The State Bank of Vietnam has issued Circular 56/2026/TT-NHNN, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 34/2025/TT-NHNN. This circular guides the grant, modification, and revocation of licenses for trading in gold bars, production of gold bars, export and import of gold, and other gold business activities.

Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam and other relevant laws, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam has promulgated this circular to provide further guidance on gold business management. The circular includes amendments to various articles, including Article 1, which provides the scope of regulation for gold business activities.

Amendments to Gold Business Management

Article 2 of the circular amends Clause 3 of Article 4, which provides that a document evidencing that the locations registered as gold bar trading locations have been notified to the competent business registration agency in accordance with law. Article 3 amends Clause 3 of Article 7, which provides that a contract with a foreign party for processing gold jewelry and art crafts or a contract for exporting gold jewelry and art crafts is required.

Article 4 of the circular amends and supplements Clause 1 of Article 12, which requires documents included in the dossiers of application for grant or modification of licenses to be signed by the legal representative or authorized representative. Clause 2 provides that the dossier of application for grant of licenses must be made in one (01) set in Vietnamese, and Clause 3 provides that submitted copies must be issued from master registers or be certified true copies, or copies submitted together with original documents for comparison.

The circular also amends Article 15, which provides procedures for grant of gold material import licenses for enterprises making offshore investment in gold mining and gold material export licenses for licensed gold mining enterprises in Vietnam. Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Director of the SBV regional branch shall consider granting or refusing to grant the license.

Article 6 amends Point c Clause 2, which requires information on gold material trading activities (counterparties, volumes, fineness, and transaction values) and information on the use and inventory of imported gold material. Article 7 amends Clause 3, which provides that enterprises engaged in gold trading shall submit reports on their gold trading activities to the SBV regional branch on a quarterly or annual basis, or when necessary.

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The reports shall be made according to the forms provided in the appendices to the circular. Gold trading enterprises having a contract to process gold jewelry and art crafts for a foreign party and obtaining a license for import of gold material for performance of processing contracts and export of the processed products shall submit reports on their gold material import, production, and export of gold jewelry and art crafts, using the form provided in Appendix No. 05a.

Implementation Provisions

Article 10 of the circular provides implementation provisions, including the effective date of the circular, which is October 19, 2026. Reporting and information connectivity by SBV regional branches and enterprises and credit institutions shall be carried out in accordance with the circular, with some exceptions for the reporting periods of the third and fourth quarters of 2026.

For the reporting period of the third quarter of 2026, SBV regional branches shall submit reports in accordance with Circular No. 34/2025/TT-NHNN. From the reporting period of the fourth quarter of 2026 and the annual reporting period of 2026 onward, reports on the management of gold trading activities shall be submitted in accordance with this circular. The circular also requires heads of units under the State Bank of Vietnam, enterprises, and credit institutions engaged in gold trading activities to organize the implementation of this circular, and it was signed by Deputy Governor Pham Quang Dung.

The circular includes a number of appendices, which provide forms for reports and other documents required for gold business activities. These appendices replace or amend previous appendices, and they provide guidance on the specific requirements for gold trading activities, including the import and export of gold material, and the production and trading of gold bars and gold jewelry.

The State Bank of Vietnam has the authority to inspect, examine, and handle violations relating to gold business activities, including the production and trading of gold bars, and the import and export of gold material. The bank shall also retrieve and use information from the National Database and specialized databases to verify the accuracy of documents submitted by enterprises and credit institutions.

Regulatory Framework

The circular is part of the regulatory framework for gold business activities in Vietnam, which includes the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, the Law on Credit Institutions, and the Government’s Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP on management of gold business activities.