The Vietnamese government has issued a new decree that amends and supplements several articles of Decree 24/2012/ND-CP on the management of gold business activities. Issued on October 16, 2026, Decree 390/2026/ND-CP modifies regulations regarding the licensing of gold bar production and trading, the conditions for gold material import, and the reporting obligations for enterprises involved in the gold sector. The document changes the status of gold jewelry production from a conditional business activity to a general activity, while tightening oversight on gold bar operations.
Changes to Gold Bar Production and Trading
The decree amends Article 4 of the original regulation to clarify the nature of gold bar activities. Clause 6 states that gold bar production and trading are conditional business activities and must be licensed by the State Bank with a gold bar production license and a gold bar trading license. The decree also specifies that the activities of trading gold material by enterprises and commercial banks producing gold bars shall be carried out in accordance with this Decree.
Conversely, the production, processing and trading of gold jewelry and art crafts do not belong to the sectors and trades subject to conditional business investment. Organizations and individuals engaged in the production, processing and trading of gold jewelry and art crafts shall comply with the laws on quality of products and goods, standards, measurement, goods labels, price listing, invoices, documents, taxes, fire prevention and fighting, environmental protection, protection of consumers’ interests, anti- money laundering, and other relevant laws. This shift means entities no longer need a specific certificate of eligibility from the State Bank to engage in gold jewelry production.
The regulation also updates the objective of gold trading management. Clause 4 of the amended Article 4 states that the management of gold trading activities aims to promote the stable and sustainable development of the gold market.
Import and Export Restrictions
The State Bank will now consider granting these permits annually to foreign-invested enterprises based on their production capacity and performance of processing or exporting contracts.
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Reporting and Inspection Obligations
Article 2 of the decree amends and supplements a number of points and clauses of Article 141 and Article 14. Clause 4 Article 14 states that an enterprise registered to produce and process gold jewelry and art crafts, and having a contract for processing gold jewelry and art crafts with a foreign party shall be considered by the State Bank for the grant of the permit for gold material import for performance of the processing contract and export of the processed products.
Article 2 also amends and supplements Clause 5 Article 14, which states that annually, the State Bank shall consider granting permits for gold material import to a foreign-invested enterprise based on its production capacity, performance of contracts for processing or exporting gold jewelry and art crafts, and reports on the export of gold jewelry and art crafts in the preceding year, if any.
Article 2 amends and supplements Clause 8 Article 14, which states that the export and import of the following types of gold shall be carried out in accordance with the enterprise registration certificates, the customs law and relevant specialized law: gold material in the forms of powder, solution, solder flakes, gold salts, wire and tubes, and gold jewelry in semi-finished form; gold used as raw materials for manufacturing electronic components, electronic equipment, medical equipment and medical instruments.
Implementation and Transitional Provisions
Clause 10 Article 14 is amended and supplemented, which includes Point dd.4, stating sale to enterprises registered for the production of gold jewelry and art crafts, and Point e, stating to establish an information system for complete and accurate processing and storing of data on export, import, trading, use and inventory of imported gold material; data on gold material purchase and sale transactions; and to connect and provide information to the State Bank in accordance with regulations of the Governor of the State Bank.
Payments for gold trading with a value of VND 5 million or more per day by a customer must be made through his/her cashless payment instruments in accordance with the law on cashless payment, as stated in Clause 10 Article 4.
