Circular No. 19/2020/TT-BCT amending Circulars on the implementation of the Rules of Origin under ATIGA

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing the Circulars on the implementation of the Rules of Origin under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement^[1]

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 98/2017/ND-CP of August 18, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 31/2018/ND-CP of March 8, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding origin of goods;

In implementation of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, which was signed on February 26, 2009, at the 14^th Summit in the Kingdom of Thailand, by the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN);

In implementation of the First Protocol to Amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement signed in Vietnam on January 22, 2019;

In implementation of the Reports of the 32^nd Meeting of the Coordinating Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement which were held in Indonesia on February 28, 2020; the 51^st ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting; and of the 33^rd ASEAN Free Trade Area Council Meeting which were held in Thailand on September 6, 2019;

In implementation of the Government’s Resolution No. 110/NQ-CP of July 23, 2020, approving the First Protocol to Amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Agency of Foreign Trade,

The Minister of Industry and Trade promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing the Circulars on the implementation of the Rules of Origin under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.

Article 1. To amend and supplement the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 22/2016/TT-BCT of October 3, 2016, on the implementation of the Rules of Origin under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (below referred to as Circular No. 22/2016/TT-BCT)

1. To replace Appendix VII to Circular No. 22/2016/TT-BCT with Appendix I to this Circular.

2. To replace Appendix VIII to Circular No. 22/2016/TT-BCT with Appendix II to this Circular.

3. To replace Appendix IX to Circular No. 22/2016/TT-BCT with Appendix III to this Circular.

4. To replace Appendix X to Circular No. 22/2016/TT-BCT with Appendix V to this Circular.

Article 2. To amend and supplement Appendix II to the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 10/2019/TT-BCT of July 22, 2019, amending and supplementing Circular No. 22/2016/TT-BCT

To amend and supplement Section 4 (“4. Regardless of the processes…… or from one of the following types”) as follows:

“5. Regardless of the stages specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4, non-originating textile materials listed below shall be considered originating in a Member State if satisfying the following requirements of working and processing stages:

a/ Fibers and yarns

The following working and processing stages shall be conducted with non-originating materials to create originating products:

Manufacture via the process of fiber production (polymerization, polycondensation and extrusion), filature, twister, shaping or plaiting from mixed fibers or from one of the following types:”   

Article 3. To amend and supplement the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 28/2015/TT-BCT of August 20, 2015, on implementation of the pilot scheme on self-certification of origin of goods provided in the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (below referred to as Circular No. 28/2015/TT-BCT)

1. To amend and supplement Article 1 as follows:

“Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes:

1. The implementation of the pilot scheme on self-certification of origin of goods in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding on the second pilot project for the implementation of a regional self-certification system, which was signed on August 29, 2012, in Siem Reap, the Kingdom of Cambodia, between the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Indonesia (below referred to as the pilot scheme).

2. The implementation of the ASEAN-Wide Self-Certification (AWSC) Scheme under the First Protocol to Amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.”

2. To amend and supplement Article 2 as follows:

“Article 2. Subjects of application

1. This Circular applies to:

a/ Traders exporting/importing goods to/from traders of other Member States that implement the pilot scheme under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA);

b/ Traders exporting/importing goods under the ATIGA to/from traders of the ASEAN Member States that implement the AWSC Scheme.

c/ Related agencies, organizations and individuals.

2. Eligible exporters may apply for certificates of origin, form D (C/Os, form D) instead of self-certification of origin of goods.”

3. To add the following Clause 6 to Article 3:

“6. The definitions listed in Clauses 1 thru 5 of this Circular do not apply to the AWSC Scheme.”

