Expanding the scope of regulation for gold bar production activities
Regarding the scope of regulation, Decree No. 232/2025/ND-CP has added "gold bar production activities" in Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP. Specifically:
"1. This Decree regulates gold trading activities, including: Production and processing of gold jewelry and fine arts; buying and selling of gold jewelry and fine arts; gold bar production activities; buying and selling of gold bars; gold export and import activities and other gold trading activities, including gold trading on accounts and gold derivative activities."
Gold bar production
In addition, Decree No. 232/2025/ND-CP amends and supplements Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP on the concept of gold bars: "2. Gold bars are gold products stamped into pieces, stamped with letters, weight and quality indicators, and marked with codes of enterprises and commercial banks permitted by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to produce; gold bars are produced by the State Bank in each period".
According to the new regulations, the phrase "credit institution" is amended to "commercial bank" to conform to the scope of operations of commercial banks in the Law on Credit Institutions (Clause 17, 21 and Clause 38, Article 4 and Clause 1, Article 114) and the orientation is to only allow commercial banks (excluding other credit institutions) to carry out gold bar production, gold export and import activities.
Decree No. 232/2025/ND-CP also amends and supplements Clause 6, Article 4, according to which gold bar production is a conditional business activity and must be licensed by the State Bank. The amendment and supplement are consistent with the goal of shifting from the monopoly mechanism for gold bar production to the mechanism of licensing gold bar production.
Gold purchases and sales of VND 20 million/day or more must be paid through a bank account
Decree No. 232/2025/ND-CP also supplements Clause 10, Article 4 of Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP on payment for gold purchases and sales: "Payments for gold purchases and sales worth VND 20 million or more per day by a customer must be made through the customer's payment account and the payment account of the gold trading enterprise opened at a commercial bank or foreign bank branch."
The addition of the above provision is to ensure the requirement of authenticating customer information but does not create additional obligations for customers because the authentication has been performed when customers open and use payment accounts at commercial banks and foreign bank branches. This provision also aims to increase publicity and transparency in gold buying and selling transactions.
Decree No. 232/2025/ND-CP also adds Clause 5a, Article 6 on the responsibilities of enterprises engaged in the production of gold jewelry and fine arts. Accordingly, when selling raw gold purchased from enterprises, commercial banks specified in Article 11a of this Decree must create and use electronic invoices in accordance with the provisions of law; fully and accurately store data on raw gold sales transactions; and connect to provide information to the State Bank in accordance with the regulations of the Governor of the State Bank.
Adding responsibilities of enterprises engaged in the production of gold jewelry and fine arts when selling raw gold purchased from enterprises and commercial banks must create and use electronic invoices; store data to ensure transparency and control in transactions of buying and selling raw gold.
Conditions for granting a License to produce gold bars
Notably, the Decree has added Article 11a after Article 11 of Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP on conditions for granting a License to produce gold bars. Specifically as follows:
"Article 11a. Conditions for granting a License to produce gold bars
1. Enterprises shall be considered by the State Bank for granting a License to produce gold bars when they meet the following conditions:
a) Having a License to buy and sell gold bars;
b) Having a charter capital of VND 1,000 billion or more;
c) Not being administratively sanctioned for violations in gold trading activities or being administratively sanctioned for violations in gold trading activities but having completed remedial measures according to the Decision on sanctioning administrative violations, recommendations with a time limit for implementation in the Conclusion of the inspection and examination of the competent state agency (if any);
d) Having internal regulations on gold bar production including basic contents such as the process of importing raw materials; the process of producing gold bars; the process of supervising production; the process of controlling product quality.
2. Commercial banks shall be considered by the State Bank for granting a License to produce gold gold bars when meeting the following conditions:
a) Having a Business License to buy and sell gold bars;
b) Having a charter capital of VND 50,000 billion or more;
c) Not being administratively sanctioned for violations in gold trading activities or being administratively sanctioned for violations in gold trading activities but having completed remedial measures according to the Decision on administrative sanctions, recommendations with a time limit for implementation in the Inspection and Examination Conclusion of the competent state agency (if any);
d) Having internal regulations on gold bar production including basic contents such as the process of importing raw materials; the process of producing gold bars; the process of supervising production; the process of controlling product quality.
3. The Governor of the State Bank shall prescribe the dossier and procedures for granting a License to produce gold bars."
The above conditions are stipulated to ensure that enterprises and commercial banks producing gold bars are experienced organizations with sufficient financial capacity and comply with the law on gold trading activities to produce gold bars. This is also a necessary basis for enterprises and commercial banks to immediately start producing gold bars when they are granted a license to produce gold bars, meeting the urgent requirement of effectively managing the gold market in the current context, ensuring the principle that the State still manages the production of gold bars.
Responsibilities of organizations licensed to produce, trade, and sell gold bars
In addition, regarding the responsibilities of organizations licensed to produce, trade, and sell gold bars in Article 12 of Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP, Decree 232/2025/ND-CP also adds some new contents in the direction of expanding and increasing the responsibilities of enterprises and commercial banks that produce gold bars (Clause 3) and the responsibilities of enterprises and credit institutions that trade in gold bars (Clause 4). Specifically:
"Article 12. Responsibilities of organizations licensed to produce, trade, buy and sell gold bars
1. Only permitted to produce, trade, buy and sell the type of gold bars specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of this Decree.
2. Comply with the provisions of law on accounting regime, preparation and use of invoices and vouchers.
3. In addition to the provisions in Clauses 1, 2 and 5 of this Article, enterprises and commercial banks producing gold bars shall be responsible for:
a) Announcing the applicable standards, mass and content of the products in accordance with the provisions of law and being legally responsible for the mass and content standards of the products produced in accordance with the announced mass and content standards;
b) Taking full responsibility for the gold bar products they produce, guaranteeing the gold bar products for customers in accordance with the provisions of law; storing complete and accurate data on the gold bars produced;
c) Building an information system to process, Store data on produced gold bars with basic contents including information on input materials, production time, output products; connect to provide information to the State Bank according to regulations of the Governor of the State Bank.
4. In addition to the provisions in Clauses 1, 2 and 5 of this Article, enterprises and credit institutions engaged in the business of buying and selling gold bars shall be responsible for:
a) Publicly posting the buying and selling prices of gold bars at the transaction location or on the electronic information page and connecting to provide information on the listed prices to the State Bank;
b) Not being allowed to conduct gold bar trading through authorized agents;
c) Having measures and equipment to ensure safety in business activities;
d) Developing internal regulations on buying and selling gold bars, clearly defining the process of buying and selling gold bars with customers; publicly announcing information on the rights and obligations of customers on the electronic information page of the credit institution use, enterprise or publicly listed at the transaction office; fully and accurately store data on gold bar trading transactions;
d) Build an information system to process and store data on gold bar trading transactions with basic contents including identification information for individuals, corporate tax codes for enterprises, transaction volume and value of buyers and sellers; connect to provide information to the State Bank according to regulations of the Governor of the State Bank.
5. Comply with the provisions of this Decree and other relevant legal provisions."
SBV News/VNBA News
