Circular No. 07/2019/TT-BTC dated January 28, 2019 of the Ministry of Finance on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC of May 12, 2015, on the application of the priority regime in customs clearance, inspection and supervision of businesses’ imports and exports

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC of May 12, 2015, on the application of the priority regime in customs clearance, inspection and supervision of businesses’ imports and exports^[1]

Pursuant to the June 23, 2014 Law on Customs;

Pursuant to the November 29, 2006 Law on Tax Administration; and the November 20, 2012 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Tax Administration;

Pursuant to the April 6, 2016 Law on Import Duty and Export Duty;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015, detailing and providing measures for implementation of the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control; the Government’s Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP of April 20, 2018, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015, detailing and providing measures for implementation of the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP of July 22, 2013, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Tax Administration; and the Government’s Decree No. 91/2014/ND-CP of October 1, 2014, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the decrees on taxes;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP of September 1, 2016, detailing a number of articles of and measures to implement the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 87/2017/ND-CP of July 26, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the General Director of Customs,

The Minister of Finance promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC of May 12, 2015, on the application of the priority regime in customs clearance, inspection and supervision of businesses’ imports and exports.

Article 1.To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC of May 12, 2015, on the application of the priority regime in customs clearance, inspection and supervision of businesses’ imports and exports:

1. To amend the title of Article 6 as follows:

“Article 6. Customs clearance with incomplete customs declarations”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 7 as follows:

“3. To be entitled to early performance of procedures for delivery of goods and early inspection and supervision by customs offices and port, warehouse and storage yard businesses.”

3. To amend and supplement Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8. Specialized inspection

1. The business may keep imports in its warehouses pending specialized inspection results, except the case in which the law on specialized inspection prescribes goods are subject to inspection at border gates.

2. When sampling is required for specialized inspection, the business is entitled to early sampling of goods.”

4. To amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Tax procedures

1. To be entitled to tax refund first, inspection later. The tax refund dossier must comply with the Government’s Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP of September 1, 2016; the procedures of remittance, receipt and processing of tax refund dossiers must comply with the Government’s Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP of September 1, 2016, the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC of March 25, 2015, and Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC of April 20, 2018. Based on calculations and declarations by the business itself, the customs office shall examine the conformity of the dossier. The decision on tax refund shall be issued within 1 (one) working day after receiving a valid dossier from the business.

2. The time limit for tax payment for imports and exports of prioritized businesses must comply with Clause 2, Article 9 of Law No. 107/2016/QH13 on Import Duty and Export Duty of April 6, 2016.

3. To be prioritized to carry out tax procedures for imports and exports in accordance with the tax laws.

5. To amend the place of dossier submission prescribed in Clause 1, Article 18 as follows:

“1. A business fully meeting the conditions prescribed in this Circular and wishing to enjoy the priority regime shall submit a written dossier of request to the General Department of Customs for consideration and recognition. Such a dossier must comply with Points a, b, c, d, dd and e, Clause 1, Article 18 of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC.”

6. To amend and supplement Article 19 as follows:

“Article 19. Appraisal of conditions for application of the priority regime

1. Within 30 days after receiving a complete dossier prescribed in Article 18 of this Circular, the General Department of Customs shall appraise and conclude about the recognition of a prioritized business.

For a complicated case which requires related ministries’ and sectors’ opinions, the time limit for appraisal may be extended for no more than 30 days.

2. Dossier appraisal

a/ The General Department of Customs shall examine the completeness, lawfulness and validity of dossiers submitted by businesses and key investment projects under Clauses 1 and 2, Article 18 of this Circular; compare information provided by businesses and collected information on businesses from tax agencies and customs offices in localities where such businesses are headquartered and localities where they carry out import and export activities with the conditions for application of the priority regime prescribed in Chapter III of this Circular;

b/ In case these dossiers are incomplete under regulations, within 5 (five) working days after receiving a written request for the application of the priority regime, the General Department of Customs shall give a written notification for submission of additional documents;

c/ In case a business’s dossier fails to meet the prescribed conditions for application of the priority regime, the General Department of Customs shall issue a written reply to the requesting business, clearly stating the reason;

d/ In case results of the dossier examination show that the business satisfies the prescribed conditions for application of the priority regime, the General Department of Customs shall carry out a physical appraisal at the business.

3. Appraisal at businesses

a/ The General Department of Customs shall carry out physical appraisal at a business which must cover:

a.1/ Comparing physical inspection results with the business’s declared information.

a.2/ Carrying out post-customs clearance inspection at the customs declarant’s office to assess its law observance, in case the business has not yet been inspected for the last 24 (twenty-four) consecutive months up to the time it makes a written request for recognition as a prioritized business;

b/ The maximum duration of physical appraisal at a business or project must be 5 (five) working days. In case post-customs clearance inspection is required at the customs declarant’s office, such duration must comply with the regulations on post-customs clearance inspection.”

7. To add Article 20a:

“Article 20a. Extension of the application of the priority regime

Within 3 (three) months prior to the time of extension of the application of the priority regime, the General Department of Customs shall base itself on collected information from provincial-level Tax Departments and Customs Departments of localities where these businesses are headquartered and where they carry out export and import activities on management and post-customs clearance inspection results (if any) to decide on the extension.”

8. To amend and supplement Article 23 as follows:

“Article 23. Competence to recognize eligibility for, extend, suspend or stop the application of, the priority regime

The General Department of Customs shall recognize the eligibility for, extend, suspend or stop the application of, the priority regime.”

9. To amend and supplement Article 25 as follows:

“Article 25. Management responsibilities of customs offices

The General Department of Customs shall:

1. Manage, monitor and assess the observance of the customs and tax laws by prioritized businesses. The General Department of Customs shall assist businesses in improving their observance ability when so requested by the latter.

2. Annually collect information on the observance of the customs and tax laws conducted by businesses from provincial-level Tax Departments and Customs Departments of localities where these businesses are headquartered and where they carry out export and import activities.

3. Inspect the maintenance of the conditions for the application of the priority regime by prioritized businesses or key investment projects, and the application of priority regime upon the completion and commissioning of these projects.

4. Apply the priority regime under this Circular for prioritized businesses.

5. Inform and update the list of prioritized businesses and coordinate with port, warehouse and storage yard businesses in the application of the priority regime for businesses.”

10. To amend Clause 3 of, and add Clause 7 to, Article 26 as follows:

“3. Within 90 (ninety) days after the end of a fiscal year, to provide their financial statements and auditing reports of that year to the General Department of Customs.”.

“7. To notify in writing the General Department of Customs of competent agencies’ decisions on handling of violations of the tax and accounting laws within 30 days after receiving these decisions.”.

11. To amend and supplement the forms provided together with the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC of May 12, 2015, as follows:

a/ To amend Forms 02a/DNUT, 03/DNUT, 04/DNUT, 05/DNUT and 06/DNUT;

b/ To add Form 03a/DNUT.

Article 2.Annulled contents

1. To annul the phrase “shall be carried out with scanners” in Clause 2, Article 5 of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC of May 12, 2015.

2. To annul Clause 5, Article 7 of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC of May 12, 2015.

Article 3.Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on January 28, 2019.

2. In the course of implementation, should relevant documents referred to in this Circular be amended, supplemented or replaced, the amending, supplementing or replacing documents must be complied with as soon as they take effect.-

For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
VU THI MAI