Gold guide
Electronic Gold Receipts, explained
Exchange-traded receipts for gold sitting in a SEBI-registered vault — price discovery like a share, with the option to take physical delivery.
Mechanics
From vault to receipt and back
1. Deposit and assay
Physical gold is deposited with a SEBI-registered vault manager and assayed to standardised purity (999 or 995 fine).
2. Receipt creation
A depository issues the Electronic Gold Receipt against the vaulted gold; it sits in your demat account like a share.
3. Exchange trading
Receipts trade on the exchange with public price discovery, in listed denominations from 10 mg to 1 kg.
4. Conversion or exit
Sell on the exchange, or convert back to physical gold (or extinguish the receipt) through the vault manager's prescribed process, timelines and charges.
Contracts
Listed denominations
| Denomination | Purity |
|---|---|
| 10 mg | 999 / 995 |
| 1 g | 999 / 995 |
| 10 g | 999 / 995 |
| 100 g | 999 / 995 |
| 1 kg | 999 / 995 |
Costs & risks
What to weigh
Costs
- Brokerage and statutory charges on each trade.
- Vault-manager storage and conversion charges where they apply.
- Bid-ask spread on the exchange.
Risks
- A comparatively new market — depth varies, so your exit price depends on who is on the other side.
- Conversion to physical gold involves the vault manager's process, timelines and charges.
- Your holding depends on the vault framework working as specified.
Framework: SEBI Gold Exchange framework, with SEBI-registered vault managers, depositories and clearing corporations. Liquidity: Exchange-traded with public price discovery; trading interest varies by contract and denomination.
FAQs
EGR questions
Frequently asked questions
What is an Electronic Gold Receipt?
An EGR is an exchange-traded security that represents a defined quantity of standardised gold held with a SEBI-registered vault manager. It sits in a demat account like a share, trades on the exchange with public price discovery, and can be converted to physical gold through the prescribed process. Exchange-listed denominations run from 10 mg to 1 kg in 999 and 995 purity.
Which gold investment gives the best return?
There is no single answer, and we do not rank gold products. Most gold instruments track the same metal price, so returns differ mainly by the costs you pay to hold them: expense ratios, making charges, storage, spreads and taxes. Use the comparison to filter by what you actually need and the calculators to price the costs, then decide.
Framework facts reviewed 2026-09-20; denominations per NSE — About Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR). See our methodology.