ULAN BATOR, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Mongolia has purchased a total of 183 kg of gold from legal entities and individuals so far this year, down 82 percent from a year ago, local media reported Wednesday, citing the central bank.
The sharp decrease is directly related to the expiration of the effective period of low royalty taxes on gold with the 2014 amendments to the Minerals Law, according to experts of the Bank of Mongolia.
The amendments, which have played an important role in hiking gold sales to the central bank over the past five years, expired on Jan. 1.
The bank of Mongolia purchased only 12.7 tons of gold in 2014. Thanks to the low royalty taxes on gold with the 2014 amendments, the central bank's annual gold purchase almost doubled in 2018, reaching 22 tons, according to the bank.
