Gold business licences will be revoked if there is no electronic invoice compliance: PM

A gold transaction conducted at a shop in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Gold businesses must implement electronic invoices connected to the tax authorities before June 15, or else their licences will be withdrawn, said Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.

At a meeting on monetary and fiscal policies held on Thursday, the PM urged government ministries to carry out measures aimed at narrowing the gap between domestic and international gold prices.

The solutions outlined by the Government include intensifying inspections, increasing monitoring and taking strict actions against any violations. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is required to continue reviewing Government Decree No. 24/2012 on gold business management.

Regarding electronic invoices in gold transactions, the PM has set a strict deadline of June 15 for businesses to comply. Failure to implement electronic invoices connected to the tax authorities will result in their business licences being revoked.

The Government has repeatedly emphasised the requirement for such invoices, with the prevalent issue of small-scale transactions involving precious metals lacking proper invoices, documentation and transparency.

According to the Tax Administration Law, businesses and household businesses were obligated to implement electronic invoices from July 1, 2022. Information from the representative of the General Department of Taxation reveals that currently all businesses engaged in gold and silver trading have adopted these electronic invoices.

However in reality many jewellers do not issue invoices and customers are paying in cash. In addition several gold businesses opt for lump sum payments, a situation that leads to significant tax revenue losses.

Gold monopoly elimination

At the economic and social press conference in HCM City on Thursday afternoon, Lê Thuý Hằng, the CEO of Saigon Jewellery, Silver and Gemstone Company (SJC), said that Decree No. 24/2022 had been very effective.

But while acknowledging the positive role it had played thus far, she suggested that the gold monopoly provision could be removed from the decree, as it did not bring any advantages to SJC or any individuals or groups.

Hằng added that since the Government introduced Decree 24 in 2012 to regulate the gold business, SJC had not been involved in the production or importation of raw gold.

Hằng emphasised that SJC was committed to selling a certain amount of gold to each individual to maintain market supply, even if other gold businesses might choose not to sell. She stressed that it was never the case that a customer comes to the store and can’t perform transactions.

"Our company is exclusively focused on the trade of gold, silver and gemstones, with our activities limited to processing scrap gold. The management of all gold bar-related operations is under the jurisdiction of the SBV,” Hằng said.

The CEO added that SJC's inability to import raw materials and produce SJC gold bars resulted in demand exceeding supply.

She suggested the elimination of the monopoly on gold bars to align with the current situation and facilitate gold trading businesses producing their own gold bars, this would mean supply sources could diversify.

In that scenario, consumers would be able to make their purchasing choices based on the reputation and brand of the businesses.

SJC won the previous four successful gold bar auctions. In the auctions held on April 23, May 8 and May 14, it won a total of 6,000 taels, which accounted for over 40 per cent of the overall volume.

On the domestic market, SJC gold prices are quoted at VNĐ87.5 million per tael for sellers and VNĐ90 million for buyers. On May 10, prices hit an all-time high of over VNĐ92 million per tael.

At the current prices, the domestic gold price is VNĐ16-17 million higher than the international price.