Decision No. 259/QD-NH6 on the issuance of the "Regulation on Accepting and Safeguarding Precious Assets"

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of the "Regulation on Accepting Safekeeping of Precious Assets"

GOVERNOR OF THE STATE BANK OF VIETNAM

Pursuant to the Ordinance on the State Bank of Vietnam promulgated by the Chairman's Decree No. 37/LCT-HĐNN8 dated May 24, 1990;

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 15/CP dated March 2, 1993 on the tasks, powers, and responsibilities for state management of Ministries and agencies at the ministerial level;

At the proposal of the Director of the Issuance and Precious Goods Department.

 

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. The regulation on accepting safekeeping of precious assets is hereby issued pursuant to this decision.

12/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 19, 2025 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and EnvironmentThis Decision shall take effect from the date of signing.

Article 3. The Chief of the Governor's Office, the Director of the Issuance and Precious Goods Department; Heads of Departments and Bureaus related to the Central State Bank; Branch Governors of the State Bank in provinces and cities; General Directors of State Commercial Banks, Investment and Development Bank; Vietnam Gold and Precious Metals Corporation are responsible for organizing the implementation of the regulation issued under this Decision.

REGULATIONS

ON ACCEPTING SAFEKEEPING OF PRECIOUS ASSETS

(Issued pursuant to Decision No. 259/QĐ/NH6 dated October 22, 1994)
of the Governor of the State Bank)

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Precious assets referred to in this regulation are gold, silver, precious metals, gemstones, jewelry (made of gold, silver, precious metals, gemstones...); negotiable instruments such as stocks, bonds, bills of exchange, promissory notes...

Article 2. State commercial banks, Investment and Development Bank, Vietnam Gold and Precious Metals Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Bank), where there are conditions regarding storage facilities, safekeeping equipment, good management capabilities, ensuring asset safety for customers and the Bank itself, may provide safekeeping services for precious assets.

Article 3. The Bank accepting safekeeping of precious assets shall collect safekeeping fees from customers according to Article 22 of this Regulation and the guidance of the Bank's General Director.

Article 4. Any organization or individual, Vietnamese or foreign (referred to hereafter as the customer), who agrees with all provisions of this regulation and the transaction rules of the Bank, may deposit precious assets legally owned by them for safekeeping at the Bank.

Article 5. The customer's assets deposited at the Bank are guaranteed to be absolutely secure in quantity, weight, and shape... according to the handover record between both parties; depositing and withdrawing is convenient and kept confidential.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 6. A Bank meeting the conditions specified in Article 2 for providing safekeeping services for precious assets must ensure the following requirements:

Storage facility: The warehouse must be constructed and reinforced securely, meeting current standards set by the Governor of the State Bank. Separate storage rooms or areas within storage rooms must be arranged to provide safekeeping services for precious assets.

Safekeeping equipment: There must be separate safes, iron cabinets... with secure locks, ensuring safety. Containers holding customers' assets must be made of galvanized steel or iron according to standard sizes and have good locks.

Article 7. The Bank will not accept safekeeping of the following assets:

Not being the type of precious assets defined in Article 1;

Prohibited by law from buying, selling, or transferring;

Assets requiring special storage and safekeeping conditions.

Article 8. The service of safekeeping precious assets, agreed upon by the customer and the Bank, must include the following elements:

Name, address, phone number, telex, fax, ID number of the customer.

Name of the Bank representative accepting safekeeping.

Name, brand, code, symbol, quantity, weight, characteristics of the assets being kept safe and accompanying documents. Safekeeping box number.

Duration of safekeeping.

Level, form, and periodic payment of safekeeping fees.

Responsibilities of each party. Determination of responsibilities in cases where the assets accepted for safekeeping are damaged or lost.

Other commitment clauses.

Article 9. If the customer is an organization, the head of the unit may authorize another person to sign the contract. The authorization letter must state the name, ID number of the authorized person, stamped and signed by the head of the unit.

Any change or cancellation of the safekeeping contract for precious assets must be agreed upon in writing by the parties involved in the contract.

Article 10. After signing the contract, the customer and the Bank's representative must jointly establish a handover record. The content of the record must include the following elements:

Name, address, ID number of the customer or the authorized person.

Name of the Bank's representative and other staff members inspecting and evaluating the assets being kept safe.

Name, quantity, weight, external condition (shape, color...) of each type of asset being kept safe.

The handover record is established in four copies, one copy retained by the customer, one copy stored at the Bank's accounting department, one copy kept by the custodian, and one copy stored together with the assets being kept safe in the Bank's warehouse.

Article 11. Sealing of assets is carried out in two steps:

Step 1: The customer must personally package and seal their own asset package before placing it in the Bank's safekeeping box, along with the asset declaration form, under the guidance and supervision of the Bank.

Step 2: The Bank guides and witnesses the customer sealing the outside of the safekeeping box with their own lock and sealing material, then handing over the box to the Bank for safekeeping.

