Mr. Truong Thanh Duc, Lawyer and CEO of the ANVI Law Firm

Prior to 2012, all high-value transactions and large assets were valued in gold. Many banks raised funds in gold, causing liquidity crises when prices surged and people rushed to withdraw their gold. The VND lost value, and inflation soared. In response, Decree No. 24 was introduced, featuring strict regulations to curb the public’s obsession with gold, limit its impact on monetary policy, and restore trust in the VND. A stable currency is essential for macro-economic stability, encouraging both savings and business investment.

However, the regulatory framework under Decree No. 24 has become outdated and no longer fits the current context. It is time for amendments, including clear prohibitions and penalties. Loose gold market management presents risks, as gold is a special commodity that differs from other assets. In fact, Vietnam once strictly controlled gold ownership, requiring individuals to declare and register even small amounts. The belief that “gold ensures peace of mind” still holds strong today, particularly during times of instability.

Some argue that Vietnam should relax gold import regulations, pointing out that the country spends more on foreign alcohol and cigars than on gold. But gold, once imported, is stored rather than used in production or consumption, meaning the foreign currency spent does not flow back into the economy. In contrast, luxury goods stimulate consumption, create jobs, and drive growth. Therefore, gold imports must be tightly regulated, not liberalized.

Having worked in the banking industry during the “gold rush”, I recommend the State Bank of Vietnam prohibit credit institutions from mobilizing gold. Gold price fluctuations could lead to liquidity risks and threaten the banking system. Gold should not return as a means of payment, as this could destabilize the VND and disrupt the economy.

In the immediate future, authorities should explore solutions to better identify gold, control supply and demand, and track its movement to prevent money laundering and tax evasion.

Establishing gold trading floors should also be done with caution, especially for physical gold. Initially, domestic gold trading platforms do not need to be linked to international markets. The regulatory body can allow domestic gold trading accounts and financial gold, but keep it within the local market, similar to securities trading today. The aim is to prevent capital from flowing abroad, as domestic resources for economic development remain limited.

Dr. Ngo Minh Hai, Vice President of the University of Economics and Finance, Ho Chi Minh City

Gold consumption in the domestic market serves two main purposes: storage as an asset, and use in production and business (for e.g., jewelry or crafts). Gold is stored only when it can generate profit. Recently, many people have speculated on gold, expecting it to increase in value.

The main issue now is the large price gap between domestic and international gold prices, which fuels speculative behavior. Once the market becomes transparent, speculation will no longer be profitable, and capital will naturally shift to production. This aligns with the “invisible hand” principle, where investments, speculation, or production all have specific profit margins, and transparency helps balance them.

How can the gold market become transparent? First, the State Bank of Vietnam and relevant ministries must manage gold circulation and work towards classifying gold as an asset like others. This would enable tracking, taxation, and clearer oversight.

At the same time, the government should stabilize the gold market by ending the monopoly on SJC gold bar production and distribution. It should also license qualified companies to produce pure gold, while controlling the supply and quality, allowing the market to self-regulate based on supply and demand.

This approach is similar to the electricity market: if all businesses, domestic and foreign, could produce and distribute electricity at market prices, rather than having a State-owned monopoly, electricity prices would decrease. When monopolies are removed, markets become more competitive, and gold prices would stabilize, encouraging production and business over mere gold storage.

However, removing the monopoly alone won’t stabilize the gold market. The government should consider allowing gold imports and setting up gold trading platforms to integrate gold into the circulating capital of the economy.

Currently, the State Bank of Vietnam uses national foreign exchange reserves to import gold, and the government might consider increasing gold reserves, as gold is part of those reserves.

For businesses wanting to import gold, a clear, transparent import quota system with specific conditions should be established. Quotas should prioritize businesses with genuine production plans using gold for manufacturing, excluding speculative traders seeking profits from price differences.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duoc, CEO of the Trong Tin Accounting and Tax Consulting Co., Ltd.

Gold business activities in Vietnam are currently governed by key tax policies, including import taxes, VAT, and corporate income tax.

I believe it’s important for authorities to consider adding taxes on gold production and trading activities to expand the tax base.

For the gold bar market, the State Bank of Vietnam exclusively handles the import and export of raw gold, which is tax exempt. Since gold bars are mainly used for storage and don’t create value, they are not subject to VAT.

However, in the jewelry and crafts market, where gold is mixed with other metals and crafted into finished products, it is treated as a commodity. These products are subject to taxes such as VAT, export taxes, and corporate income tax if they are owned by businesses.

Currently, gold bars are not classified as commodities, meaning they aren’t subject to VAT. If they were, buying and selling would become more transparent, making it easier to collect taxes, mainly VAT. For individuals trading in gold bars, personal income tax or corporate income tax would apply.

On import and export policies, I believe an export tax should be applied to raw gold and gold bars to limit the export of unprocessed resources. Instead, the government should encourage the crafting of gold to add value, promoting the export of labor-intensive products like handcrafted gold jewelry.

Intricately crafted gold products not only reflect material value but also labor value, which should be encouraged. For example, if 100 tons of gold were crafted into finished products instead of being exported as raw materials, the value added would be much higher. In this case, we are selling labor, not just gold.

Therefore, tax policies should favor crafted gold products with lower gold content and impose higher taxes on raw gold with high content.

Vietnam already has regulations stating that if an exported product contains more than 51 per cent minerals, it is not eligible for the 0 per cent export tax rate, reflecting the government’s aim to limit raw resource exports and prioritize added value in the production chain.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ha, Lawyer and Managing Partner at SBLaw

A recent inspection report on six gold trading companies clearly highlights the existing shortcomings in the inter-agency coordination mechanism for managing the gold market. We need to directly address the existing gaps.

First, there is a lack of binding regulations and unclear delegation of responsibilities. The State Bank of Vietnam is the main agency responsible for managing the gold market, but it lacks the necessary tools to monitor e-commerce and handle tax violations, money laundering, or smuggling.

Second, there is a lack of data connectivity and digital monitoring. Currently, there is no system that connects data from gold trading apps with the State Bank of Vietnam, the General Department of Taxation, and the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Public Security. This prevents regulatory agencies from monitoring transactions in real-time, making it difficult to detect sophisticated violations through digital platforms.

Third, there is no dedicated inter-agency task force for the gold market. While task forces have been established for markets like real estate, bonds, and digital assets, under the direction of the Prime Minister, a clear and regular inter-agency mechanism for the gold market, which is a strategic and sensitive commodity, has yet to be established.

Furthermore, the inspection report indicates that businesses in violation have been fined significant amounts.

I believe that for minor, unintentional violations, the current fines may have a certain deterrent effect. However, for organized, sophisticated violations where the profits from illegal activities are significant, public opinion and some experts argue that the current fines may not be sufficient to deter such acts, especially when compared to the potential benefits from illegal activities like smuggling, price manipulation, or tax evasion. The fact that some large businesses continue to make repeated violations indicates that the actual effectiveness of the penalties should be reassessed.

Recently, the State Bank of Vietnam transferred the files of several cases showing signs of criminal violations to the police, which is an important step, showing a commitment to handling serious violations. This has much greater deterrent power than merely imposing administrative fines.

In the long term, I propose amending Decree No. 88/2019/ND-CP to increase fines and adjust violations in line with actual practices, which I hope will contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of State management in the sector.

However, alongside increasing penalties, strengthening regular and random inspections and ensuring transparency and fairness in handling violations are also key factors to improve deterrence.