The Council of Ministers has decided to lift the ban on gold exports. It follows the adoption of measures aimed at strengthening the regulations governing the sector.
Back to normal. The Council of Ministers held yesterday at the Iavoloha Palace decided to lift the suspension of gold exports, in force since September 25, 2020. According to the explanations provided by the press release, this decision follows the adoption in the government council yesterday morning of the new decree governing this sector called “gold regime”.
“The observation and the study to improve the organization of the gold sector with the partners lasted three years. It is the results of these studies that have been grouped together in this decree which has just been adopted and which has led to this lifting of the suspension of gold exports”, states the press release from the Council of Ministers.
This decree includes ten essential points concerning, among other things, the regulation of the operation of gold counters, exports as well as penalties in the event of infringement. For the gold counters, the objective is to ensure that the operators who obtain the authorizations are true professionals in the sector.
Approval
“Strict control will be put in place so that the use of false documents and nominees is no longer possible at the export level”, underlines the press release from the Council of Ministers.
In addition, a gold counter license will now be compulsory for all operators wishing to export. The operator must therefore be able to justify the origin of the products he is going to ship. This also implies better traceability of the gold so that its origin and the stages it has gone through can be identified.
For exporters, the repatriation of currencies is compulsory, with the obligation also to go through the Interbank Currency Market (MID). Such measures will ensure that gold exports can have direct impacts on the national currency and on the economy in general. “The period in force to repatriate the currencies resulting from gold exports will be shortened”, always specifies the press release of the Council of Ministers.
With regard to sanctions, the decree defines new administrative sanctions for all infractions, particularly with regard to the creation of gold counters. In addition, a one-stop shop will be set up for the filing of all applications and the issuance of the various authorizations required for exports.
Recall that the suspension of gold exports was decided following the proliferation of illicit exports. Barely three kilos of gold had been officially declared, while studies carried out in Dubai, the main importer of Malagasy gold, estimated between 12 and 15 tonnes of gold production in Madagascar each year. The estimated losses for the country are around 945 million dollars.