Circular No. 43/2009/TT-BTC dated March 9, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance providing for rates and collection, remittance, management and use of customs charges and fees

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Circular No. 43/2009/TT-BTC of March 9, 2009, providing for rates and collection, remittance, management and use of customs charges and fees

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002, detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Charges and Fees;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 24/2006/ND-CP of March 6, 2006, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002, detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Charges and Fees;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 154/2005/ND-CP of December 15, 2005, detailing a number of articles of the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection and supervision;

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 collection, remittance, management and use of customs charges and fees as follows:

Article 1. Charge and fee payers

Customs charge and fee payers are organizations and individuals having luggage or goods on import, export or in transit, or means of transport on entry, exit or in transit, and have customs-related jobs performed by customs offices for which they have to pay charges or fees under this Circular.

Article 2. Cases not subject to customs charges and fees

1. Goods provided as humanitarian aid or non-refundable aid; gifts for state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, people’s armed forces units or individuals; belongings of foreign organizations or individuals under regulations on diplomatic immunities; luggage; mailers or postal parcels weighing under 5 kg and valued at under VND 5 million (including imported and exported goods consigned via express mail services in the form of mailers or postal parcels);

2. Goods undergoing customs clearance which are kept in customs warehouses for completion of customs procedures on the next day;

3. On-spot imported and exported goods (including goods traded between export-processing enterprises and the inland and between export-processing enterprises);

4. Escort of seagoing ships and goods and luggage on seagoing ships from buoy zero to seaport areas and vice versa.

Article 3. Rates and collection, remittance, management and use of customs charges and fees

1. Rates: Customs charge and fee rates are specified in the Table of customs charge and fee rates attached to this Circular.

2. Collection, remittance, management and use: Customs charges and fees constitute a state budget revenue and shall be managed and used as follows:

2.1. Customs offices directly collecting customs charges and fees shall declare and remit all the collected customs charge and fee amounts into charge and fee custody accounts at state treasuries in the localities where they collect charges and fees, for monitoring and spending control.

2.2. Customs offices may use the whole (100%) of the collected customs charge and fee amounts to cover charge and fee collection jobs and services, and the following:

a/ Purchase of customs seals (made of frangible paper, plastic cords, steel cables, and container seal bolts).

b/ Purchase of supplies, prints or stationery directly for customs clearance and charge and fee collection.

c/ Payment for overtime or night-time work to officers carrying out customs procedures and collecting customs charges and fees.

d/ Payment of work-trip allowances and partial communication charges for officers carrying out customs procedures and collecting customs charges and fees.

e/ Payment for hiring organizations and individuals to carry out customs procedures.

f/ Hiring of warehouses and yards and preservation of goods.

g/ Regular repair, overhaul and procurement of assets, machinery or equipment directly for customs clearance and customs charge and fee collection.

h/ Expenses for transmission, receipt and processing of e-customs data; partial payment of expenses to procure machinery or equipment for customs clearance modernization.

2.3. Customs charge and fee collecting agencies may use charge and fee receipts pre-printed with a charge or fee amount, attached to the Finance Minister’s Decision No. 85/2005/QD-BTC of November 30, 2005, on the printing, issue and use of charge and fee receipts, for charge and fee collection.

2.4. Annually, charge and fee collecting customs offices shall estimate customs charge and fee revenues and spending needs for the performance of their tasks and incorporate such estimates in their annual state budget revenue-expenditure estimates, then send them to the General Department of Customs for evaluation and incorporation in the General Department of Customs’ annual state budget revenue-expenditure estimates to be further sent to the Ministry of Finance.

2.5. All customs charge and fee revenues and expenditures shall be accounted under regulations of the State Budget Index. Annual finalization of customs charge and fee revenues and expenditures shall be made simultaneously with annual state budget finalization reports to be sent to superior agencies under regulations. Customs charge and fee amounts which have not yet been used up in a year may be carried forward to the subsequent year for investment in the customs service’s material foundations and modernization.

Article 4. Organization of implementation

1. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of its signing. To annul the Finance Minister’s Decision No. 73/2006/QD-BTC of December 18, 2006, providing the collection, remittance, management and use of customs charges and fees; Decision No. 118/2008/QD-BTC of December 16, 2008, amending and supplementing Decision No. 73/2006/QD-BTC of December 18, 2006; and Decision No. 1544/QD-BTC of July 15, 2008, promulgating the Regulation on management and use of customs charges and fees.

2. The Minister of Finance shall guide regulations on management and use of customs charges and fees.

3. Other matters related to the collection, remittance, management and use of customs charges and fees which are not guided in this Circular comply with the guidance in the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002, guiding the implementation of regulations on charges and fees, and Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC of May 25, 2006, amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002; and Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC of June 14, 2007, guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 85/2007/ND-CP of May 25, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration.

4. In the course of implementation of this Circular, any arising problems should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and additional guidance.

For the Minister of Finance
Vice Minister
DO HOANG ANH TUAN

TABLE OF CUSTOMS CHARGE AND FEE RATES

(Attached to the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 43/2009/TT-BTC of March 9, 2009)

Notes:

1. The customs clearance fee will be collected only once when import procedures are carried out for goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import; for goods kept in bonded warehouses, such fee will be collected only once when warehousing procedures are carried out, but not collected upon ex-warehousing.

2. The customs clearance fee will not be collected for means of transport regularly moving cross the borders and managed by means of monitoring books or computers but not declarations.

3. For means of road transport which are temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import, the customs clearance fee will be collected only once when import procedures are carried out, but not collected upon export.

4. Time limits for charge or fee payment are specified as follows:

a/ The customs clearance fee must be paid before customs offices’ inspection and certification of “customs clearance completion”;

b/ The fee for goods or means of transport in transit must be immediately paid upon carrying out procedures for such goods or means of transport;

Entities that conduct monthly import and export activities and strictly observe the customs law may pay charges and fees on a monthly basis; within the first 10 days of the subsequent month, they shall fully pay the previous month’s charge and fee amounts under regulations. For entities carrying out e-customs procedures on a pilot basis, they shall pay charges and fees according to the time limits set in the Finance Ministry’s regulations on the process of carrying out e-customs procedures on a pilot basis for imported and exported goods.

5. Customs charges and fees are collected in Vietnam dong. In case customs charge and fee payers wish to pay customs charges and fees in a foreign currency, such charges and fees may be collected in a freely convertible foreign currency, with Vietnam dong amounts converted into such freely convertible foreign currency at the average exchange rate on the inter-bank foreign currency market announced by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of charge and fee collection. In case the average exchange rate of a certain foreign currency on the inter-bank foreign currency market is unavailable, the exchange rate of such foreign currency shall be determined based on the cross exchange rates between US dollar (USD) and Vietnam dong and between US dollar and such foreign currency which are announced by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of charge and fee collection.-