PS: Since 5 July 2017 came into force the Legislative Decree, 25/05/2017 n ° 92, G.U. 06/20/2017
The gold trade is regulated by a proper legislation entitled "New discipline on the gold market, also in accomplishment with the COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 98/80 EC of 12 October 1998" issued on 17 January Act no. 7 published in the Official Journal no. 16 on 21 January 1998 , which states what it is meant by gold and which are the mandatory requirements to carry out this trade in a professional way. Article 1 states" 1. In force of the following law by the term "gold" is meant:
a) gold Investment , conceiving for this ,gold in form of bullions or accepted weight plates from the gold market, but anyway superior to 1 gram, of fineness equal or superior to 995 thousandths , represented or not by shares; the gold coins equal or superior to 900 thousandths coined after 1800, which have or had had legal course in their mother country, normally sold to a price that doesn't go beyond the 80% the value of the free gold market in them contained, included in the list set by the Commission of the European Communities and yearly published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, C series, inclusive of the coins having the same features although not included in the above-mentioned list; through a decree of the Treasury, Ministry of the Budget and of Finance and Economic Planning are set the ways of transmission to the Commission of the European Communities of the information regarding the negotiated coins in the Italian State that satisfy the above-mentioned criteria ;
b) the gold material different from the one in the letter a), to mainly industrial use, both in the semi-manufactured shape of equal or superior fineness to 325 thousandths, and in any other shape and fineness." The same article 1 always points which are the requirements necessary to carry out the gold trade or : "3. the professional gold trade training on your own and on behalf of third people can only be accomplished by banks and, with previous communication to the Italian Exchange Office, by people who have the following requirements:
a) Legal form of a joint-stock company, or a limited joint-stock company , or a limited company or a cooperative; having in any case the social capital entirely given not inferior to the minimum planned for the joint –stock company ;" the legislator with these articles hasn't wanted to grant any doubt both on the way to identify the nature of the goods that can be qualified as gold , and the features that a company must take on to carry out legally such trade. In fact setting that companies are represented as "joint-stock companies; limited partnership for joint-stock, limited companies, cooperatives equipped with a social capital entirely deposited not inferior to the minimum estimated for the joint-stock companies". Another necessary condition to trade gold is communication , and the release of the relative authorization , from the Bank of Italy ( I remark that on January 1 ,2008 the Italian Exchange Office was abolished and the Bank of Italy has been in charge of its functions- D-lgs.21/11 /2007no.231-) As it can be seen the act is very clear about the necessary features to carry out such trade and the unavoidable requirements that are made conditions of whoever enterprises this company policy. The Italian Exchange Office provided with the publishing of an explicatory document" clarification about the gold subject matter "issued on June 20,2001, to clear things." To qualify , in accordance with the law 17/1/2000,no. 7, the trade of gold wreck and point out the possible obligation resting on those who take on this activity, you can distinguish three operative methods:
- purchase of used precious objects , directly from the private, and the resale of the same , without any further transformation. Such activity can't be described in force as of the article 1, paragraph 3, of 17/1/2000 Act ,no. 7; it displays in fact how the trade of manufactured products that are not part of the definition of "gold" contained in the article1, paragraph 1 , of the same Act;
- purchased of damaged precious objects, destined to fusion, and the following gold cession so obtained, in any of the shapes in use( bullions; plates, etc.).
The workability at issue, practiced professionally and not occasionally must be considered for both the referable subjective and objective aspects, according to the provisions of the law no.7/2000."