7 violations in gold trading activities
According to Article 19 of Decree 24 2012 (amended in Decree 232/2025), violations of legal regulations in gold trading activities include:
- Jewelry and cosmetic gold production activities do not have a Certificate of business eligibility issued by the State Bank.
- Production and business activities of buying and selling gold bars without a license issued by the State Bank; export and import of raw gold bars, export and import of gold bars not in accordance with regulations.
(Old regulation: Business activities of buying and selling gold bars; exporting and importing raw gold without a license issued by the State Bank)
- Carrying gold when entering and leaving the country of an individual exceeding the prescribed level without a license issued by the State Bank.
- Use gold as a means of payment.
- Production of fruit gold bars as prescribed in Decree 24/2012.
- Other gold trading activities without permission from the Prime Minister and a license from the State Bank.
- Violating other provisions of this Decree and other relevant legal provisions.
New regulations on gold export and import activities
According to Article 14 of Decree 24 2012 (amended and supplemented by Decree 232/2025), gold export and import activities are regulated in detail as follows:
1. Management and licensing roles of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV):
The State Bank of Vietnam is the agency that grants annual limits and each license periodically to enterprises and commercial banks that are qualified to:
Import and export of gold bars.
Import of raw gold.
The licensing is based on monetary policy goals and the supply-demand situation of gold in each period.
2. Subjects and conditions for being granted a License:
The State Bank of Vietnam considers granting licenses for the import/export of raw gold to the following subjects if it meets specific conditions:
- Gold jewelry processing enterprises abroad:
Activities: Temporarily importing raw gold for production and reproduction of products.
Conditions: Having a Certificate of eligibility for gold jewelry production, handicrafts and import needs in accordance with the processing contract.
- Foreign-invested enterprises (FDI):
Activities: Importing raw gold for production.
Conditions: Have a registration for gold jewelry and handicraft production activities and appropriate import needs. The licensing will be based on production capacity and export reports from the previous year.
- Overseas gold mining investment enterprises:
Activities: Importing gold exploited by foreign enterprises.
Conditions: Having a registration for gold mining activities in the Investment Certificate and imported gold must be a product exploited by an enterprise or divided according to an agreement.
- Domestic gold mining enterprises:
Activities: Export of raw gold exploited by enterprises themselves.
Conditions: Have a valid gold mining license.
3. Responsibilities of licensed units:
After being licensed, businesses and commercial banks must comply with the following obligations:
- Only import gold bars and raw gold with a content of 99.5% or more.
- Announce and be responsible for the standards, volume, and content of imported gold.
- Develop and report to the State Bank internal regulations on import-export activities, safety measures, and the process of selling raw gold in a public and transparent manner.
- Use imported raw gold for registered purposes (production of gold bars, gold jewelry; sell to other qualified units).
- Build an information system to store transaction data (partners, volume, value) and connect, provide information to the SBV.
- Fully comply with the provisions of Decree 24 2012 and related legal regulations.
4. Other special regulations:
Exemption from tax: The export and import of raw gold by the SBV is exempt from tax according to the decision of the Prime Minister.
Other types of gold: The import and export of raw gold in the form of powder, solution, gold salt, welded silver powder and semi-finished gold jewelry is carried out according to the Certificate of Business Registration.
Authority to issue procedures: The Governor of the State Bank will specify in detail the dossier, procedures and duration of the Gold Import and Export License.
