STT exporting trades from equities to commodities

CEO, BSE questions rationale behind no STT on 'unproductive commodities' like gold, silver

High taxation in the stock market is resulting in a shift in trading to overseas markets and other segments like commodities, said Ashish Chauhan, interim CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is the equities market is leading to export of investors to the commodities market, where there is no such tax. Also, investors are finding it more attractive to trade (in Indian indices) in places like Singapore and Dubai," he said at a conference hosted by The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).

He questioned the rationale behind no STT on 'unproductive commodities' like gold and silver, "import of which is proving to be a strain on India's trade deficit."

"Around $80 billion worth of gold and silver is getting imported every year. If that kind of money is channelised in the stock market more than 40 lakh jobs would be created," Chauhan said.

"No tax on bullion trading and highest tax on delivery-based trading is similar to not levying any taxes on cigarettes and taxing food items," he quipped.

In the cash segment, STT is charged between 0.025% and 0.125% for non-delivery-based and delivery-based transactions respectively. While, for transactions in the derivatives segment, STT is levied in the range between at 0.017% and 0.25%, depending on the nature of the transaction.