On June 26th, the People's Bank of China announced that in order to further regulate the import and export of gold and gold products, promote trade facilitation, and optimize the business environment, the People's Bank of China, together with the General Administration of Customs, has revised the "Measures for the Administration of Import and Export of Gold and Gold Products" (issued by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Bank of China [2015] No. 1 and revised by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Bank of China [2020] No. 3), forming the "Measures for the Administration of Import and Export of Gold and Gold Products (Draft for Comments)". It is now open for public comments, and the deadline for feedback is July 26, 2026.

From the perspective of revision background, the "Measures for the Administration of Import and Export of Gold and Gold Products" have played a positive role in stabilizing the order of national gold and gold product import and export, promoting trade facilitation, and serving the real economy since its implementation in 2015. With the development of the economy and society, as well as the adjustment of relevant laws, regulations, and policies, some provisions of the measures are not suitable for the current import and export management needs of gold and gold products, and it is necessary to revise them.

From the main content of the revision, in terms of streamlining administration and delegating power, firstly, clarify the scope of management, and improve the openness, fairness, and impartiality of administration in accordance with the law. In order to implement the Decision of the State Council on Cancelling and Adjusting a Batch of Administrative Approval Projects and Other Matters (Guofa [2014] No. 50), the People's Bank of China has stopped implementing the administrative licensing approval for "individuals carrying gold and its products into and out of the country". Therefore, in this revision, the clause stating that "the management regulations for individuals carrying gold and its products into and out of the country shall be formulated by the People's Bank of China in conjunction with the General Administration of Customs" shall be deleted. At the same time, in order to ensure policy coherence and further optimize the management of personal carrying of gold and gold products, relevant provisions have been added to the situation where the "People's Bank of China Import and Export Permit for Gold and Gold Products" is exempted from customs supervision, and "the entry and exit of gold and gold products are limited to the reasonable self use quantity carried and delivered by individuals". Secondly, in order to adapt to relevant policy adjustments, the documents that the business department no longer approves and issues have been removed from the materials that applicants need to submit, and clauses related to the environmental certification materials that applicants need to submit have been modified and improved.

In terms of convenience and enterprise benefits, effective measures and systems will be clarified in practice to promote trade facilitation and stimulate market vitality. Extending the validity period of the "one batch, one certificate" permit to 3 months and optimizing the use of the "non one batch, one certificate" permit.

In terms of strengthening supervision, one is to enhance pre supervision. Add requirements such as "no violations of customs, foreign exchange management, taxation, anti money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, environmental protection and other relevant management regulations in the past 2 years" and "if there are changes in the first application or other materials mentioned in the preceding paragraph each year, they shall be handled according to the first application" when conducting qualification review and submitting materials. The second is to clarify the scope of supervision implemented by the customs, and add three new situations that are exempt from obtaining a "permit" and are subject to customs supervision. The third is to strengthen the supervision of foreign trade business agents and increase the requirements of customs for credit rating recognition of foreign trade enterprises. Strengthen agency responsibility and prevent false transactions. The fourth is to improve the post punishment system and enhance the level of legal administrative management. Delete the phrase 'suspend the acceptance of its import and export applications' and add the phrase' revoke the licensee's administrative license for the import and export of gold and gold products'.

(Editor Li Jiaqi)