How to recover your lost Sovereign Gold Bond certificates?

Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs), until discontinued in 2024, were one of the most popular alternatives to invest in physical gold. Backed by the Government of India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued SGBs, which offered investors a safe and paperless way to invest in the yellow metal, with multiple other benefits.

These bonds not only tracked the market value of gold but also provided a fixed annual interest of 2.5 per cent, payable every six months. However, the issuance of new SGBs would be discontinued but the already issued SGBs remained unaffected by the step as investors shall continue to their regular interest payouts and at maturity, will get the redemption value based on gold prices.

Investors can redeem the SGB, which had a maturity after 8 years of tenure, or even early redemptions are also available. This is when the certificate of holding becomes essential, as it will be required to process the redemption of the bond. Retail investors have preferred SGBs due to their safety, tax benefits, and ease of holding.

Investors had options to buy SGBs both online and offline through their trading and demat accounts or offline through selected banks, designated post offices, and the Stock Holding Corporation of India branches. RBI offered some discounts to online applicants.

Online applicants were sent an email on their certificate of holding their registered mail address. It was issued in physical form or as a soft copy from the bank or post office when bought offline. However, a number of investors lost their online certificates, causing some panic among the investors.

Trivesh D, COO at Tradejini said that this was a costly mistake. It might be due to deletions of emails, technical problems, or even human error. For those who have misplaced their SGB certificate, they can be retrieved and recovered.

If SGBs were bought through a demat account, the first step is to check your holdings, said Trivesh D. These bonds will be visible under demat holdings along with other securities. This acts as valid proof of your investment and can be used for redemption, interest claims, and nomination purposes, he said.

As the second remedy for recovery, he suggested that investors shall contact the issuing bank or post office. Applicants or unit-holders may need to provide basic identification and transaction details like PAN, date of investment and the amount for the verification purpose.

"A few banks may ask for the indemnity bond or may ask to get the FIR registration copy. So once that suffices, banks and post offices that sell SGBs have access to the RBI’s E-Kuber platform. Through this portal, the branch officials can retrieve your investment details and issue a duplicate certificate of holding," Trivesh said.

One can also email the Reserve Bank of India (to sgb@rbi.org.in) for a duplicate certificate. "Make sure to include all necessary details to help them verify your investment. These include your full name, PAN number, date of investment, amount invested, demat account number if applicable, registered email address, and contact number," he added.

The certificate of holding is a crucial document for any SGB investor. It is required at the time of redemption when the bond matures. Holding SGB certificate is also needed when an investor wants it to convert in the demat form and/or sell it in the secondary market after the 5-year lock-in period expires. It is also necessary to receive your annual interest payments and to process nominee claims in case of the investor's death. Losing your SGB certificate is not the end of the road.