Possession of Gold by Public Religious Institutions under
Gold (Control) Act 1968
“Gold” means gold, including its alloy (whether virgin, melted or re-melted, wrought or unwroght), in any shape or form, or a purity or not less than nine carats and includes primary gold, article and ornament;
“Ornament” means a thing, in a finished form, meant for personal adornment or for the adornment or any idol, deity or any other object of religious worship, made of, or manufactured from, gold, whether or not set with stones or gems (real or artificial), or with pearls (real, cultured or imitation) or with all or any of them, and includes parts, pendants or broken pieces of ornament.
“Primary gold” means gold in any unfinished or semi-finished form and includes ingots, bars, blocks, slabs, billets, shots, pellets, rods, sheets, foils and wires;
12- Ban on possession of primary gold when not to apply to primary gold which forms a part of structure, etc., of public religious institutions
Nothing in clause (1) of sub-section (1) of Section 8 shall apply to any primary gold which forms part of any structure or any other construction appendage within the precincts of a temple, church, mosque, gurdwara or any other place of public religious worship if such primary gold has been included in a declaration.
13- Disposal of gold received as offerings
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Act public religious institution may receive gold as offerings:
Provided that-
(a) where any article is received by such institution, as an offering, such article may be-
(i) kept by such institution for its use, or
(ii) sold to a licensed dealer or refiner, or
(iii) converted into ornaments for the deity or idol, or
(iv) converted, with the previous permission of the Administrator, into any new article which may be required for worship in the institution or for use in, or decoration of, the structure or other construction or appendage within the precincts of the institution;
(b) where any primary gold is received by such institution, as an offering, the institution shall dispose of such primary gold by-
(i) converting the same, with the previous permission of the Administrator, into ornaments for the deity, or idol, or into new articles which may be required for worship in the institution or for use in, or decoration of, the structure or other construction or appendage within the precincts of the institution, or
(ii) selling the same to such licensed dealer or refiner as may be specified, and under such conditions, limitations and restrictions as may be imposed, by the Administrator.
14- Submission of monthly accounts
Without prejudice to the provisions of Chapter V, every public religious institution shall submit, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, to the Administrator monthly accounts of gold received by it as offerings and disposed of by it.
15- Responsibility of the person in charge of public religious institution
The persons in charge of the management of any public religious institution shall be responsible for anything done or omitted to be done by such institution in relation to any gold.
