A PROCLAMATION TO PROMOTE AND REGULATE TRANSACTIONS OF PRECIOUS
MINERALS
WHEREAS, the promotion and regulation of
transactions of precious minerals require a separate legal frame work;
NOW, THEREFORE, in accordance with Article 55(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, it is hereby proclaimed as follows:
PART ONE
GENERAL
1. Short Title
This Proclamation may be cited as the “Transaction
of Precious Minerals Proclamation No.651./2009”.
2. Definitions
In this Proclamation unless the context requires
otherwise:
1/"precious minerals'' means metals such as
gold, platinum and silver and precious and semi-precious stones (gem stones)
such as diamond, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, opal, and includes other minerals
as the Ministry may, by directives, so designate;
2/"transaction'' means any activity related
to the purchase, custody, transport, crafting, refining, sale or export of
precious minerals or products of precious minerals for commercial purposes;
3/“crafting” means the processing of precious
minerals into finished products by means of smothery or lapidary;
4/“smithery” means smelting, molding and other
similar activities of metallic precious minerals to the end product for the use
of customers;
5/“lapidary” means the cutting, molding, polishing
and any other similar activities carried out on precious stones to shape them
to be ready for use;
6/“refining” means the process of taking out of
impurities or separation of different associated metals from any metallic
precious minerals to increase their carat amount or purity;
7/“personal use” means the custody, transport,
export or import of precious minerals by individuals for non commercial
purposes which are in their final shape ready for ornamental purposes which may
not exceed:
a)100 grams for gold and other precious metals;
b)30 grams for precious stones;
c)100 grams for semi precious stones.
8/“license” means any precious minerals
transaction license issued pursuant to the provisions of this Proclamation;
9/“licensing authority” means the appropriate
regional organ with respect to the licenses referred to in sub-article (1) of
Article 5 of this Proclamation and the Ministry with respect to the licenses
referred to in sub-articles (2) and (3) of the same Article;
10/“Ministry” means the Ministry of Mines and
Energy;
11/ “region” means any Regional State referred to
in Article 47 of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia and includes the Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa city administrations;
12/“Bank” means the National Bank of Ethiopia;
13/“budget year” means the budget year commencing
from July 1st and ending June 30th according to the Ethiopian Calendar;
14/ “person” means any natural or juridical
person;
15/ any expression in the masculine gender
includes the feminine;
16/ “Certificate of Competence” means a permit
issued by the Ministry to approve the capability of an applicant for trade
license.
3. Scope of Application
1/ This Proclamation shall apply to govern the
conduct of all transactions of precious minerals with in the territory of
Ethiopia.
2/Any person who has been issued a licensee in
accordance with the appropriate mining laws is not required to have a certificate
of competence or license pursuant to this Proclamation in order to sell locally
or export abroad the precious minerals it produces.
PART TWO
PRECIOUS MINERALS TRANSACTION LICENSES
AND CRTIFICATE OF COMPETENCES
4. Requirement of License and Certificate of
Competence
No person shall carry out the transaction of
precious minerals unless he is registered in the appropriate government office
and is a holder of an appropriate and valid license or Certificate of
Competence as appropriate.
5. Types of Licenses
The following licenses may be issued pursuant to this Proclamation:
1/ precious minerals brokerage license;
2/ precious minerals crafting license;
3/ precious minerals refining license.
6. Types of Certificate of Competence
The following Certificate of Competence may be
issued pursuant to this Proclamation:
1/ Precious Mineral Trade Certificate of
competence,
2/ Precious Mineral Export Certificate of
Competence.
7. Precious Minerals Brokerage License
A precious minerals brokerage license grants to
the holder of the license the right to purchase, hold for sale purposes,
transport and forthwith sale precious minerals locally.
8. Precious Minerals Crafting License
A precious minerals crafting license grants to the
holder of the license the right to purchase, hold and transport precious
minerals in an amount to be specified by directives of the Bank, carry out
smothery or lapidary and sale its product locally or abroad pursuant to the
directives of the Bank. The holder of such License may engage in purchase or
maintenance of used or broken or damaged jewelleries and report periodically
every month about its activities.
