BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 156/2023

SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT – APPROVE THE REGULATION FOR THE DEFINITION OF THE GOLD EXPORT QUOTA AND FOR THE ISSUANCE OF THE GOLD EXPORT CERTIFICATE.

VIEWING:

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. 5076 dated November 30, 2023.
The BCB Statute, approved by Board Resolution No. 95/2022 of October 6, 2022.
The Report from the International Operations Management BCB-GOI-SRES-DNI-INF-2023-85 of November 30, 2023.
The Report from the Legal Affairs Management BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2023-400 of November 30, 2023.

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 internal purchasing power stability of the currency, to contribute to economic and social development.

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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 - BCB, 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 of direct, indivisible, and imprescriptible ownership and dominion of the Bolivian people, and their administration will correspond to the State based on the collective interest.

That Article 1 of Law No. 1670 establishes that the Central Bank of Bolivia is a State institution, of public law, of an autonomous 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 normative faculties of general application.

That Article 14 of Law No. 1670 states that the BCB will ensure the strengthening of International Reserves so as to allow the normal functioning of Bolivia's international payments.

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.

That subsections a), c), and o) of Article 54 of Law No. 1670 indicate the following as attributes of the Board of Directors: Issue the rules and adopt the general decisions that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and faculties assigned to it by the Law; carry out follow-up on the execution of monetary, exchange, credit, financial intermediation, and international reserves administration policies and regulations; and 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 paragraph III of Article 9 of Law No. 1503 establishes that the Central Bank of Bolivia will take the necessary actions for the replenishment of international reserves, in

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accordance with market conditions and the liquidity of foreign exchange in the International Reserves.

That the Final Provision of Law No. 1503 states that within the framework of Articles 327 and 328 of the Political Constitution of the State, the BCB, with the objective of complying with its constitutional mandate, is authorized to apply what is provided in Law No. 1670 of October 31, 1995, of the Central Bank of Bolivia and its modifications, which is sufficient for the development of its functions, without requiring further provisions from said law.

That Supreme Decree No. 5076 regulates the export of gold, authorizing the Central Bank of Bolivia to issue the Gold Export Certificate, for the following tariff subheadings:

CODE	DESCRIPTION OF GOODS
26.16	Minerals of precious metals and their concentrates.
2616.90	- Others
2616.90.10.00	-- Gold minerals and their concentrates
71.08	Gold (including platinum-group metals) in unwrought or semi-manufactured forms, or in powder.
	- For non-monetary use:
7108.11.00.00	-- Powder
7108.12.00.00	-- Other unwrought forms
7108.13.00.00	-- Other semi-manufactured forms
7108.20.00.00	- For monetary use
71.12	Waste and scrap of precious metal or of precious metal cladding (plated metal); other waste and scrap containing precious metal or precious metal compounds, of the types used mainly for the recovery of precious metal, other than products of heading 85.49.
	- Others
7112.91.00.00	-- Of gold or gold-plated, except dross containing other precious metal

That paragraph II of Article 2 of Supreme Decree No. 5076 determines that the BCB, through specific regulation issued by its Board of Directors, will define the quota that will be exported periodically and the requirements for the issuance of the Gold Export Certificate, prior to verification of the quantity required for the replenishment of gold reserves.

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That paragraph I of the Sole Transitional Provision of Supreme Decree No. 5076 establishes that the BCB must regulate Paragraph II of Article 2 of the aforementioned Supreme Decree.

That item 1) of Article 10 of the BCB Statute provides that the Board of Directors has the faculty to approve general decisions and issue the rules that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and faculties assigned to it by the Law.

That item 30) of the aforementioned Article 10 of the BCB Statute states that the Board of Directors may 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 Article 26 of the Statute stipulates that the Board of Directors rules on matters within its competence through Resolutions. It may also do so through decisions that will be expressly recorded in the Minutes. Likewise, every draft Board Resolution must be motivated and justified by a technical report from the Management or Managements to whom the subject matter of the resolution corresponds, and by a report from the Legal Affairs Management. These reports must be submitted to the Board of Directors by the General Management with its recommendation.

