Gold dealing licence now pegged at US$200 000
Gold dealing license fees have now been pegged at us$200 000 per year.
This was announced by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development via Statutory Instrument 32 of 2023.
The SI reads
“IT is hereby notified that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, in terms of section 19 of the Gold Trade Act [Chapter 21:03], made the following regulations:
- These regulations may be cited as the Gold Trade (Licence Fees) (Amendment) Notice, 2023 (No. 1).
- The Gold Trade (Licences Fees) Notice, 1978, published in Rhodesia Government Notice 256 of 1978 is amended by the repeal of paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 and the substitution of—“SCHEDULE 2 (Section 2) LICENCE FEES
Licence Fee US$
Gold dealing licence…………………………………. 200 000.00.”.
There was an immediate commotion in the mining circles with many expressing shock saying the fees are prohibitive and will without a doubt kick small players out of gold buying.
“This is kicking out ordinary Zimbabwean ASM,” a miner said.
“How does the Ministry of Finance structure these fees? These are meant to exclude small players,” another opined.
It is not clear if there is a difference between Gold buying permit or if the permits have now been abolished to make way for “Gold dealing licence“. It is also not clear what the new criteria is, as previously, the gold permits were issued on a month-to-month basis subject to meeting set targets.
No fees were paid to get the gold buying permit.
Previously
To get a gold buying permit interested parties visit FGR. An interview will be scheduled and in the interview, they should be prepared to commit to the gold quantities they are able to buy per month. It is a must that this target is met. Licenses are issued on a monthly basis and should the license holder not meet the monthly target the license will not be renewed.