Vietnam to Double Gold Tariff

Vietnam will, from May 26, raise import tax to 1 percent from current 0.5 percent, in a move to reduce the country's trade deficit and increase the national state budget, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Tuesday.

Under a decision by the Vietnamese Finance Ministry on Monday, the new tax will be levied on unprocessed gold, semi-finished gold products and gold powder.

Vietnam spent 1.2 billion U.S. dollars importing some 43 tons of gold in the first four months of this year, said the Vietnam Association of Finance Investors.

The State Bank of Vietnam has decided to allow gold dealers and banks to import additional 3.5 million tons of the precious metal this year.

Vietnam's gold consumption is forecast to exceed 80 tons in 2008, doubling that in 2005, according to local experts. The country now houses some 8,000 gold businesses.

 

 

Source: CRIEnglish