4. To amend and supplement Article 4 as follows:

“Article 4. Exporters eligible for self-certification of origin of goods

1. To request self-certification of origin of goods, a trader must satisfy the following conditions:

a/ Being the exporter of the goods it/he/she produces.

b/ Having committed no violation of the regulations on origin of goods within the last 2 years prior to the date of submission of a dossier of request for self-certification of origin of goods.

c/ Having officer(s) who has(have) been trained in origin of goods by a training institution designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade or the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

2. In addition to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, a trader that requests self-certification of origin of goods under the AWSC Scheme must satisfy the following requirements:

a/ Having been granted a preferential C/O for goods of the same HS code (4-digit heading) within the last 2 years prior to the date of submission of a dossier of request for a written approval.

b/ In case the exporter is not the producer, the exporter must obtain the producer’s written commitment of origin of the exported goods and the latter’s willingness of cooperation in case of examination of dossiers and documents on certification of origin of goods, and inspection and verification at the production establishment.”

5. To amend and supplement Article 5 as follows:

“Article 5. Issuance of written approvals

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade is competent to issue written approvals to traders for self-certification of origin of goods.

2. A trader that satisfies the conditions specified in Article 4 of this Circular may request for a written approval and shall send a dossier via the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam Electronic Certificate of Origin Issuance System at www.ecosys.gov.vn (below referred to as the eCoSys)

3. A dossier of request for issuance of a written approval must comprise:

a/ A written request for issuance of a written approval.

b/ One copy of the list together with specimen signatures of persons competent to sign declarations of origin of goods.

c/ One copy of the report on manufacture capacity and manufacture establishment for each commodity item registered for self-certification of origin.

4. Time limits for settlement:

a/ Within 3 working days after receiving the trader’s dossier, the competent agency shall notify the following on the eCoSys:

- Requesting the trader to supplement and complete the dossier, in case the dossier is incomplete and invalid.

- Requesting the C/O-issuing institution where the trader registers its/his/her dossier to physically inspect the manufacture capacity of the trader as specified in the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BCT of October 30, 2018, prescribing the checking and verification of origin of exported goods, in case the dossier is complete and valid.

b/ Within 7 working days after receiving the competent agency’s notice as specified in this Article, the C/O-issuing institution with which the trader registers its/his/her dossier shall physically inspect the manufacture capacity of the trader or related producer.

c/ Within 1 working day after completing the physical inspection of the trader’s manufacture capacity, the C/O-issuing agency shall update the inspection result on the eCoSys.

d/ Within 3 working days after the C/O-issuing institution updates the inspection results under regulations, the competent agency shall consider and issue a written approval together with the certified exporter authorization code for the trader. In case of refusal to issue a written approval, the competent agency shall reply in writing, clearly stating the reason.

dd/ The competent agency shall consider exempting physical inspection of the trader’s manufacture establishment specified at Point b of this Clause for the eligible exporter that has participated in the pilot scheme.

5. Modification and supplementation of written approvals

a/ If wishing to change or add commodity items registered for self-certification of origin, or change or add a person competent to sign the self-declaration of origin of goods, a trader shall declare such change or addition and send the dossier thereof via the eCoSys.

b/ A dossier of request for modification and supplementation of a written approval for cases of changing or adding commodity items registered for self-certification of origin must comprise:

- A written request for modification and supplementation of a written approval of self-certification of origin of goods;

- One copy of the report on manufacture capacity and manufacture establishment for each commodity item registered for self-certification of origin;

- A trader that is not a producer and participates in the AWSC Scheme shall request self-certification of origin of goods, enclosed with a copy of  the producer’s commitment as specified in Article 4 of this Circular.

c/ A dossier of request for modification and supplementation of a written approval for cases of changing or adding persons competent to sign self-declarations of origin of goods must comprise:

- A written request for modification and supplementation of a written approval for self-certification of origin of goods;

- One copy of the list of persons competent to sign self-declarations of origin of goods together with their specimen signatures.

d/ The order and time limit for processing and registering the modifications and supplementations specified in this Clause must comply with Clause 4 of this Article.

dd/ In case the changed or added commodity items are within with the trader’s manufacture capacity, the competent agency shall consider exempting physical inspection of the trader’s manufacture establishment when making modifications and supplementations of the written approval.

