Ever wondered why Dubai gold is popular?

DUBAI GOLD IS FAMOUS for its quality, purity, standard, variety and competitive pricing. For that reason, a large number of tourists and expatriates living in the UAE prefer to buy gold in the emirate.

Ravi Shankar, senior analyst for investment research and analytics at Aranca, said that Dubai is a renowned location for gold and jewellery and has always been strong in terms of sales.

“Tourists purchase gold in Dubai not only because of pricing but also because of the quality and wide range of varieties. They might get back their VAT at the time of departure or exit from the UAE,” he said.

Karim Merchant, group CEO and managing director of Pure Gold Group, is confident that prices will remain competitive in the UAE.

“We do not expect customers of any nationality to reduce purchases because of VAT as prices in UAE will remain competitive plus let’s not forget the peace of mind that buying from UAE ensures, the customer can rest assured he is buying a genuine product. Also, the variety of designs available in the UAE is second to none,” Merchant said.

“Dubai will continue to offer tourists a variety of gold designs at a reasonable mark-up for workmanship relative to other markets such as Europe and Asia,” Yaser AbuShaban, member of CFA Society Emirates, said.

“Tourists arriving from these geographies also have VAT imposed in their own countries on jewellery purchases, often at a rate higher than five per cent, so in that regard Dubai should remain competitive even after the imposition of VAT.”

Abdul Salam K.P., group executive director of Malabar Group, said the Indian community in particular and other sub-continent nations in general will continue to prefer Dubai’s gold.

“The gold jewellery industry in the UAE is much cheaper. India has 10 per cent custom duty plus three per cent GST on gold jewellery,” he said.

Globally, an international consumer pays VAT at shops and collects a refund on the way back home.

“So far the law has not mentioned any such refund applications. As long as there is a refund policy in place the Dubai gold prices will be cheaper than the local prices back home,” Chirag Vora, managing director of Bafleh Jewellery, said.