Circular No. 62/2019/TT-BTC dated September 05, 2019 of the Ministry of Finance on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC of April 20, 2018, prescribing the identification of origin of imports and exports

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC of April 20, 2018, prescribing the identification of origin of imports and exports^[1]

Pursuant to the June 23, 2014 Customs Law;

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

Pursuant to the June 12, 2017 Law on Foreign Trade Management;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015, detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control; and 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;

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

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;

Pursuant to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership concluded on March 8, 2018, in Chile;

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 issues the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC of April 20, 2018, prescribing the identification of origin of imports and exports.

Article 1.To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC of April 20, 2018, prescribing the identification of origin of imports and exports (below referred to as Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC)

1. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 4, Article 4 as follows:

“b/ In case customs declarants fail to submit documents certifying origin of goods under Point b or c, Clause 1, and Clause 2, of this Article, such goods will not be eligible for customs clearance and shall be handled in accordance with law.”

2. To amend and supplement Point h, Clause 6, Article 15 as follows:

“h/ Difference between HS codes on documents certifying origin of goods and those on import customs declarations:

In case the HS codes on documents certifying origin of goods differ from those on import customs declarations but the goods descriptions on documents certifying origin of goods are conformable with those on import customs declarations and actually imported goods, if customs offices have grounds to identify goods according to the HS codes on the import customs declarations and additional import customs declarations satisfy the prescribed origin criteria, they shall accept the documents certifying origin of goods.

In case the HS codes on documents certifying origin of goods differ from those on import customs declarations and the goods descriptions on documents certifying origin of goods are not conformable with those on import customs declarations and actually imported goods, if customs offices have grounds to identify that the imported goods are not those stated on the documents certifying origin of goods, they shall reject the documents certifying origin of goods and notify such on the e-customs data processing system under Clause 2, Article 22 of this Circular.

In case the HS codes on documents certifying origin of goods differ from those on import customs declarations but the goods descriptions on documents certifying origin of goods are conformable with those on import customs declarations and actually imported goods, if customs offices have no grounds to identify goods according to the HS codes on the import customs declarations as satisfying one of the origin criteria prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 31/2018/ND-CP of March 8, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding origin of goods and relevant guiding documents, including the criteria of wholly obtained (WO); regional value content (RVC); change in chapter (CC); change in tariff heading (CTH); change in tariff sub-heading (CTSH);  goods entirely produced in the territory of exporting member countries or produced from materials originated from one or more than one member country(PE); specific processes (SP); and percentage of material failing to satisfy a change in tariff classification requirement (De Minimis), they shall carry out verification procedures under Articles 19 and 21 of this Circular.”

3. To add Point d to Clause 1, Article 22 as follows:

“d/ In case documents certifying origin of goods are available at the time of performance of import procedures but customs declarants fail to declare their reference numbers, dates of issuance or documents certifying origin of goods are not yet available at the time of performance of import procedures but customs declarants fail to declare the late submission of documents certifying origin of goods on import customs declarations under Article 5 of this Circular, customs offices shall reject the documents certifying origin of goods in accordance with law.

In case customs declarants declare the late submission of documents certifying origin of goods under Article 5 of this Circular but make additional declaration and submit the documents certifying origin of goods when the time limit prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular has expired, customs offices shall reject the documents certifying origin of goods in accordance with law.”

4.  To add Article 7a as follows:

“Article 7a. Identification of origin of imports and exports for application of special preferential duty rates within the framework of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

1. The declaration, submission, examination, verification and rejection of documents certifying origin of imports and exports for implementation of CPTPP must comply with this Circular.

2. Time for submission of documents certifying origin of goods for application of special preferential duty rates:

a/ When carrying out customs procedures for import of goods, a customs declarant shall submit to the  concerned customs office one of the following documents:

a.1/ Document certifying origin of goods issued by the exporter or producer (document self-certifying origin of goods): 1 original;

a.2/ Certificate of origin (C/O) issued by an authority of the member country of exportation: 1 original;

b/ In case a customs declarant fails to make declaration for application of special preferential duty rates when carrying out  customs procedures for import of goods, in order to be entitled to such special preferential duty rates, the customs declarant shall:

b.1/ Clearly declare origin of goods and declare late submission of the document certifying origin of goods on the import customs declaration at the time of performance of customs procedures;

b.2/ Additionally declare and submit 1 original of the document certifying origin within 12 months after registering the customs declaration.

The procedures for handling overpaid duty amounts must comply with the law on tax administration.

3. Minimum requirements on documents certifying origin of goods:

a/ Documents certifying origin of goods must at least contain the following information:

a.1/ Exporter or producer: clearly state the certifier being exporter or producer;

a.2/ Name, address (including nation), telephone number and email address of the certifier;

a.3/ Name, address (including nation), telephone number and email address of the exporter in case the exporter is not the certifier;

Such information is not required if the producer issues the certificate of origin and does not know the exporter’s information. Address of the exporter is the place of exporting goods which is in a member state of CPTPP;

a.4/ Name, address (including nation), telephone number and email address of the producer if the producer is not the certifier or exporter or write “various” (“many producers”) if there is more than one producer or provide a list of producers. If such information needs to be kept secret, to write “available upon request by the importing authorities”. Address of the producer is the place of producing goods which is in a member state of CPTPP;

a.5/ Name, address, email address and telephone number of the importer (if the importer’s information is available). Address of the importer must be in a member state of the CPTPP;

a.6/ Description and HS codes of goods;

To clearly state goods description and 6-digit HS codes of goods: Description must conform to the goods subject to certification of origin. In case the document certifying origin of goods is used for an import shipment, the serial numbers of invoices relating to the import (if known) must be clearly stated;

a.7/ Criteria of origin: To specify the origin criterion(a) that the goods satisfy;

a.8/ Blanket periods

In case of using a document certifying origin of goods for identical goods shipments, such document must show the time of application which must not exceed 12 months;

a.9/ Date and authorized signature:

The document certifying origin must be signed, dated and certified by the certifier as follows: I certify that the goods described in this document satisfy the conditions to be regarded as originating goods and the information contained in this document is accurate and true. I am responsible for proving this declaration and agree to archive and produce documents proving this certification if so required or during the verification process at the office;

b/ Documents certifying origin of goods must be issued in written or electronic form;

c/ In case a document certifying origin of goods is not made in English, the customs declarant must translate it into Vietnamese or English and take responsibility for contents of the translation.