Each safekeeping box must be numbered correctly according to the contract.

Article 12. Sealing materials must be reliable, such as paper, nylon, pine resin (stamped seal), lead (clipped seal)... ensuring that the information on them is not lost or deformed.

The Bank must regularly check the seals of the safekeeping boxes for precious assets. If there are signs that could cause the seal to be lost, immediate measures must be taken, and the customer must be notified immediately to resolve the issue.

Article 13. Monthly, the customer can request the Bank to check their safekeeping box. Before checking, the customer must present the contract and identification card to the Bank. The customer checks their safekeeping box in the transaction room. The customer only examines the box and checks the seal, without removing the original seal to reseal it.

Article 14. When retrieving assets, the customer or authorized person must present the contract, handover record, authorization letter (if retrieving through authorization), and identification card. The Bank verifies the documents and processes the handover of assets between the Bank and the customer.

After terminating the contract and returning the assets to the customer, the Bank must recover the contract, handover record, and related documents for archiving according to current regulations.

Article 15. Before opening the safe deposit box, the customer must inspect the lock and seal on the outside of the safe deposit box. If there are suspicious signs on the lock and seal of the safe deposit box, the customer needs to request the bank to jointly prepare a record. If necessary, the customer may invite a legal authority for appraisal before the customer personally breaks the seal and opens the lock of the safe deposit box with the presence of a bank representative to further check the seal of the package inside the box.

In case of poor storage, if the bank loses the seal on the package, both the bank and the customer must organize an appraisal before the customer opens the package independently. In this situation, the bank will hand over the assets to the customer under the witness of a legal authority representative.

Article 16. When the customer needs to withdraw part of the assets (or deposit additional assets), they must follow the procedures specified in Article 15 for withdrawing all assets, then both parties sign a new asset storage contract.

Article 17. The bank must ensure absolute safety of the customer's assets. The assets must remain intact until returned to the customer.

If any loss or damage occurs to the customer's assets, the bank shall be responsible for compensating the losses.

Article 18. The customer is responsible for the lawful ownership of the assets deposited with the bank, and must comply fully with the provisions of this Regulation and the specific transaction content of the bank.

The customer is responsible for paying the full and timely storage fee to the bank as stipulated.

If the customer receives the safe deposit box still intact with the lock and seal on the outside of the box, the customer shall be responsible for the entire quantity and quality of the assets contained within the iron box.

Article 19. In case the customer loses the deposit asset documentation, they must immediately report it in writing to the bank. The bank suspends all transactions related to this contract. Subsequently, the customer must come directly to the bank's headquarters to present the lost deposit asset declaration form confirmed by the police or local authorities, identification card, asset owner's contract termination request form, and other relevant documents if any.

The bank and the customer must terminate the old contract and sign a new contract.

All costs associated with preparing the new contract shall be borne by the customer.

Article 20. In case the customer dies suddenly without leaving a will or a valid power of attorney, the bank shall return the assets to the heirs according to the law.

If the customer is currently serving a sentence and there are clauses related to the assets deposited at the bank.

Article 21. In case the customer is an organization and changes its head, they must promptly inform the bank through documents ensuring legal validity.

Article 22. Regarding the storage fee for rare assets:

The storage fee for rare assets is determined based on the principle of covering a portion of the basic depreciation of the warehouse and preservation equipment, management costs, document preparation expenses, etc. However:

The annual storage fee for one box of rare assets shall not exceed 0.5% (five thousandths) of the value of the assets and shall be at least 200,000 VND per box per year.

If the value of the stored assets cannot be determined, the bank and the customer shall agree on a fee that both parties can accept.

The General Directors of State-owned Commercial Banks, Investment and Development Bank, and Vietnam Gold Jewelry Corporation shall base their reasonable collection rates on the above regulations and business realities.

Payment method: in cash or by bank transfer.

The customer must pay the storage fee in advance, calculated either by time period or per deposit.

In case of exceeding the contract term, in addition to the regular storage fee, the customer must also pay a storage penalty equivalent to the overdue interest rate on the value of the delayed assets.

The bank will not refund any remaining storage fee due to the customer's early contract termination request.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

Article 23. The General Directors of State-owned Commercial Banks, Investment and Development Bank, and Vietnam Gold Jewelry Corporation shall base their decisions to provide rare asset storage services and guide the implementation based on this regulation and the conditions of the warehouses and iron safes of their subordinate units (initially from provincial and city levels).

Article 24. The accounting department and the rare asset warehouse department of the bank receiving rare asset storage must maintain records tracking each customer's boxes, maintain transaction ledgers, and conduct periodic inventory checks similar to those for cash reserves.

Article 25. The bank's rare asset warehouse management team is responsible to the bank's General Director, acting as the direct representative of the bank in transactions and accepting the storage of customer assets.

IV. FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 26. Amendments and supplements to this Regulation shall be decided by the Governor of the State Bank.