China cuts gold tax exemption for some retailers which may curb buying

China ended a long-standing tax exemption policy for some gold retailers on Saturday, potentially setting back a buying spree for the precious metal in the world's biggest consumer market.

Beijing will remove the full exemption on the 13% value-added tax on gold that some buyers purchase from the Shanghai Gold Exchange or the Shanghai Futures Exchange, lowering the exemption to 6% from November 1, according to new policies made public by the Ministry of Finance on Saturday. The lower exemption will last until December 31, 2027.

Joni Teves, a strategist at UBS in Singapore, wrote in a note on Monday the expectation is that gold costs will rise as the additional tax is passed on to consumers.


VAT exemptions for standard gold trading on exchanges remained in place, according to the new rules.

The new tax regime is occurring amid a worldwide rush to buy gold, especially in China where consumers have lined up to purchase jewellery from retailers.

The buying helped drive gold's rally to a record $4,381 an ounce on October 20.

Spot gold prices on Monday briefly slipped below $4,000 an ounce and were last trading near that level and have dropped about 9% since hitting the record.

Shares of gold jewellery retailers Laopu Gold and Chow Tai Fook dropped as much as 9% and 12%, respectively, on Monday, while gold miners Zijin Mining and Zhongjin Gold each fell nearly 2%.

Last month, the value-added tax exemption for platinum was also removed for China Platinum Company, also beginning on November 1.