Vietnam ends gold jewellery certificate, caps cash deals at VND 5m
Decree 390/2026 took effect on 16 October, cutting the non-cash line from VND 20 million a day. It also amends raw-gold import licence clauses and closes pending certificate files.
By Carat Capital
What changed
Less cash, fewer permits. Vietnam now requires non-cash payment for gold deals of VND 5 million or more a day, down from VND 20 million, from 16 October. Jewellery makers no longer need a central bank certificate.
What it means
- If you sell gold in Vietnam: Gold deals of VND 5 million or more a day must be non-cash. The summaries do not say if jewellery differs.
- If you make jewellery there: The central bank certificate is no longer required.
- What this is not: A ban on cash. Deals under VND 5 million a day are outside the rule.
Key figures
| Non-cash threshold, per daygold purchases and sales | VND 5m |
|---|---|
| Previous thresholdcut by 75% | VND 20m |
| In forceDecree 390/2026 | 16 Oct |
| Base decree amendedDecree 24/2012 | 2012 |
Source: Decree 390/2026/NĐ-CP, dated and in force 16 October 2026, as reported by Tạp chí Công Thương (18 October) and VOV (17 October), whose summaries of the decree match. The decree text itself was not read. No dollar conversion is printed.
The cash line drops
The line falls 75%. Gold purchases and sales worth VND 5 million or more in a day must be paid by non-cash means. VND 5 million is a quarter of the old VND 20 million line.
Signed and live together. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng signed Decree 390/2026 on 16 October, and it took effect that day. It amends Decree 24/2012, the base rule for Vietnam's gold trade.
| Area | Decree 390/2026, as summarised |
|---|---|
| Payment | Non-cash for gold deals of VND 5m or more a day; was VND 20m |
| Jewellery making | Central bank certificate no longer a condition |
| Pending certificate files | Applications not decided by 16 October are terminated |
| Export processors | Raw-gold import licence clause amended; change from earlier text not read |
| Foreign-invested makers | Annual raw-gold import licence clause amended; change from earlier text not read |
| Gold powder, wire, semi-finished | Traded under business registration and customs law |
| Existing licences and quotas | Run to their stated terms |
5 / 20 = 25% of the old threshold, so the line falls 75%. The VND 20 million prior level is in Tạp chí Công Thương's report; VOV's report gives the new level only.
Jewellery making loses its certificate
The permit step goes. The decree repeals all its rules on making, processing and trading jewellery gold, both summaries say. A central bank production certificate is no longer a condition to operate.
Pending files close. Certificate applications still undecided on 16 October are terminated, and the central bank will notify the applicants.
Import licences are amended. The decree restates and amends the raw-gold import licence clauses for makers with foreign processing contracts and for foreign-invested makers. What changed from the earlier text was not read.
Standards and reporting move
A ministry sets standards. The Ministry of Science and Technology will set national standards for jewellery and bar gold and check their quality and measurement.
Dealers and banks report. Gold businesses and commercial banks must report bar trading, gold imports and exports, and the use and stock of imported raw gold.
What to watch
- Licence renewalsExisting gold import licences and quotas run to their terms; renewals fall under the new decree.
- Annual licence roundThe central bank's yearly raw-gold import licences for foreign-invested jewellery makers under the amended clause.
The story so far
Go deeper
Corrections
Correction, 22 October 2026: this article as published presented the raw-gold import licences for export processors and foreign-invested makers as new permissions, under the subhead 'Exporters can import.', and its What to watch line called the next round the 'first' yearly licences. Tạp chí Công Thương's text, the source for both, prints them as amended clauses 4 and 5 of Article 14; similar licence conditions existed before Decree 390/2026, and what changed was not read. The subhead, table rows, dek and watch line now say the clauses are amended, and 'first' is removed. The body also now says 'both summaries say' rather than 'both outlets report', since the two outlets print one summary. What was right as published: every figure, the 16 October date, the VND 5 million threshold and the end of the certificate. Clarified 24 October 2026: the lead-in 'A quarter of before.' was not a sentence. The paragraph now says VND 5 million is a quarter of the old VND 20 million line; no figure changed.
What would change this call
Guidance that restores a separate jewellery permit under another name. Then the licence change is cosmetic and only the cash line bites.
How Vietnam regulates gold
Decree 24/2012 is the base rule. As amended, the central bank inspects bar-gold production and trading, gold imports and exports, and the use of imported raw gold. Decree 232/2025 amended it before this decree did.
Method
Tạp chí Công Thương, 'Từ 16/10/2026, mua, bán vàng từ 5 triệu đồng/ngày phải thanh toán không dùng tiền mặt', timestamped 18/10/2026 09:48 GMT, fetched 21 October 2026, 200, 66,932 bytes. Greps on the saved copy: '390/2026' 6, '16/10/2026' 10, '05 triệu' 1, '20 triệu' 2, '24/2012' 5, '232/2025' 1, 'Nguyễn Văn Thắng' 1, 'bãi bỏ toàn bộ' 1, 'không còn là điều kiện' 1, 'chấm dứt việc giải quyết' 1, 'có vốn đầu tư nước ngoài' 1, 'Bộ Khoa học và Công nghệ' 2. VOV, dated 17/10/2026 22:05, fetched 21 October 2026 with an identifying header, 200, 265,107 bytes (a browser identity was refused, 403, 6,066 bytes): '390/2026' 15, '16/10/2026' 9, '5 triệu' 18, '20 triệu' 0, 'bãi bỏ toàn bộ' 1, 'không còn là điều kiện' 1, 'Nguyễn Văn Thắng' 4. The two outlets print the same summary of the decree; the VND 20 million prior level rests on Tạp chí Công Thương alone. Translations are Carat Capital's. The decree text, penalties and treatment of split payments were not read. ARCHIVE, by entity and period: Carat Capital's archive, 'Vietnam' 5 rows, opened: a 2 October Pandora plant, a 16 July lab certificate case, a 3 August diamond-smuggling case, a Luk Fook store line and a passing mention; 'Decree' 1 row, a Russian duty. None covers Vietnam's gold payment or licensing rules. NEW. Re-read 22 October 2026 for the correction below: the Tạp chí Công Thương text introduces the licence clauses as 'Sửa đổi, bổ sung khoản 4' and 'khoản 5 Điều 14' (amended clauses 4 and 5 of Article 14). It does not say the permissions are new, and the clause text of Decree 232/2025 and Circular 16/2012 was not read, so the change from the earlier rule is not established.