Circular No. 15/2021/TT-NHNN Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of Circular No. 16/2012/TT-NHNN dated May 25, 2012, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam guiding certain provisions of Decree No. 24/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 3, 2012, of the Government on the management of gold trading activities

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 16/2012/TT-NHNN dated May 25, 2012, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam guiding certain provisions of Decree number 24/2012/NĐ-CP April 3, 2012

of At the proposal of on managing gold trading activities

Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam dated June 16, 2010;

Pursuant to the Law on Credit Institutions dated June 16, 2010, and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Credit Institutions dated November 20, 2017;

Pursuant to the Foreign Exchange Decree dated December 13, 2005 and the Decree Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Foreign Exchange Decree dated March 18, 2013;

Pursuant to Decree No. 24/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 3, 2012 of the Government on gold trading activities management;

Pursuant to Decree No. 85/2019/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2019 of the Government stipulating the implementation of administrative procedures under the national single window mechanism, ASEAN single window mechanism, and specialized inspection for export and import goods;

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 16/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 17, 2017 on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Foreign Exchange Management;

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam hereby issues this Circular amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 16/2012/TT-NHNN dated May 25, 2012, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam guiding certain provisions of Decree No. 24/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 3, 2012 of the Government on managing gold trading activities (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 16/2012/TT-NHNN).

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 16/2012/TT-NHNN

1. Supplement Clause 1b following Clause 1a of Article 15 as follows:

“1b. In the case where foreign-invested enterprises have the need to import raw gold for producing jewelry and artworks and request permission through the national single window mechanism, they shall submit the dossier in accordance with Article 12 of this Circular to the National Single Window Portal to obtain the Import Permit for Raw Gold.”

2. Supplement Clause 5 to Article 15 as follows:

“5. Procedures for issuing the Import Permit for Raw Gold for foreign-invested enterprises to produce jewelry and artworks through the national single window mechanism shall be carried out as follows:

a) Principles for declaration, submission, receipt, issuance of results, exchange, and feedback of information regarding the application dossier for importing raw gold for foreign-invested enterprises to produce jewelry and artworks:

- Electronic dossiers using digital signatures shall be submitted via the National Single Window Portal. The declaration, submission, receipt, issuance of results, exchange, and feedback of information, and the use of digital signatures on the National Single Window Portal and the specialized processing system of the State Bank of Vietnam shall comply with the provisions of Decree No. 85/2019/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2019 of the Government stipulating the implementation of administrative procedures under the national single window mechanism, ASEAN single window mechanism, and specialized inspection for export and import goods, and any subsequent amendments, supplements, or replacements thereof (if any);

- In cases where the National Single Window Portal or the specialized processing system of the State Bank of Vietnam encounters technical issues or errors preventing the receipt or exchange of electronic information, the declaration, submission, receipt, issuance of results, exchange, and feedback of information shall be conducted through postal services or directly at the Service Reception and Result Issuance Unit of the State Bank of Vietnam;

- Documents in the electronic dossier must be scanned copies from original documents or original documents (in PDF, TIF, JPG file formats), except for the application for the Import Permit for Raw Gold which is filled out on the National Single Window Portal. Documents submitted in paper form must be originals or certified true copies according to the law or uncertified true copies presented together with the original for verification. In cases where the applicant submits uncertified true copies along with the original for verification, the verifier is responsible for confirming the accuracy of the copy compared to the original.

b) Procedure and process for issuing the Import Permit for Raw Gold for foreign-invested enterprises to produce jewelry and artworks:

- When there is a need to import raw gold for producing jewelry and artworks, the enterprise shall prepare and submit one set of dossier to the State Bank of Vietnam in accordance with Clause 1b and point a of this Clause;

- Within fifteen working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier in accordance with Article 12 of this Circular, the State Bank of Vietnam shall examine and issue or refuse to issue (with clear reasons) the Import Permit for Raw Gold for the enterprise in the format specified in Appendix 15 attached to this Circular and send it to the enterprise in accordance with point a of this Clause. If the dossier is incomplete or invalid, the State Bank of Vietnam shall notify the enterprise.”

