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2024-08-07 | RESOLUCIONES DE DIRECTORIO N° 101/2024

Added 2026-07-27 · Updated 2026-08-13

Board Resolution No. 101/2024

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia modifies the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Internal Market to require private and public legal entities to submit gold sale requests via formal communication channels, such as institutional email or official notes. This change aims to track payment methods and monitor the banking sectorization of the gold industry. The resolution also updates Annexes I and III of the regulation, including the calculation methodology for premiums and the sales request forms, and enters into force upon publication.

Bolivia

Banco Central de Bolivia

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 101/2024

SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT – MODIFICATION OF THE REGULATION ON THE PURCHASE OF GOLD IN THE INTERNAL MARKET DESTINED TO STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL RESERVES, UNDER LAW NO. 1503 OF MAY 5, 2023.

VIEWED:

The Political Constitution of the State of February 7, 2009.
Law No. 1670 of October 31, 1995 of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) and its modifications.
Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, Law on the Purchase of Gold Destined to Strengthen International Reserves.
Supreme Decree No. 5134 of March 13, 2024.
The Statute of the BCB, approved by Board Resolution No. 95/2022 of October 6, 2022.
The Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Internal Market Destined to Strengthen International Reserves, under Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, approved by B.R. No. 066/2024 of May 28, 2024, and its modifications.
The Report from the International Operations Management (GOI) BCB-GOI-SRES-DOI-INF-2024-153 of August 5, 2024.
The Report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2024-322 of August 5, 2024, issued by the Legal Affairs Management (GAL).

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CONSIDERING:

That Article 327 of the Political Constitution of the State determines that the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) is a public law institution, with legal personality and its own assets, which, within the framework of the State's economic policy, has the function of maintaining the stability of the internal purchasing power of the currency, to contribute to economic and social development.
That paragraph 5 of Paragraph I of Article 328 of the Political Constitution of the State establishes that it is an attribute of the Central Bank of Bolivia, in coordination with the economic policy determined by the Executive Branch, to administer International Reserves.
That Paragraph I of Article 349 of the Political Constitution of the State provides that natural resources are the direct, indivisible, and imprescriptible property and domain of the Bolivian people, and their administration will correspond to the State based on the collective interest.
That Article 1 of Law No. 1670, modified by Article 64, section A3, numeral 1) of Law No. 1864 of June 15, 1998 on Property and Popular Credit, establishes that the BCB is a State institution, of public law, of an autarchic nature, of indefinite duration, with legal personality and its own assets and with legal domicile in the city of La Paz. It is the sole monetary and exchange authority of the country, with administrative, technical, and financial competence and specialized regulatory powers of general application.
That Articles 14 and 15 of Law No. 1670 establish that the BCB will ensure the strengthening of International Reserves so as to allow the normal functioning of Bolivia's international payments, and said Reserves are constituted by one or more of the assets, among which physical gold is included.
That Article 44 of Law No. 1670 establishes that the highest authority of the BCB is its Board of Directors, which is responsible for defining its policies, specialized regulations of general application, and internal rules.

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That subsections a), c), and o) of Article 54 of Law No. 1670 indicate as attributes of the Board of Directors the following: To issue rules and adopt general decisions that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and powers assigned to it by the Law; to monitor the execution of monetary, exchange, credit, financial intermediation, and International Reserves administration policies and regulations; and to approve, modify, and interpret the Statute and Regulations of the BCB, by two-thirds of the votes of all its members, without the need for any additional administrative act.
That Article 1 of Law No. 1503 aims to authorize the Central Bank of Bolivia to purchase gold from the internal market to strengthen International Reserves and to carry out financial operations with International Reserves in gold in international markets.
That Article 2 of Law No. 1503 states that the scope of application of the Law includes individual and legal persons, public and private, legally established, registered, and authorized by competent entities, that participate in the marketing of gold.
That Article 5 of Law No. 1503 establishes that the Central Bank of Bolivia will set the conditions, characteristics, periodicity, limits, and procedures for the acquisition of gold from the internal market, in accordance with regulations.
That Article 9 of the aforementioned Law No. 1503 provides that the BCB will carry out operations in international markets with gold reserves, being able to buy, invest, deposit in custody, use in hedging instruments, transform, and convert them into foreign currency, in order to optimize the liquidity and/or return of International Reserves. As well, it must maintain a minimum of twenty-two (22) tons of gold reserves of the International Reserves, computable semi-annually from the approval of this Law and based on market conditions and foreign currency liquidity of the International Reserves; the BCB will take the necessary actions for the replenishment of gold reserves.
That the Final Provision of Law No. 1503 determines that within the framework of Articles 327 and 328 of the Political Constitution of the State, the BCB, with the objective of complying

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with its constitutional mandate, is empowered to apply what is provided in Law No. 1670 of October 31, 1995, of the Central Bank of Bolivia and its modifications, being this sufficient for the development of its functions, without requiring greater provisions than said Law.