9. Precious Minerals Refining License
A precious minerals refining license grants the
license holder the right to engage in refining precious metallic minerals
produced locally or imported.
10. Precious Mineral Trade Certificate of Competence
A holder of the Precious Mineral Trade Certificate
of Competence upon acquiring the proper trade license from the appropriate government
body grants to the holder of the License the right to purchase in bulk and
retail sale of finished precious minerals locally.
11. Precious Mineral Export Certificate of Competence
A Precious Mineral Export Certificate of
Competence upon acquiring the Trade License from the appropriate government
body grants to the holder of the Certificate the right to purchase, custody,
and Export the following precious minerals pursuant to the directives of the
Bank:
a) gold and silver which are in their final shape,
b) other precious minerals other than gold and
silver in raw, semi processed or in their final shape.
12. Eligibility for License and Certificate of
Competence
1/ Any person who qualifies to carry out trade in
accordance with the Commercial Code of Ethiopia or a cooperative society
established in accordance with the appropriate law and satisfies the
requirements of license or Certificate of Competence set out in this
Proclamation and regulations and directives issued for the implementation of
this Proclamation may acquire any license referred to in Article 5 of this
Proclamation or a Certificate of Competence referred to in Article 6 of this
Proclamation.
2/ Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-article
(1) of this Article:
a)the licenses referred to in sub-article
(1) of Article 5 and the Certificate of competence
referred in sub-article (1) of Article 6 of this Proclamation may not be issued
to foreign investors;
b)no person whose license has been revoked
pursuant to this Proclamation may hold another license for two years following
such revocation;
c)any person who has been granted with Certificate
of competence in accordance with Article 6 of this Proclamation may acquire a
License from the appropriate government body upon fulfillment of the
requirement set for such License.
13. Application for License
An application for license shall be made in
writing and contain the following.
1/ Where the application is for Precious
Mineral Brokerage License:
a) name, address, and nationality of the
applicant,
b)the type of precious minerals he/she wish to
engage,
c)demonstrate his technical capacity or experience
in the area of precious mineral identification,
d)the location of the areas where he/she would be
collecting the precious minerals,
e)business plan to be performed during the license
period.
2/ Where the application is for Crafting
License:
a)items specified under (a) and (b) of sub-article
(1) of this Article,
b)financial and technical preparation as regards
the production of jewelers products,
c)business plan including waste management.
3/ Where the application is for Precious Minerals
Refining:
a)items specified under (a) and (b) of sub-article
(1) of this Article,
b)financial and technical preparation to build a
refining facility,
c)business plan including waste management
14. Application for Certificate of Competence
An application for Certificate of Competence shall
be in writing and contain the following.
1/ Where the application is for Precious
Mineral Trade Certificate of Competence:
a)items specified under (a) and (b) of sub-article
(1) of Article 13 of this Proclamation,
b)demonstrates his or his employees technical
capacity or experience in the area of precious minerals property
identification,
c)shown to have the proper testing machine or
mechanism to prove to consumers or customers the quality of the precious
minerals he wish to trade,
d) proper business location with the required
preparation to trade precious minerals,
e) business plan.
2/ Where the application is for Precious Minerals
Export Certificate of Competence:
a)items specified under (a) and (b) of sub-article
(1) of Article 13 of this Proclamation,
b)demonstrates his or his employees technical
capacity or experience in the area of precious minerals property
identification,
c)legal source of the precious minerals he wish to
export,
d)if he is engaged in the crafting of precious
minerals, shall present his appropriate license number,
e)if known to him at the time of application, his
potential markets or any contractual commitment entered,
f)business plan.
15.Issuance of License and Certificate of Competence
The licensing authority as appropriate may issue a
license or a certificate of competence after ascertaining that the applicant
has fulfilled the requirements of the license or the Certificate of Competence
and upon payment of the prescribed license fee.
16. Validity Period of License and Certificate
of Competence
All licenses or Certificate of Competence shall be
valid for one year from the date of issuance.
