New Delhi, Sept. 6 -- The presence of gold jewellery in a property during an income-tax search does not, by itself, mean that the asset can be confiscated. The tax authorities consider factors such as the source of the jewellery, the circumstances in which it was acquired and whether the holdings can be reasonably explained.

This distinction is important because the commonly cited 500-gram, 250-gram and 100-gram figures are not statutory limits on how much gold a man or a woman can own, either at a given time or in total.

The Press Information Bureau (PIB), in a clarification issued by the Ministry of Finance in December 2016, said there is no limit on holding of gold jewellery or ornaments by anybody, provided it is acquired from expla...