Italian law identifies that only Professional Gold Traders authorized by the Bank of Italy are authorized to buy and sell investment gold on a professional basis.
The subjects must have previously communicated to the Bank of Italy in the manner provided for by art. 5 of the UIC provision of 14 July 2000 and meet the following requirements:
1) legal form of joint-stock company, limited partnership company, limited liability company or cooperative company, having in any case fully paid-up share capital not lower than the minimum required for joint-stock companies.
2) corporate purpose that indicates the activity of the gold trade as defined by art. 1, paragraph 1, of the Law of 17 January 2000 n. 7.
3) possession, by the participants in the capital, of the directors and employees vested with technical and commercial management functions, of the integrity requirements provided for in articles 108 and 109 of the Consolidated Law on banking and credit laws, issued with Legislative Decree September 1, 1993, no. 385 and by the implementing decrees of the Ministry of the Treasury no. 516 and 517 of 30 December 1998.
Operators who purchase gold for the purpose of earmarking it for their industrial or artisanal processing or entrusting it, exclusively for processing, to a holder of the identification mark referred to in the legislative decree of 22 May 1999 are excluded from the discipline referred to in paragraph 3, n. 251.