17. Renewal of License and Certificate of Competence
1/All licenses or a Certificate of Competence may
be renewed every year for similar periods if the licensee or the holder of the
Certificate of Competence as appropriate meets all requirements in connection
with the application for renewal and is not in breach of any provision of this
Proclamation or regulations or directives issued for the implementation of this
Proclamation which constitutes grounds for the revocation and upon the payment
of the prescribed fee.
2/All License or Certificate of Competence shall
be renewed at the end of every license period.
3/Any licensee or holder a Certificate of
Competence who wishes to renew his license shall
produce tax clearance certificate for the then budget year.
18. Obligation of Licensees
1/ Any licensee shall:
a) maintain books and records regarding precious
minerals purchased, deposited, processed, sold or exported;
b)report all transactions carried out to the
licensing authority within 30 days from the end of each budget year;
c) comply with all operational, safety and health
standards set forth by the Ministry or other appropriate government
authorities;
d) may not hoard precious minerals more than
permitted by directive,
2) The holder of a precious minerals brokerage
license:
a)shall in every budget year, supply gold and
silver to the Bank in an amount determined by agreement,
b)without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph
(a) of this sub-article, sell other precious minerals locally to appropriate
legally licensed persons,
c)may not process or carry out smithery or
lapidary or export of precious minerals,
d) shall prove the legal source and area of
production of the precious mineral he carries on brokerage.
3) The holder of a precious minerals crafting
license may:
a) not buy raw gold and silver from any source
other than the Bank;
b) not transfer the gold and silver it buys from
the Bank to any other person in its raw from;
c) where the crafting is precious minerals other
than gold and silver make sure that the source of the raw precious mineral is
legal;
d) put an identifiable mark of its own on each
precious mineral product it produces;
e) make sure that all customers identify the mark,
know or understand the quality and quantity of the product it produces before
buying and provide written proof to that effect;
f) may not engage in the refining of precious
minerals;
g. where it has gold and silver above the amount
permited by directive, it shall have to sell to the Bank.
4) The holder of a Precious Minerals Refining License
may not engage in:
a) carry on smithery of precious minerals;
b) bulk or retail sale of precious minerals;
c) communicating wrong information.
19. Obligation of the Holder of Certificate of
Competence
1/ Any holder of Certificate of Competence may not
hoard precious minerals.
2/ The holder of Precious Mineral Trade
Certificate of Competence shall:
a) upon receipt of products for retail make sure
that all product it receives has got the proper mark of the Precious Mineral
Craft Licensee,
b) not alter or other wise blend with other types
of mineral the precious mineral brought for retail sale from the Precious
Mineral Craft License holder,
c) make sure that the customer able to understand
the quality and quantity of product it sales and provide proof to that effect,
d) not carry out brokerage, smithery or lapidary.
3) The holder of Precious Mineral Export
Certificate of Competence:
a) when the export is raw precious mineral, shall
have to demonstrate the legal source of the raw precious mineral;
b)when the export is finished or semi finished
precious mineral apart from demonstrating the legal source, shall be required
to show the name and license number of the licensee who/which processed the
minerals;
c)shall present the laboratory approval on the
quality and quantity of the precious mineral to be exported;
d)shall respect all the Bank laws, regulations and
directives upon export of the precious minerals;
e)may not carry out smithery or lapidary;
f)where his exports are gold and silver, it shall
be processed and in the final shape.
20. Transfer of License
1/The business of refining, crafting, license may
be transferred or inherited with the prior notification of the licensing
authority.
2/The business of precious minerals brokerage
license may not be transferred or inherited.
3/The appropriate trade registration and license
law shall be applicable to the transfer of Precious Minerals Trade and Export
licenses.
21. Revocation of License and Certificate of
Competence
1) A license issued pursuant to this Proclamation
may be revoked where the holder of the license:
a) obtained the license or the Certificate of
Competence on the basis of providing false information;
b) fails to renew the license or the Certificate
of Competence within the prescribed time limit;
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