The Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation have issued an announcement regarding tax policies related to gold. The full text is as follows:

1. When member units or clients trade standard gold through the Shanghai Gold Exchange or the Shanghai Futures Exchange (hereinafter referred to as the “Exchanges”), the selling member units or clients shall be exempt from value-added tax when they sell standard gold. If no physical delivery and warehouse release takes place, the Exchanges shall also be exempt from value-added tax. However, if physical delivery and warehouse release do occur, the value-added tax policies set forth below shall apply:

(1) For member units purchasing standard gold for investment purposes, the exchange will implement an immediate refund of the value-added tax upon collection. Meanwhile, the urban maintenance and construction tax and the education surcharge are exempted, and a special value-added tax invoice shall be issued to the purchasing member unit based on the actual transaction price. If the purchasing member unit directly sells standard gold or processes it into gold products for investment purposes (excluding legally authorized gold coins approved for issuance by the People's Bank of China), it shall pay value-added tax in accordance with current regulations and issue a general invoice to the buyer; it is prohibited from issuing a special value-added tax invoice.

Member units approved by the People's Bank of China to produce and issue statutory gold coins shall purchase standard gold from the exchange. For those producing and selling statutory gold coins (excluding panda bullion coins that are eligible for the VAT exemption policy), they shall pay VAT in accordance with current regulations and may issue special VAT invoices to their purchasers.

(2) ) Standard gold purchased by member units for non-investment purposes is exempt from exchange fees. Value-added tax, and issue a standard invoice to the purchasing member unit based on the actual transaction price. If the purchasing member unit is a general VAT taxpayer, the input tax amount shall be calculated based on the amount indicated on the ordinary invoice and a deduction rate of 6%. If the purchasing member unit processes standard gold into non-investment gold products and sells them, it shall pay VAT in accordance with current regulations and may issue a special VAT invoice to the purchaser.

(3) When a customer purchases standard gold, the exchange is exempt from value-added tax and issues a regular invoice to the purchasing customer based on the actual transaction price. If the customer is a general VAT taxpayer, the input tax amount shall be calculated based on the amount indicated on the ordinary invoice and a deduction rate of 6%. If the buyer sells standard gold directly or after processing it, it shall pay VAT in accordance with current regulations and may issue a special VAT invoice to the purchaser.

II. Taxpayers who sell standard gold through channels other than exchanges shall pay value-added tax in accordance with current regulations.

3. The member units referred to in this announcement are those members registered and filed in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Shanghai Gold Exchange. The Shanghai Futures Exchange applies the same policies governing member units as set forth above.

For the purposes of this announcement, “customers” refer to those who have been registered and filed in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Trading entities other than the member units mentioned above at the Shanghai Futures Exchange shall be subject to the customer-related policies set forth in this announcement.

4. The “standard gold” referred to in this announcement refers to gold raw materials whose grade and specifications both meet the following standards:

Grade: AU99.99, AU99.95, AU99.9, AU99.5;

Specifications: 50 grams, 100 grams, 1 kilogram, 3 kilograms, 12.5 kilograms.

5. The term “investment purpose” as used in this announcement includes direct sales, as well as the processing and production of gold bars, gold ingots, gold bullion, gold sheets, or legal tender gold coins approved for issuance by the People's Bank of China, provided that such products have a gold content of 99.5% or higher. Non-investment purposes refer to uses other than those classified as investment purposes.

6. The “physical delivery and withdrawal” referred to in this announcement means the act by which exchange members or clients withdraw gold that has been traded or delivered on the exchange from the gold vaults designated by the exchange.

7. For member units that purchase standard gold from the exchange for investment purposes and subsequently deliver the physical gold for delivery, the unit price, amount, and tax amount shown on the special value-added tax invoice shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) Regarding the Shanghai Gold Exchange:

Unit price = Actual transaction unit price ÷ (1 + VAT rate)

Amount = Unit price × Quantity

Tax amount = Amount × Value-Added Tax rate

Actual transaction unit price = Actual transaction amount ÷ (Standard gold transaction quantity + Overweight or underweight)

Actual transaction amount = Transaction amount + Overage/shortage amount

Transaction amount = Standard gold transaction quantity × Actual transaction unit price of standard gold

Overage/shortage amount = Overage/shortage weight × Overage/shortage settlement price (the overage/shortage settlement price is determined according to the trading rules).

(2) Regarding the Shanghai Futures Exchange:

Unit price = Actual delivery price ÷ (1 + VAT rate)

Amount = Unit price × Quantity

Tax amount = Amount × Value-Added Tax rate

Actual delivery price = Actual payment for delivery ÷ Quantity of goods picked up

Actual delivery payment = Delivery payment + Overage/shortage settlement payment

Delivery payment = Number of standard warehouse receipts × Standard quantity per receipt × Delivery settlement price

Settlement amount for overage or shortage = Overage or shortage weight × Settlement price of the nearest-month gold futures contract listed on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on the trading day immediately preceding the settlement date for overage or shortage.

