Circular 15/2020/TT-BTC guiding the use of stamps for liquor

CIRCULAR

Guiding the printing, issuance, management and use of stamps for liquor produced for domestic consumption and imported liquor^[1]

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 105/2017/ND-CP of September 14, 2017, on liquor trading;

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 the General Department of Taxation and the General Director of the General Department of Customs;

The Minister of Finance promulgates the Circular guiding the implementation of Decree No. 105/2017/ND-CP regarding the printing, issuance, management and use of stamps for liquor produced for domestic consumption and imported liquor.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes in detail Article 35 of the Government’s Decree No. 105/2017/ND-CP of September 14, 2017 (below referred to as Decree No. 105/2017/ND-CP), regarding the printing, issuance, management and use of stamps for liquor produced for domestic consumption and imported liquor (below referred to as liquor stamps).

Article 2.Cases requiring and not requiring affixture of stamps on product packages

1. Liquor produced for domestic consumption and imported liquor must have stamps affixed on their packages.

2. Cases not requiring affixture of stamps on product packages

- Liquor manually produced for sale to enterprises having licenses for industrial production of liquor for further processing.

- Imported liquor in the form of semi-finished products defined in Article 3 of Decree No. 105/2017/ND-CP.

- Imported liquor defined in Article 31 of Decree No. 105/2017/ND-CP.

This Circular does not apply to the cases prescribed in Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 105/2017/ND-CP.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 3.Stampspecimens and provisions on affixture of stamps

1. Principles

Imported liquor and domestically produced liquor shall be packed in bottles (including also jars, pots, vases, cans, bags, boxes and barrels) - below collectively referred to as bottles. Each bottle must be affixed with 1 (one) stamp. In case liquor bottles are covered by cellophane films, stamps must be affixed to bottles before the outer cellophane layer is sealed.

2. Stamp specimens

Imported liquor stamp specimens shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Finance as provided in Appendix 1 to this Circular.

Domestically produced liquor stamp specimens shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Finance as provided in Appendix 2 to this Circular.

3. Positions for affixing stamps

Liquor stamps shall be affixed on liquor product packages across the position through which liquor can be taken out (bottle, jar or vase caps, taps or similar positions), ensuring that once the bottles are opened, the stamps will tear and cannot be reused.

In case liquor are imported in barrels or tanks and then poured into bottles or further processed into finished products, the barrels and tanks are not required to be affixed with stamps.

4. Units conducting the affixture of stamps

For bottled liquors imported through border gates: Enterprises shall themselves affix imported liquor stamps at their establishments, take responsibility for the affixture of stamps and report to customs offices to which they make registration for carrying out import procedures on the quantity of stamps actually used (clearly indicating serial numbers of stamps) before goods are cleared from customs procedures.

For finished liquor products imported in barrels or tanks and then bottled in the country: Enterprises shall themselves affix imported liquor stamps at bottling establishments and take responsibility for the affixture of stamps before selling liquor products to the market.

For domestically produced liquor: Organizations and individuals that have licenses for production of liquor (including licenses for manual production of liquor for commercial purposes and licenses for industrial production of liquor) for domestic consumption - below collectively referred to as domestic liquor producers - shall affix liquor stamps according to regulations for liquor products they produce right at production establishments after liquor is bottled and before liquor products are sold to the domestic market.

Article 4.Principles of stamp management

The General Department of Customs shall print and issue imported liquor stamps.

The General Department of Taxation shall print and issue domestically produced liquor stamps.

The printing, issuance, management and use of liquor stamps must comply with current regulations on management and use of tax prints.

Article 5.Management of imported liquor stamps

1. Notice of issuance of liquor stamps

The General Department of Customs shall issue a notice on issuance of imported liquor stamps and send it to provincial-level Departments of Customs before allocating stamps to the latter. Upon occurrence of any change in the size, contents or design of a stamp specimen currently in use, the General Department of Customs shall issue a new issuance notice to replace the old one.

The issuance notice must state the design, content, size and particularities of each stamp specimen.

A notice on issuance of imported liquor stamps shall be posted on the General Department of Customs’ website within 15 (fifteen) working days since the date of issuance.

2. Allocation of imported liquor stamps

Imported liquor stamps shall be sold only to organizations and individuals that have a valid license for liquor distribution.

The General Department of Customs shall allocate liquor stamps to provincial-level Departments of Customs according to the needs annually registered by the latter.

Based on the volume of imported liquor declared by customs declarants, customs offices to which customs declarants make registration for carrying out import procedures shall sell stamps to importers and clearly inscribe in customs declarations for liquor import the quantity of stamps actually used and their serial numbers.

Customs officers in charge of selling stamps and supervising stamp affixture shall make final accounts of imported liquor stamps with stamp issuers within 2 (two) working days after goods are cleared from customs procedures.

Customs offices at all levels that allocate and sell imported liquor stamps shall open books to monitor in detail the quantity of stamps left in stock at the beginning of each period, the quantity of stamps received, the quantity of stamps sold to importers, the quality of  stamps lost or damaged in each period, and the quantity of stamps left in stock at the end of each period, make quarterly, biannual and annual reports on the use of stamps by their units, and send them to superior customs offices according to regulations.

Article 6.Management of domestically produced liquor stamps

1. Notices on issuance of liquor stamps

The General Department of Taxation shall issue a notice on issuance of domestically produced liquor stamps to provincial-level Tax Departments before selling the stamps. Upon occurrence of any changes in the size, contents or design of a stamp specimen currently in use, the General Department of Taxation shall make a new issuance notice to replace the old one.

The issuance notice must indicate the design, contents, size and particularities of each stamp specimen.

A notice on issuance of domestically produced liquor stamps shall be posted on the General Department of Taxation’s website within 15 (fifteen) working days since the date of issuance.

2. Selling liquor stamps

Stamps of liquor produced for domestic consumption shall be sold only to organizations and individuals having a valid liquor production license.

The General Department of Taxation shall allocate liquor stamps to provincial-level Tax Departments. Provincial-level Tax Departments and Tax Branches shall organize the sale of domestically produced liquor stamps to organizations and individuals having liquor production licenses (including licenses for manual production of liquor for commercial purposes and licenses for industrial production of liquor) for the latter to affix stamps to their products by themselves according to regulations.

Organizations and individuals may not transfer or sell (except tax offices), borrow and lend liquor stamps.

Tax offices at all levels shall open books to monitor in detail the quantity of stamps left in stock at the beginning of each period, the quantity of stamps received and the quantity of stamps sold to organizations and individuals producing liquor for domestic consumption, the quantity of stamps lost or destroyed in each period and the quantity of stamps left in stock at the end of each period, and make and send quarterly and annual reports on final accounts of the proceeds from sale of stamps to superior tax offices.

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 8.Funds for printing stamps

Customs offices shall sell imported liquor stamps to liquor importers when the latter carry out customs procedures. Tax offices shall sell domestically produced liquor stamps to organizations and individuals having liquor production licenses (including licenses for manual production of liquor for commercial purposes and licenses for industrial production of liquor).

The proceeds from sale of stamps must be sufficient to cover expenses for printing and issuance of stamps under regulations.

Article 9.Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on May 7, 2020.

2. Stamps issued under the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 160/2013/TT-BTC of November 14, 2013, and left in stock before the effective date of this Circular, may further be used until they are run out.

3. Ministries, sectors, localities, organizations and individuals should report problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular to the Ministry of Finance for consideration for revision as appropriate.-

For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
TRAN XUAN HA

* The appendices to this Circular are not translated.