Circular No. 162/2009/TT-BTC dated August 12, 2009 of the National Assembly amending preferential import duty rates for milk commodities in the Preferential Import Tariff

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Circular No. 162/2009/TT-BTC of August 12, 2009, amending preferential import duty rates for milk commodities in the Preferential Import Tariff

Pursuant to June 14, 2005 Law No. 45/2005/QH11 on Import Duty and Export Duty;

Pursuant to the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Resolution No. 295/2007/NQ-UBTVQH12 of September 28, 2007, promulgating the Export Tariff according to the list of dutiable commodity groups and the duty rate bracket for each commodity group, and the Preferential Import Tariff according to the list of dutiable commodity groups and the preferential duty rate bracket for each commodity group;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 149/2005/ND-CP of December 8, 2005, detailing the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 118/2008/ND-CP of November 27, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

The Ministry of Finance guides the application of preferential import duty rates and explains the classification of a number of milk commodities in the Preferential Import Tariff as follows:

Article 1. Milk import duty rates

To adjust preferential import duty rates for a number of milk commodity groups under headings 04.02 and 19.01 specified in Appendix 1 to the Finance Minister’s Decision No. 106/2007/QD-BTC of December 20, 2007, promulgating the Export Tariff and the Preferential Import Tariff, and documents amending and supplementing this Decision, into new preferential import duty rates specified in the list attached to this Circular (Appendix I).

Article 2. Guidance on classification

To make the application of codes and calculation of duties compliant with this Circular, the Ministry of Finance provides guidance on the classification of powdered milk commodities in Appendix II to this Circular.

Article 3. Effect

This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of its signing.

For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
DO HOANG ANH TUAN

APPENDIX I

LIST OF ADJUSTED PREFERENTIAL IMPORT DUTY RATES FOR A NUMBER OF MILK COMMODITIES

(To the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 162/2009/TT-BTC of August 12, 2009)

APPENDIX II

GUIDANCE ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF MILK COMMODITIES

(To the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 162/2009/TT-BTC of August 12, 2009)

1. Heading 0402: Full cream powdered milk and partially or wholly skimmed milk, which may contain added sugar or other sweetening matter. In addition to natural milk components, milk under this heading may contain a small quantity of stabilizers (such as disodique phosphate, trisodique citrate and calcium chloride) or a very small quantity of anti-oxidization agents or anti-caking substances (such as lipid phosphor and non-fixing silica), or may be added with vitamins (such as vitamins or minerals available in natural milk), or may contain a small quantity of chemicals (such as sodium carbonate) necessary in processing, and may be added with a small quantity of starch for maintaining milk in a normal physical state (not exceeding 5% of its weight).

2. Heading 1901: Food produced from goods under headings 04.01 to 04.04, not containing cocoa or containing less than 5% by weight of cocoa calculated on a totally defatted basis. Milk products under this heading must satisfy either of the following criteria:

a/ Having a content of starch exceeding 5%;

b/ Being additionally mixed with other components in addition to those available in natural milk (such as oleic fat, vegetable oil, milky fat substitute, yeast, etc.).

3. Milk-containing medical food (MF) under heading 19.01 is distinguished from other milk products under this heading by the fact that it is used for a special nutritive purpose or is a special nutritive food meeting health requirements (e.g., for cancer patients) and requiring medical supervision when it is used. In addition, products containing only nutritive components helping the treatment of special disease habitus are specified under the current law on medicines like for transfusable nutritive preparations. In general, a milk product may be regarded a medical food if it satisfies at least the following criteria:

a/ Being a food which is taken orally or through a catheter;

b/ Being stuck with a label indicating that it is used for adjusting nutrition in regimes, diseases or medical disorders;

c/ Being stuck with a label indicating that it is used under medical supervision.-