Gold ETF Trading – STCG or Business Income? (100 trades/year, delivery only, salaried)

Taxation
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I am a salaried individual trading listed Gold ETFs (e.g., Gold BeES) as a side activity.

  • Frequency: ~100 trades per year
  • Trade size: ~₹1 lakh each
  • Holding: Strictly delivery-based – BTST or few days to few weeks (no intraday)
  • No leverage, algo, or full-time trading setup
  • Primary income: Salary

Will profits from this be treated as Short-Term Capital Gains (STCG) at slab rates (capital gains schedule in ITR-2), or is there risk of reclassification as business income due to frequency/volume?

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STCG would be fine as long as you’re not doing any F&O or intraday trades. :dizzy:
If you start doing those in the future, it’s best to just declare everything as business income. :face_holding_back_tears:

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