Buying Gold in Kerala: Board Rate, Making Charges & GST Explained
Updated 10 June 2026
Kerala buys more gold per household than almost anywhere on earth — a typical wedding involves 50 to 100 pavan. Yet the bill most families pay is 10–18% above the metal's value, and most of that gap is negotiable. Here's how the pricing actually works.
The board rate: where every price starts
Each morning the All Kerala Gold & Silver Merchants Association publishes a single statewide rate for 22-carat (916) gold — the board rate you see outside every jewellery shop, quoted per gram and per pavan (8 grams). Today's rate is always on our live gold rate page. Every shop in the state starts from the same number — the differences are in everything added on top.
What actually lands on your bill
| Component | Typical range | Negotiable? |
|---|---|---|
| Gold (board rate × weight) | — | No — same everywhere |
| Making charge (pani-kooli) | 3–25% of gold value | Yes — heavily |
| GST | 3% on gold + making | No |
| Hallmarking | ~₹45 per piece | No |
Making charges are the whole game. Plain chains and bangles run 3–8%; designer and antique-finish pieces hit 15–25%. On a 10-pavan purchase, talking a shop from 12% to 6% making saves more than any gold-price dip you'll ever time.
Five rules Kerala gold buyers swear by
- Always check BIS hallmark + HUID — the six-digit alphanumeric code is your proof of 916 purity, verifiable in the BIS Care app.
- Ask for making charge as a percentage, in writing, before any piece is weighed.
- Watch the rate for a few weeks before a planned purchase. Our rate page shows the 30-day trend — Kerala rates move with international gold and the rupee.
- Old-gold exchange: shops must value your old 916 gold at the full board rate; the "deduction" should only be for actual stone weight and solder, typically 2–4%.
- GST applies to making charges too — a shop quoting "GST only on gold" is hiding the difference in the rate elsewhere.
Buying as an NRI
If you're sending money home for a gold purchase, the effective price = exchange rate × board rate. Check today's AED→INR (or your currency) alongside the gold rate — a strong-rupee week can cost more than a gold-price dip saves. There's no limit on family members buying gold with gifted remittances, but keep invoices: airports ask for them when gold travels back out.
Physical vs digital gold
For investment (not ornaments), sovereign gold alternatives — gold ETFs and digital gold — avoid making charges entirely and track the same price. For a wedding two years away, many families now accumulate digitally and convert to ornaments closer to the date, paying making charges only once.
Keralam Live's gold rate updates every morning from market data. This article is general information, not investment advice.