That Supreme Decree No. 5134 of March 13, 2024 creates the State Enterprise for Gold Production and Marketing, whose acronym is EPCORO; as a State Subsidiary Enterprise of the Bolivian Mining Corporation - COMIBOL, with legal personality and its own assets, indefinite duration, autonomy in technical, financial, administrative, legal, and commercial management; whose main business and activity is the production and marketing of gold throughout the mining production chain, within the framework of Law No. 535 of May 28, 2014, on Mining and Metallurgy, to strengthen International Reserves.
That numerals 1) and 3) of Article 5 of the BCB Statute provide that its Board of Directors has regulatory competence to issue specialized rules in the fields assigned by Law and technical competence for the formulation of policies and the application of instruments that allow it to fulfill its purpose.
That Articles 6 and numerals 1), 6), and 30) of Article 10 of the BCB Statute provide that the Board of Directors has the attributes to approve general decisions and issue rules that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and powers assigned to it by the Law; to approve the policy and rules for the administration of International Reserves; as well as to monitor their execution; and to approve, modify, and interpret the Statute and Regulations of the BCB, by two-thirds of the votes of all its members, without the need for an additional administrative act.
That Paragraph I of Article 24 of the aforementioned BCB Statute provides that Resolutions and decisions of the Board of Directors are adopted by a simple majority of votes of its members present in a meeting, except in cases where Law No. 1670 or the BCB Statute require qualified majorities.
That Paragraphs I and II of Article 26 of the BCB Statute stipulate that the Board of Directors pronounces itself on matters within its competence through Resolutions. It may also do so through decisions that will be expressly recorded in the Minutes. Likewise, any project

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of Board Resolution must be motivated and justified by a technical report from the Management or Managements to which the matter subject to the Resolution corresponds, and by a report from the GAL. These reports must be sent to the Board of Directors by the General Management with its recommendation.

That the report from the International Operations Management BCB-GOI-SRES-DOI-INF-2024-153 concludes that it is necessary to modify the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Internal Market Destined to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503, in order to have information regarding payment methods and thus know the degree of banking sectorization of the gold sector and its evolution over time; in this sense, the proposal for modification to the Regulation is technically viable, therefore it recommends to the Board of Directors of the BCB the modification.
That the report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2024-322 concludes that in accordance with Report BCB-GOI-SRES-DOI-INF-2024-153, the GOI's modification proposal is legally viable as it does not contravene any legal provision and is within the attributes of the BCB; recommending to the Board of Directors of the BCB to approve the modifications to the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold Destined to Strengthen International Reserves.

THEREFORE,

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA

RESOLVES:

Article 1.-

Modify Paragraph I of Article 15 of the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Internal Market Destined to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, approved by Board Resolution No. 066/2024 of May 28, 2024, with the following text:

“ARTICLE 15.- (REQUEST FOR THE SALE OF GOLD - PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LEGAL ENTITIES)

I. Private legal persons, registered as gold sellers to the BCB, will submit their sale request through formal communication channels (institutional email, official note, or others accepted by the BCB).

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The BCB will review the sale requests in accordance with the requirements established in Annex III, which has the character of a sworn declaration by the seller.

In the event that there are no observations (information indicated in points 1 and 2 of Annex III), the Issuing Entity will communicate to the seller the compliance with the requirements of the Gold Sale Request Form, and will inform the confirmation regarding the logistics for the physical delivery of the gold and subsequent smelting.

If there are observations, the BCB will notify the gold seller of the same so that they can be corrected.

Article 2.-

Modify Annexes I and III of the Regulation on the Purchase of Gold in the Internal Market Destined to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, which form part of this Resolution as an Annex.

Article 3.-

This Resolution will enter into force from its publication.

Article 4.-

The Presidency and the General Management are charged with the compliance of this Resolution.

La Paz, August 7, 2024

SIGNED. ROGER EDWIN ROJAS ULO, Oscar Ferrufino Morro, Gabriel Herbas Camacho, Gumercindo Héctor Pino Guzmán, Diego Alejandro Pérez Cueto Eulert.

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ANNEX I - Calculation Methodology

1. Calculation Methodology for BCB Gold Purchases

a) Fine Weight

Fine Weight (g) = Net Weight (g) x Gold Purity (%)

b) Purchase Price (USD/oz)

Purchase Price (USD/oz) = International market quotation (USD/oz) × [1 + % premium or discount]

c) Purchase Price (Bs/g)

Purchase Price (Bs/g) = [Purchase Price (USD/oz) / 31.1035 (g/oz)] × Exchange Rate (Bs/USD)

d) Market Sale Value

Market Sale Value (Bs) = Fine Weight (g) × Purchase Price (Bs/g)

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2. Percentage of Premium or Discount per Operation

