The Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) concluded this Tuesday (19) the analysis of the project that creates new rules for controlling gold trade in Brazil.
The text also ends with presumption of good faith in proving the origin of the product (understand more here).
The proposal had been approved, in a first vote, on the 12th. This Tuesday, the report was definitively adopted, without the presentation of amendments (possible changes).
If there is no appeal for voting in the main Senate plenary, the proposal will go directly to the Chamber of Deputies for analysis.
The project approved by CAE includes points from a project sent by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), in June 2023, after the Federal Supreme Court (STF) determined that the Executive adopt a new regulatory framework for the sector.
Lula’s project has remained blocked in the Chamber since December.
The project’s central objective is to expand measures to combat illegal mining. One of the provisions puts an end to the so-called presumption of good faith, created in 2013.
Under the rule, which was suspended by the STF last April, the legality of gold purchased is presumed based solely on the information provided by the sellers.
In practice, this mechanism prevented proof of legal origin and served as a loophole for the negotiation of metals extracted from illegal mining.
Tighter rules for gold
In addition to revoking the mechanism, the approved proposal establishes that the first sale of gold can only be carried out by the holder of the mining permit to a financial institution.
The mining activity must be registered with the National Mining Agency (ANM), as must all metal purchase and sale operations.
The proposal prohibits the trade of gold that originates on indigenous lands — regardless of the stage of demarcation — and in environmental conservation units.
The text also provides for the obligation to issue an electronic invoice when purchasing and selling gold in the country. The IRS has already adopted digital issuance in March 2023.
According to the project’s rapporteur, senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO), the requirement will “give greater control to these transactions” and will mitigate fraud in paper invoices.
Failure to comply with marketing rules may lead to civil and criminal liability. You may also be punished, for example, with the suspension of your mining authorization and a fine that can reach R$1 billion.
Another measure foreseen in the project to combat illegal trade is the creation of a Gold Transport and Custody Guide.
The document will be issued by the seller to transport the metal to sale at a financial institution. Transport can only occur within the same gold mining region.
The records will be individual, made by ANM, for each weight of gold to be sold by the seller. False information in the document may lead to civil and criminal penalties.
Under the proposal, gold units sold without the guide or with untrue information could be seized. Metal that is transported, before the first sale, outside the producing region may also be seized.
The project provides that financial institutions must maintain structures to identify and evaluate the information provided by sellers regarding the origin of gold. Irregularities or illegal sale attempts must be notified to public security bodies and the ANM.
The text also prohibits mining owners or people related to those responsible for extracting minerals from exercising command or management functions in financial institutions for purchasing gold.
Tags: Senate Commission completes analysis project ends presumption good faith gold trading Chamber understand Policy
