Conditions for obtaining the License to trade gold bars in Vietnam

Conditions for obtaining the License to trade gold bars in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. What is gold bar?

According to Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 24/2012/ND-CP, gold bars means gold molded into bars, engraved with letters, weight indicators, quality, the symbol and the sign of producing enterprises and credit institutions licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as the State Bank) to produce, or gold bars produced by the State Bank’s in each specific period

2. Conditions for obtaining the License to trade gold bars in Vietnam

Specifically, in Article 11 of Decree 24/2012/ND-CP, the conditions for obtaining the License to trade gold bars are specified as follows:

- Enterprises are eligible for the License to trade gold bars when the following conditions are satisfied:

= Being established and operated under law provisions.

= Having the charter capital of 100 billion VND and above.

= Having 2-year experience in gold trading or more.

= Having paid the tax on gold business of 500 (five hundred) million VND/year or above during the two latest successive years (upon verification of the tax authority).

= Having branches and sale offices in 3 (three) provinces and centrally-affiliated cities or more in Vietnam.

- Credit institutions are eligible for the License to trade gold bars when the following conditions are satisfied:

= Having charter capital of 3,000 (three thousand) billion VND and above.

= Having registered gold business.

= Having branches and sale offices in 5 (five) provinces and centrally-affiliated cities or more in Vietnam.

3. Responsibilities of enterprises and credit institutions trading gold bars in Vietnam

According to Article 12 of Decree 24/2012/ND-CP, enterprises and credit institutions trading gold bars are responsible to:

- Purchase and sell only the kinds of gold bars stipulated in Clause 2 Article 3 of this Decree.

- Keep from gold bars trading through authorized agents.

- Comply with law provisions on accounting regime, invoices and accounting records.

- Post the gold bar sale and purchase price publicly at the location of transaction.

- Take measures and equipment to ensure safety in business activities.

- Comply with this Decree and other relevant law provisions.

4. Principles of management enterprises and credit institutions trading gold bars in Vietnam 

According to Article 4 of Decree 24/2012/ND-CP, gold trading activities must comply with the following management principles:

- Organizations’ and individuals’ gold ownership is recognized and protected by law.

- The State Bank is the agency that, on behalf of the Government, uniformly manages gold business activities in accordance with provisions of Decree 24/2012/ND-CP.

- The State shall exclusively produce gold bars, export gold material and import gold material for production of gold bars.

- The gold business must be managed in order to sustainably develop and stabilize the gold market, ensuring the production and processing of gold jewellery and fine arts to serve the domestic market and export in accordance with law provisions.

- Organizations and individuals doing gold business must comply with Decree 24/2012/ND-CP and other relevant law provisions.

- The purchase and sale of gold bars; the production of gold jewellery and fine arts are conditional business and must be permitted by the State Bank by issuing the License to trade gold bar or the Qualification certificate of gold jewellery and fine arts production.

- The business of gold jewellery and fine arts is conditional and not subject to the qualification certificate of business.

- Gold derivative activities made by commercial banks and branches of foreign banks must comply with Article 105 of the Law on credit institutions.

- Gold business activities, except gold import and export, purchase and sale of domestic gold material by enterprises producing gold jewellery and fine arts and enterprises trading gold jewellery and fine arts and other activities stipulated in Clause 6, 7 and 8 of Article 4 of Decree 24/2012/ND-CP, are those in the list of restricted goods and services.

Organizations and individuals shall be only entitled to do gold business after being approved by the Prime Mister and licensed by the State Bank.

Thanh Rin

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