6. In case a written approval ceases to be effective, the trader shall request re-issuance of a written approval and send a dossier via the eCoSys specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

In case commodity items registered for self-certification of origin remain unchanged compared to those in previous registrations, the competent agency may consider exemption from physical inspection of the trader’s manufacture establishment when issuing the written approval.”

6. To amend and supplement Article 6 as follows:

“Article 6. Written approvals

1. Each eligible exporter shall be issued a separate code for self-certification of origin of goods. A Vietnamese code for self-certification of origin of goods consists of 12 characters as follows:

a/ The first 7 characters are “VN-AWSC”.

b/ The next 5 characters show the ordinal number of the exporter eligible for issuance of the written approval.

2. A written approval is valid for 2 years from the date of issuance, unless it is revoked under Article 10 of this Circular. Traders may only issue documents of self-certification of origin of goods within the validity period of the written approval.”

7. To amend and supplement Article 7 as follows:

“Article 7. Commercial invoices containing origin declaration

1. When exporting originating goods under the pilot scheme, an eligible exporter shall self-declare the origin of goods in commercial invoices with the following content:

“The exporter of the product(s) covered by this document (Certified Exporter Authorization Code.......) declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, the product(s) (HS Code(s):.........)  satisfy(ies) the Rules of Origin to be considered ASEAN Originating Products under the ATIGA (ASEAN country of origin: ....................) with origin criteria: …………….”

……………………..………………..

(Signature over Printed Name of the Authorized Signatory)

In which:

“Certified Exporter Authorization Code” means an origin self-certification code.

“HS Code(s)” mean(s) 6-digit HS code(s) of exported goods.

“ASEAN country of origin” means the name of the country of origin.

“Origin criteria” means criteria of origin.

“Signature over Printed Name of the Authorized Signatory” means the name and signature of the person authorized by the trader already registered with the competent agency.

2. Information for identifying the origin of goods shall be fully declared in commercial invoices.

3. Commercial invoices containing origin declaration must bear a handwritten signature; the content specified in Clause 1 of this Article must be in English and contain the name of the authorized signatory registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

4. The date stated in commercial invoices containing origin declaration shall be considered the date of issuance of such invoices.

5. In case commercial invoices containing origin declaration do not have enough space for declaring the names of all commodity items, the trader may insert additional sheets for declaration, stating HS codes, origin criteria, and name and signature of its/his/her authorized signatory.

6. Eligible exporters may not self-certify the origin of goods for consignments classified by customs offices into the Yellow channel or Red channel upon export declaration.

7. The provisions of Clauses 1 thru 6 of this Article do not apply to the AWSC Scheme.”

8. To add the following Clause 4 to Article 8:

“4. The provisions of Clauses 1 thru 3 of this Article do not apply to the AWSC Scheme.”

9. To amend and supplement Article 10 as follows:

“Article 10. Revocation of written approvals

1. Competent agencies shall revoke a written approval when a trader commits one of the following violations:

a/ Forging documents or making fraudulent declarations when registering self-certification of origin of goods.

b/ Forging dossiers and documents for self-certification of origin of goods.

c/ No longer satisfying the conditions specified in Article 4 of this Circular.

d/ Failing to perform the responsibilities of eligible exporters as specified in Article 11 of this Circular.

2. A trader whose written approval is revoked shall be subject to the Red channel regime as specified in the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 15/2018/TT-BCT of June 29, 2018, prescribing the channeling in the process of issuance of preferential certificates of origin. The information about the trader whose written approval is revoked shall be publicized on the eCoSys.”

10. To amend and supplement Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Responsibilities of eligible exporters

1. To maintain the conditions for issuance of written approvals specified in Article 4 of this Circular throughout the process of self-certification of origin of goods; to report on any change in such conditions to competent agencies.

 2. To fully provide relevant reports and documents, and coordinate with C/O-issuing institutions and competent agencies for the latter to inspect their manufacture establishments upon request.