The “actual transaction price” referred to in this announcement shall mean the actual transaction amount on the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the actual delivery payment on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, determined according to the last-in, first-out (LIFO) principle, excluding transaction fees, handling charges, storage fees, and other similar expenses.

8. If a member unit purchases standard gold from the exchange and, after physical delivery and withdrawal from the warehouse, the actual intended use of the gold changes, the member unit shall report the change in intended use to the exchange prior to the change taking effect. The member unit must submit an application for a change in intended use within six months from the month in which it obtains the corresponding invoice issued by the exchange upon physical delivery and withdrawal of the standard gold; only one application for a change in intended use is permitted. If the application is submitted more than six months after the original delivery and withdrawal, the exchange will no longer issue a new invoice for the member unit. Specific handling procedures are as follows:

(1) If the intended use of an asset is changed from investment-related to non-investment-related, the exchange shall switch from implementing immediate refund of value-added tax (VAT) to exempting VAT altogether. The exchange shall issue a red-character special VAT invoice for the full amount to the purchasing member unit and reissue a regular invoice for the full amount. Any previously received immediate refund of VAT does not need to be refunded. The member unit shall treat the input tax credit already deducted based on the VAT amount indicated on the special VAT invoice as an outbound transfer and calculate the input tax credit according to the amount indicated on the regular invoice and the 6% deduction rate.

(2) If a property originally used for non-investment purposes is repurposed for investment purposes, the exchange shall switch from being exempt from value-added tax to implementing a “pay-as-you-go, refund immediately” value-added tax policy. The exchange shall issue a full red-colored ordinary invoice to the purchasing member unit and reissue a full-value-added-tax special invoice. The member unit shall treat the input tax credit previously deducted based on the amount indicated on the ordinary invoice and at a deduction rate of 6% as an outgoing transfer, and shall then deduct the value-added tax amount indicated on the special invoice as its input tax credit.

9. For standard gold purchased from the exchange by member units prior to the implementation of this announcement and delivered via physical delivery, if such standard gold is directly sold or processed and then sold after the implementation of this announcement, it shall be deemed a sale of standard gold for investment purposes. In accordance with the provisions of Article 1, Item (1) of this announcement, value-added tax shall be paid accordingly, and a general invoice shall be issued to the buyer; a special VAT invoice may not be issued. If a member unit needs to issue a special VAT invoice to the buyer, the exchange shall switch from the current practice of immediate refund of VAT to exemption from VAT. The exchange shall issue a red-letter special VAT invoice in full amount to the member unit and reissue a general invoice in full amount. Any VAT refunds already received under the previous immediate refund policy need not be returned. Member units shall treat the input tax credit previously deducted based on the VAT amount indicated on the special VAT invoice as an outbound transfer, and calculate the input tax credit based on the amount indicated on the general invoice and a deduction rate of 6%.

10. Transaction fees, handling fees, warehousing fees, and other charges collected by the exchange shall be subject to value-added tax in accordance with current regulations.

If a member unit purchases standard gold and applies for physical delivery and withdrawal from the warehouse, it shall truthfully declare to the exchange the intended use of the purchased standard gold and accurately record information such as the actual use and quantity consumed.

11. If a member unit fails to report changes in intended use to the exchange prior to such change, and also fails to issue special value-added tax invoices to external parties as required by this announcement, for the first instance of such violation, starting from the month following the date of discovery, whenever the member unit purchases standard gold through the exchange and completes physical delivery and withdrawal, the exchange will switch from implementing the immediate VAT refund policy to applying the VAT exemption policy. Furthermore, the exchange will suspend issuing special VAT invoices and ordinary invoices with deduction features to that member unit. For subsequent and repeated violations, starting from the month following the date of discovery, whenever the member unit purchases standard gold through the exchange and completes physical delivery and withdrawal, the exchange will again switch from implementing the immediate VAT refund policy to applying the VAT exemption policy, and will once more suspend issuing special VAT invoices and ordinary invoices with deduction features to that member unit.

If a member unit or customer engages in serious tax violations involving the gold tax policy, such as fraudulently obtaining export tax rebates or issuing false special value-added tax invoices, starting from the month following the issuance of the penalty decision, any physical delivery and withdrawal of standard gold purchased through the exchange will be subject to a change in the exchange’s VAT policy—from the current practice of immediate VAT refund to an exemption from VAT. Furthermore, the exchange shall not issue special VAT invoices or ordinary invoices with deduction features.

12. The administrative measures for the collection of value-added tax on gold traded through exchanges shall be formulated separately by the State Administration of Taxation.

13. This announcement shall take effect as of November 1, 2025, and remain in force until December 31, 2027. The applicable time shall be determined by the date on which the physical delivery and warehousing occur. Articles 2, 4, and 5 of the “Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Relating to Gold Tax Policies” (Cai Shui [2002] No. 142) and the “Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on Tax Policies Concerning Gold Futures Trading” (Cai Shui [2008] No. 5) shall be repealed as of November 1, 2025.

Hereby announced.

Ministry of Finance State Administration of Taxation

October 29, 2025