The price a buyer pays in Bangladesh is built on the official BAJUS metal rate, then adds a making (labour) charge — often quoted per gram — and 5% VAT on the gold value at the point of retail sale. So a typical bill is the BAJUS rate for the piece's weight and karat, plus the making charge, plus 5% VAT. Because the metal rate is standardised nationally by BAJUS, the making charge is the main part that varies between jewellers and the main thing to compare. Always ask for the gold value, making charge, and VAT to be itemised separately on the receipt.

22-karat gold is the standard for Bangladeshi jewellery, with 21K and 18K also traded for lighter and more affordable pieces, and 24K for investment. Gold is measured in vori (also called bhori or tola), equal to 11.664 grams — the same weight unit used across the subcontinent — so BAJUS headline rates are published per vori and then converted to per-gram figures. Check the purity stamp and get an itemised receipt; the karat and weight determine the metal value, while the making charge is set separately by the jeweller.

BAJUS (the Bangladesh Jewellers' Samity) publishes the official daily gold rate that registered jewellers across the country follow, derived from the international spot price converted into taka. The Bangladeshi Taka is not a fixed dollar peg: for years it was tightly managed by Bangladesh Bank, and in 2024 the central bank moved toward a more flexible, market-based "crawling peg" arrangement that lets the taka adjust within a managed band rather than being held at one fixed rate. Because the local price depends on both the global dollar gold price and the USD/BDT rate, a weakening taka raises the vori price even when the international price is steady.

Gold is a fixture of Bangladeshi weddings, where bridal jewellery is a major family purchase, and demand rises around the wedding season and Eid. Because BAJUS sets a single official rate that all registered jewellers must follow, buyers do not shop around on the metal price the way they might elsewhere — instead they compare making charges and craftsmanship between shops. Dhaka's traditional jewellery markets, such as those around Tantibazar and Baitul Mukarram, remain central to the trade alongside branded showrooms, and the vori is the unit everyone quotes and negotiates in.