3. To archive dossiers of request for issuance of written approvals for 5 years from the date of issuance of written approvals.

4. To archive documents of self-certification of origin of goods, dossiers, reports and documents proving that goods eligible for self-certification of origin comply with the current regulations on origin of goods, and other relevant documents, for at least 3 years from the date of issuance of documents of self-certification of origin of goods.

5. Only to be entitled to self-certify the origin of goods already registered accompanied by all necessary documents proving that the goods satisfy the conditions on origin at the time of issuance of documents of self-certification of origin of goods.

6. To take responsibility before law for the accuracy and truthfulness of declarations related to the request for issuance of written approvals and documents of self-certification of origin of goods.

7. Within 7 working days after issuing a document of self-certification of origin of goods, a trader shall declare and post up such document and documents related to the export consignments according to Points c thru h, Clause 1, Article 15 of the Government’s Decree No. 31/2018/ND-CP of March 8, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding origin of goods, on the eCoSys.

8. To promptly report to competent agencies on documents of self-certification of origin of goods rejected by importing Member States (if any).”

11. To amend and supplement Article 12 as follows:

“Article 12. Responsibilities of related agencies and organizations

1. The Agency of Foreign Trade (the Ministry of Industry and Trade) shall:

a/ Organize the issuance, modification and supplementation of written approvals;

b/ Verify the origin of goods already exported at the request of competent agencies of importing countries;

c/ Inspect the self-certification of origin of goods by eligible exporters after issuing written approvals, covering verification of the accuracy of issued documents of self-certification of origin of goods.

d/ After issuing a written approval, notify the ASEAN Secretariat of the information about eligible exporters.

dd/ Designate a training institution capable of training in the field of origin of goods.

2. Training institutions designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade or the Agency of Foreign Trade (the Ministry of Industry and Trade) shall:

a/ Organize training courses on origin of goods for trainees.

b/ Comply with the general regulations on organization of training courses.

c/ Report to the Agency of Foreign Trade (the Ministry of Industry and Trade) on information about the organized training courses.”

Article 4. To replace or annul a number of provisions of Circular No. 28/2015/TT-BCT

1. To annul Article 9.

2. To replace Appendix I to Circular No. 28/2015/TT-BCT with Form No. 01 provided in Appendix IV to this Circular.

3. To replace Appendix II to Circular No. 28/2015/TT-BCT with Form No. 03 provided in Appendix IV to this Circular.

4. To replace Appendix V to Circular No. 28/2015/TT-BCT with Form No. 02 provided in Appendix IV to this Circular.

Article 5. Transitional provisions

Customs offices may accept C/Os, form D, which are issued before December 21, 2020, according to the form provided in Appendix VIII to Circular No. 22/2016/TT-BCT.

Article 6. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on September 27, 2020.

2. In case the legal documents referred to in this Circular are replaced, amended or supplemented, the replacing, amending or supplementing documents shall prevail.

3. C/O-issuing institutions shall consider issuing C/Os, form D, according to the provisions of this Circular for Vietnamese goods exported on or after September 20, 2020.

4. Customs offices shall accept documents of certification of origin of goods as provided in Appendices I and II to this Circular in order to consider offering preferential tariff treatment provided in the ATIGA for consignments with import customs declarations registered on or after September 20, 2020.

5. The contents on guidance and interpretation related to the Rules of Origin which are agreed by the Member States on a rotational basis or agreed in the reports of the sessions of the Coordinating Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and the ASEAN Sub-Committee for Rules of Origin shall serve as a basis for implementation by C/O-issuing institutions and customs offices.

6. This Circular annuls the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 27/2017/TT-BCT of December 6, 2017, amending and supplementing the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 28/2015/TT-BCT of August 20, 2015, on implementation of the pilot scheme on self-certification of origin of goods provided in the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.-

For the Minister of Industry and Trade
Deputy Minister
TRAN QUOC KHANH

* The appendices to this Circular are not translated.