Tax industry wants to ban gold trading in cash

Vietnam is one of the leading countries in Southeast Asia in terms of gold consumption demand, such as about 55.5 tons in 2023, according to a report by the World Gold Council. However, gold and silver transactions are often small, without sufficient invoices and documents, lacking transparency, and with high price differences between domestic and international markets...

A representative of the General Department of Taxation said that in recent times, the sector has had many solutions to control the issuance of electronic invoices for gold buying and selling transactions. However, to control all transactions, the tax sector believes that the participation of ministries, branches and localities is needed.

This agency recommends that the State Bank coordinate in controlling cash flow and study regulations requiring non-cash payments for gold transactions. At the same time, localities are requested to increase inspection, supervision, and handling of violations with establishments that do not issue invoices to buyers in a timely manner.

Previously, in a directive dated May 2, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh once again requested the State Bank to immediately inspect the gold market, the activities of businesses, stores, distributors and gold bar buyers and sellers. He requested that transactions for buying and selling this precious metal must have electronic invoices to increase transparency. Businesses that do not comply will face the strongest sanction of having their operating licenses revoked.

These requests have been made by the Government many times recently, when gold prices have continuously fluctuated, with a high difference from world prices.

A representative of the tax authority said that gold and silver trading enterprises mainly operate in two areas: gold bars and jewelry and fine arts. In particular, gold bar trading enterprises must meet the scale of capital, branch network, and be licensed by the State Bank.

Businesses that buy and sell gold jewelry and fine arts need to register their business with a business establishment license and meet certain regulations on location, facilities, and equipment.

"The tax authority has basically controlled the issuance of invoices," said a representative of this agency. However, according to the tax representative, in the case of gold jewelry and fine art, the buyer is an individual and does not receive an invoice, leading to difficulties for the tax authority in controlling transactions.

Therefore, the General Department of Taxation encourages consumers to get invoices when purchasing goods and services, thereby creating civilized consumption habits and contributing to protecting their rights when purchasing goods.

In fact, businesses and business households must implement electronic invoices from July 1, 2022, according to the Law on Tax Administration. Information from the representative of the General Department of Taxation said that currently, 100% of businesses operating in the gold and silver trading sector have used this invoice.

From the end of 2022, the tax industry will deploy the electronic invoice solution generated from cash registers. Currently, there are more than 5,800 gold and silver businesses nationwide applying and using over 1 million electronic invoices generated from cash registers.