Editor’s Note
This article outlines a proposed 2% export tax on gold products below 95% purity in Vietnam, part of a draft amendment to existing tariff laws. The move aims to regulate the export of lower-purity gold and could impact the domestic and international gold markets.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance is pushing forward with a plan to impose an export tax on gold products with a purity below 95%. According to the draft amendment to the ‘Law on Export Tariffs, Preferential Import Tariffs, Mixed Tariffs, and Quota Tariffs (Decree 122/2016/ND-CP)’ released by the Ministry of Finance on the 20th, an export tariff of 2% will be applied to gold products with a purity below 95%.
This move comes in response to a recent increase in cases where gold export enterprises have been declaring gold with a purity below 95% to customs to avoid the application of export tariffs.
Current regulations on gold trading and import-export stipulate that a 2% or 0% export tariff applies to gold, gold processed products, and precious metal products with a minimum purity of at least 8 karats (K). Additionally, the export of unprocessed gold ore is not permitted.
According to the General Department of Customs, gold product exports in the first half of the year amounted to $380 million.
Last year, gold product exports reached $2.6 billion, an increase of $600 million compared to the previous year and over $2 billion compared to 2018. Exports of gold products with a purity below 95% (HS code 7114.19.00.90) last year accounted for a significant portion of the total at $2.1 billion.
As of the end of 2020, there were 469 enterprises engaged in the import and export of gold, pearls, gemstones, and semi-precious stones in Vietnam.