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 6 of Article 16 as follows:

“6. For the procedure to adjust the Temporary Import Permit for Raw Gold for re-exporting products, based on the adjusted contract and the provisions of this Circular, within thirty working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Director of the State Bank of Vietnam branch in the province/city shall issue or refuse to issue (with clear reasons) the Decision to Adjust the Temporary Import Permit for Raw Gold for Re-exporting Products (in the format specified in Appendix 21 of this Circular). In cases of adjusting the validity period of the permit, the adjustment period shall be determined based on the adjusted processing contract and shall not exceed twelve months from the date of issuing the adjusted permit. In cases of adjusting the quantity of imported raw gold, the adjustment quantity shall be determined based on the processing contract, its annexes, and the production plan for jewelry and artworks of the enterprise.”

4. Amending and supplementing Clause 1 of Article 18 as follows:

“1. All documents and materials in the dossier prescribed in Section 3 of this Circular, except for the dossier for obtaining permits through the national single window mechanism, must be originals or certified true copies from the original book or uncertified true copies according to the law or uncertified true copies presented together with the original for verification. In cases where the applicant submits uncertified true copies along with the original for verification, the verifier is responsible for confirming the accuracy of the copy compared to the original.”

5. Amending and supplementing Clause 1a of Article 20 as follows:

"1a. Quarterly, enterprises and credit institutions that have been granted a Business License for buying and selling gold bars, if they implement changes to the business information on the Business License for buying and selling gold bars or adjust the location for buying and selling gold bars (including changing the name, address of the location for buying and selling gold bars, adding new locations for buying and selling gold bars, ceasing operations at locations previously licensed, or reporting to the State Bank of Vietnam as stipulated in this Circular), shall submit reports on these changes and adjustments occurring during the reporting period (as per Appendix 10b of this Circular), specifically as follows:

a) Enterprises and credit institutions shall submit a system-wide report to the State Bank of Vietnam (Department of Foreign Exchange Management) and the State Bank branch in the province or city where the enterprise or credit institution has its main office;

b) Enterprises and credit institutions shall submit a report on branches or transaction offices with changes to the State Bank branch in the province or city where such branches or transaction offices are located."

Article 2. Replacing Certain Phrases and Appendices of Circular 16/2012/TT-NHNN

1. Replace the phrase “deferred deduction voucher confirmed by Customs” with the phrase “Deferred deduction voucher printed from the Customs business information system, confirmed by the enterprise regarding the accuracy of the document” in Clause 4, Article 10, Clause 4, Article 11, Clause 3, Article 11a, Clause 3, Article 12, Clause 5, Article 13, Clause 4, Article 14, Appendix 6, Appendix 7, Appendix 8, and Appendix 9 of Circular 16/2012/TT-NHNN.

2. Replace the phrase “submit directly or send via postal service” with the phrase “submit directly at the One-Stop Service Center or through postal services” in Clause 1, Article 15, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 16, and Clause 1, Article 17 of Circular 16/2012/TT-NHNN.

3. Replace Appendix 10b issued together with Circular 16/2012/TT-NHNN (which was supplemented by Circular No. 29/2019/TT-NHNN dated December 27, 2019, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular 16/2012/TT-NHNN, hereinafter referred to as Circular 29/2019/TT-NHNN) with Appendix 10b issued together with this Circular.

Article 3. Responsibility for implementation

The Director of the Office, the Head of the Department of Foreign Exchange Management, the Inspector General, the Supervisory Authority of Banking, the Heads of units under the State Bank of Vietnam, the Governors of the State Bank branches in provinces and centrally-administered cities, credit institutions, and enterprises engaged in gold trading are responsible for implementing this Circular.

Article 4. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from November 20, 2021.

2. This Circular abolishes:

a) Clause 17, Article 1 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-NHNN dated December 31, 2015, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular 16/2012/TT-NHNN.

b) Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 4, Article 1 of Circular 29/2019/TT-NHNN.

c) Appendix 10b issued together with Circular 29/2019/TT-NHNN./.