TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi-The Securities and Exchange Board of India is examining gold savings schemes offered by jewellers to check whether such offerings are flouting regulations on collective investment schemes. Sebi is gathering brochures and pamphlets from at least a dozen jewellers, including Tanishq (a Titan company), Gitanjali Gems and PC Jeweller, which operate gold deposit schemes.
“Sebi has a view that jewellers have worked around the regulations and have launched new schemes that do not adhere to the rules,” said a person familiar with the development. According to the rules, any scheme offered by a company in which the contributions by investors are in excess of Rs 100 crore and are pooled and managed on their behalf with a motive to earn profit is construed a collective investment scheme and requires Sebi registration and approval.
Collective investment schemes are regulated by Sebi, while the Reserve Bank of India regulates non-banking finance companies. Most jewellery firms said the schemes were designed to help customers plan their gold purchases in advance and such schemes should not be equated with collective investment schemes.