Ranges by quantity of gold grams	% Premium or Discount*
Lower: 500, Upper: 2,000	-1.84%
Lower: 2,001, Upper: 3,000	-1.38%
Lower: 3,001, Upper: 4,000	0.00%
Lower: 4,001, Upper: 5,000	0.05%
Lower: 5,001, Upper: 6,000	0.15%
Lower: 6,001, Upper: 7,000	0.25%
Lower: 7,001, Upper: 8,000	0.35%
Lower: 8,001, Upper: 9,000	0.45%
Lower: 9,001, Upper: 10,000	0.55%
Lower: 10,001, Upper: 20,000	1.00%
Lower: 20,001, Upper: 30,000	1.50%
Lower: 30,001, Upper: 40,000	2.00%
Lower: 40,001, Upper: 50,000	2.50%
Lower: 50,001, Upper: 60,000	3.50%
Lower: 60,001, Upper: 70,000	4.50%
Lower: 70,001, Upper: 80,000	5.50%
Lower: 80,001, Upper: 90,000	6.50%
Lower: 90,001, Upper: 120,000	8.50%
Lower: 120,001, Upper: 150,000	9.50%
Lower: 150,001, Upper: 200,000	10.75%
Lower: 200,001, Upper: From then on	12.00%

*Applicable to the amount of fine gold.

3. Percentage of Premium or Discount for Periodic Sales

The seller may submit a commitment note in accordance with Annex IV, committing to sell to the BCB a quantity equal to or greater than 50,001 grams of fine gold within a maximum period of fifteen (15) business days.

The premium will be applied to the amount effectively delivered to the BCB, taking into account the quotation of the BCB Quotation Table on the last business day of the period, according to the range established in the Table in point 2.

The 95% advance and the settlement of the 5% of each operation carried out during the committed period will only be made based on the quotation of the BCB Quotation Table, without including the premium in each delivery of gold sale to the BCB.

4. Request for Exchange of CEO

In the event that the gold seller has an unused Gold Export Certificate (CEO), they may request the exchange of said CEO in accordance with Annex V, in order to benefit from a single premium of 1% in their next gold sale to the BCB.

This premium is only applicable up to the amount specified in the presented CEO and is not cumulative with the Premium or Discount Percentages for Periodic Sales.

The presented CEO will be considered used and will automatically become invalid.

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ANNEX III - Gold Sale Request Form (Cooperative and Individual Person)

Annex III	CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA	CODE:
Annex 3.1	SALE REQUEST FORM	DATE:
	GOLD SELLERS TO THE BCB

BEFORE COMPLETING THE FOLLOWING DATA OF THE FORM, READ THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY:

The gold seller is obliged to present, when the BCB so requires, the original documents and necessary certifications that support the information recorded in this form.

The information provided in this form will be considered strictly confidential.

1.- BASIC INFORMATION

GOLD SELLER CODE NUMBER (ASSIGNED BY THE BCB)
NAME OR BUSINESS NAME OF THE GOLD SELLER
MINING IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (NIM) ISSUED BY SENARECOM:
MINING RIGHT NUMBER/MINING ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACT FROM AJAM (IF APPLICABLE)
NAME AND SURNAME OF THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SELLER OR THE AUTHORIZED PERSON WHO WILL CARRY OUT THE SALE OF GOLD TO THE BCB.
ID DOCUMENT NUMBER OF THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SELLER OR THE AUTHORIZED PERSON WHO WILL CARRY OUT THE SALE OF GOLD TO THE BCB.

2.- TECHNICAL INFORMATION OF THE GOLD TO BE SOLD TO THE BCB

PHYSICAL STATE OF THE GOLD TO BE SOLD
WEIGHT IN GRAMS
NAME OF THE MINING AREA FROM WHICH THE GOLD ORIGINATES
DEPARTMENT
PROVINCE
MUNICIPALITY
LOCALITY
DATE FOR THE SALE OF GOLD TO THE BCB

3.- REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

COPY OF THE MINING PATENT PAYMENT CERTIFICATE OR MINING ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACT
COPY OF THE ID CARD OF THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SELLER OR THE AUTHORIZED PERSON WHO WILL CARRY OUT THE SALE OF GOLD TO THE BCB.
COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE FROM THE FEDERATION TO WHICH IT BELONGS THAT CERTIFIES THAT THE GOLD TO BE SOLD ORIGINATES FROM A COOPERATIVE AFFILIATED TO SAID FEDERATION AND REGISTERED AS A GOLD SELLER TO THE BCB (FOR THE CASE OF INDIVIDUAL PERSONS).
COPY OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HEALTH FUND (IF THIS REQUIREMENT IS NOT MET, THE % DETERMINED IN CURRENT REGULATIONS WILL BE WITHHELD).

4.- CERTIFICATION

I certify that the information indicated above is correct and true, therefore it can be considered for all legal effects.

Declarant's Signature	Approved by:	Date

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ANNEX III - Gold Sale Request Form (Public and Private Legal Entities)

Annex III	CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA	CODE:
Annex 3.2	SALE REQUEST FORM	DATE:
	GOLD SELLERS TO THE BCB