That the Report from the International Operations Management BCB-GOI-SRES-DNI-INF-2023-85 recommends to the BCB Board of Directors the approval of the proposal for the Regulation for the Issuance of the Certificate to Gold Exporters, in compliance with Supreme Decree No. 5076 dated November 30, 2023.

That the Report from the Legal Affairs Management BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2023-400 concludes that the draft Regulation for the Issuance of the Certificate to Gold Exporters proposed by the International Operations Management is legally appropriate, as it does not contravene the current legal framework, recommending to the BCB Board of Directors its approval.

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THEREFORE,

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA

RESOLVES:

Article 1.- Approve the Regulation for the Definition of the Gold Export Quota and for the Issuance of the Gold Export Certificate in its Seven (7) Articles, which as an annex forms part of this Board Resolution.

Article 2.- Until December 31, 2023, the quota for the export of gold will be at least two tons of gold.

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, November 30, 2023

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

REGULATION FOR THE DEFINITION OF THE GOLD EXPORT QUOTA AND FOR THE ISSUANCE OF THE GOLD EXPORT CERTIFICATE

ARTICLE 1.- (OBJECTIVE)

This Regulation aims to regulate the determination of the gold export quota and the requirements for the issuance of the Gold Export Certificate (CEO).

ARTICLE 2.- (SCOPE OF APPLICATION)

This regulation applies to all exporters whose goods to be exported fall within the tariff subheadings contemplated in paragraph I of Article 2 of Supreme Decree No. 5076 dated November 30, 2023.

ARTICLE 3.- (DEFINITION OF THE QUOTA)

The Economic Policy Advisory will recommend to the BCB Board of Directors the quantity of gold that will be authorized for periodic export according to the Monetary Program. The Board of Directors will define the quota through a Board Resolution.

ARTICLE 4.- (CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GOLD EXPORT CERTIFICATE)

The CEO will have the following characteristics:

Sequential number of CEO
Quantity to be exported
Date of issuance
Expiration date (not more than ten calendar days from the date of issuance)
Name or denomination of the exporter

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Tax Identification Number
Mining Identification Number NIM
Name and identification document number of the company representative
Two authorized signatures from the BCB

The CEO will be valid only for one export and cannot be used in another export operation.

ARTICLE 5.- (REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF THE GOLD EXPORT CERTIFICATE)

The requirements that the exporter must meet for the issuance of the CEO are as follows:

Submit a written request addressed to the General Management of the BCB, according to the sample note in the Annex.
Submit a photocopy of the identification document of the company representative.

ARTICLE 6.- (OF VERIFICATION)

In the event that the exporter meets the requirements established in the preceding article, the International Operations Management, prior to verification of the quantity required for the replenishment of gold reserves, will issue the corresponding CEO within a maximum period of one business day from receipt of the written request.

ARTICLE 7.- (QUANTITY TO BE RELEASED FOR EXPORT)

The quantity released for export by each exporter will be the quantity equivalent to that previously acquired by the BCB or the percentage that the Board of Directors determines through Resolution.

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Annex: Sample Written Request Note

Date: //___

To:
General Manager
Central Bank of Bolivia
Present.-

REF: REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF GOLD EXPORT CERTIFICATE - CEO

By means of this document, I, [Name of representative], with identification document [CI Number or other], representative of the company [Name of exporting company] with NIM: [NIM Number], request the Issuance of the Gold Export Certificate - CEO for [Quantity of gold in fine kilograms] kilograms of fine gold in favor of the company I represent.

Sincerely,

Signature: _________________________
Full Name: _________________________
Identification Document Number: _________________________ Cell Phone: _________________________ Email: _________________________

Board Resolution No. 156/2023