 10 lakh. India is a member of FATF since 2010. This is a requirement of FATF – the global money laundering and terrorist financing overseer which as the inter-governmental body sets international standards aimed to prevent illegal activities on terror funding and money laundering.

One of the recommendations requires DPMS sector to fulfil obligations of Customer Due Diligence (CDD) when they conduct cash transactions above a certain limit (USD/EUR 15,000).

Sources said that since in India, cash transactions above Rs 2 lakh is not allowed under section 269ST of Income-tax Act, 1961, dealers not receiving cash more than Rs 2 lakh in compliance with the existing provisions of the Income-tax Act will not be covered under this notification.