Gold Rate Today in Nepal

How Nepal's daily gold rate is set

Each morning the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association (FENEGOSIDA) publishes the rates that jewellers across the country use, per tola and per 10 grams, for fine gold and tejabi gold, along with silver. The federation starts from the international price, converts it into rupees, and adds the customs duty and other costs of bringing gold into Nepal. That is why the local rate sits well above the duty-free parity figure in our table; the gap is mostly tax, not dealer profit.

Gold reaches Nepal through banks and authorised dealers under import limits set by Nepal Rastra Bank, and the government has changed the customs duty several times over the years. Because the Nepali rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee at NPR 1.60 per INR, Nepal's gold price moves almost exactly in step with gold in India, apart from changes in either country's duty. Compare with our India gold rate.

Fine gold and tejabi gold

• Fine gold (chhapawal) is high-purity gold of about 99.9%, usually sold as stamped bars and biscuits. The word refers to the stamp (chhap) on the bar.
• Tejabi gold is gold of lower purity used in traditional jewellery making, and its rate is published slightly below the fine gold rate.

Jewellery is often made from gold at a karat below 24K. Ask the shop to state the purity on the bill and how they are pricing it, fine or tejabi rate, since the two give different totals for the same weight.

Units: tola and lal

Small items such as nose pins, earrings and rings are often weighed in lal. See the tola guide for history and conversions.

Worked example

Suppose (illustratively) FENEGOSIDA's fine gold rate is NPR 240,000 per tola.

Making charges (jyala) and how they are quoted vary between shops; some quote per tola, others a flat sum for the piece. The jewellery price calculator lets you try different rates.

Where Nepalis buy gold

In Kathmandu, New Road and the lanes around Indra Chowk and Asan hold a long line of jewellers and goldsmiths, and many Newar goldsmith families have worked in the trade for generations. Every major town, including Pokhara, Biratnagar, Butwal and Birgunj, has its own jewellery bazaar following the federation's rate. Buying peaks during Teej, when women buy and wear gold jewellery, during Dashain and Tihar, and in the wedding season. The underlying rate does not rise for festivals, but shops are busier and offers on making charges change.

Gold brought from abroad

Many Nepali families have members working in the Gulf, Malaysia and elsewhere, and gold bought abroad is a common way of bringing savings home. Gold in Dubai or Doha is priced close to duty-free parity, while Nepal's rate includes customs duty, so the difference can look large. Passengers entering Nepal may carry only limited quantities of gold and jewellery under customs rules, and amounts above the allowance attract duty or may be seized, so check the current limits with Nepal's Department of Customs before travelling. Compare Gulf rates on our UAE and Qatar pages.

Checklist

1. Check the day's FENEGOSIDA rate before you shop, and note whether a quote is fine or tejabi.
2. Get the weight in tola and lal and in grams on the bill.
3. Ask the making charge separately from the gold value.
4. For bars, keep the stamped packaging and receipt for resale.
5. Ask the shop's deduction when you sell or exchange old jewellery.