4. In case a CPTPP member state notifies that it applies only documents certifying origin of goods issued by authorities or exporters, producers may approve self-certification of origin. Within 1 working day after receiving sufficient information from the exporting member country, the General Department of Customs shall notify provincial-level Customs Departments of the application of above-mentioned forms of certification of origin, list of authorities issuing documents certifying origin of goods of the exporting member state, list of exporters and producers eligible for approval and other relevant information (if any).

5. Customs procedures applicable to cases in which a document certifying origin of goods is issued for identical goods shipments imported for many times within the time limit specified in the document certifying origin of goods under Point a.8, Clause 3 of this Article are as follows:

a/ Customs procedures for cases in which the document certifying origin of goods does not state the quantity of imported goods:

Upon carrying out procedures for the first import shipment under the document certifying origin of goods issued for identical goods shipments, the customs declarant shall submit to the customs office 1 original document certifying origin of goods.

The customs office shall check the conformity between the import customs declaration and the document certifying origin of goods, and documents in the customs dossier that satisfy the prescribed rules of origin to apply special preferential duty rates.

For subsequent import shipments, the customs declarant shall write in the box “Notes” on the import customs declaration the serial number of the import declaration of the first shipment for which the document certifying origin of goods have been applied under Point a.8, Clause 3 of this Article.

b/ Customs procedures for cases in which the document certifying origin of goods states the quantity of imported goods:

The customs declarant shall send 1 original document certifying origin of the identical goods shipment to the customs office and request the application thereof to identical import shipments.

The customs office shall record the document certifying origin of goods on the system and reconcile the quantity of imported goods stated in such documents upon each importation. The procedures for reconciliation must comply with Article 23 of this Circular.

c/ The customs office where the first import declaration is opened shall examine the presentation and contents of the document certifying origin of goods; for subsequent imports, the customs office shall examine validity of the document certifying origin of goods and whether the description and HS codes of imported goods satisfy the conditions to be regarded as identical goods.

6. Customs offices shall accept documents certifying origin of goods for application of special preferential duty rates in case commercial invoices are issued by a non-member state.

In case a commercial invoice is issued by a non-member state, documents certifying origin of goods must be issued separately from such commercial invoice.

7. In case goods are transported across the territory of one or more than one non-member states under Clause 2, Article 21 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 03/2019/TT-BCT of January 22, 2019, prescribing rules of origin of goods under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (below referred to as Circular No. 03/2019/TT-BCT), customs declarants shall submit proving documents under Point a, Clause 3, Article 18 of this Circular.

8. Customs offices shall reject documents certifying origin of goods in the following cases:

a/ They determine that imported goods are ineligible for application of preferential tariffs in accordance with law;

b/ They conduct verification but cannot obtain sufficient information to determine goods as originating as prescribed;

c/ Past 180 days after the General Department of Customs sends a verification request, the exporter or producer or the authority issuing the document certifying origin of goods fails to respond to the verification request or fails to provide verification information under regulations;

d/ Past 30 days after receiving the General Department of Customs’ request for direct verification in the exporting country, the exporter or producer or the authority issuing the document certifying origin of goods fails to send a written response to accept or reject such request;

dd/ The case specified at Point d, Clause 1, Article 22 of this Circular.

9. Before issuing a decision rejecting a document certifying origin of imported goods, the General Department of Customs shall notify verification results under Article 27 of Circular No. 03/2019/TT-BCT to the importer, exporter, producer or the authority issuing the document certifying the origin of goods that has provided information for verification. The exporter or producer or authority of the exporting country shall provide or additionally provide information relating to origin of goods within 90 days after being notified by the General Department of Customs.

10. In case of refusing to apply special preferential duty rates, customs offices shall notify the reason in writing to the importers.”

Article 2.To amend and supplement Column “Description” in Section III, Appendix II to Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC which provides the list of imports requiring documents certifying origin by customs offices

“Automobile commodity items with HS codes under Chapter 87, excluding:

Special-use cars; container tractors;

Temporarily imported automobiles of entities entitled to privileges and immunities;

Automobiles imported as gifts, presents and personal effects; foreign aid goods; automobiles used to serve scientific research;

Automobiles imported in the form of temporary import for re-export; border-gate transfer; consignment to bonded warehouses; or transit;

Automobiles imported for security and defense purposes under permits or certifications of the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security or units authorized or empowered by the Ministry of National Defense or Ministry of Public Security.”

Article 3.Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on October 21, 2019.

2. For import and export customs declarations registered during the period from January 14, 2019, to the effective date of this Circular, CPTPP’s provisions on origin and duty rates,  the Government’s Decree No. 57/2019/ND-CP of June 26, 2019, on the Preferential Export Tariffs and Special Preferential Import Tariffs for implementation of CPTPP during 2019-2022, and Clause 4, Article 1 of this Circular may be applied, except the regulations on declaration of reference numbers, date of issuance or declaration of late submission of documents certifying origin of goods on import customs declarations. Customs declarants that have overpaid duty amounts shall send written requests to customs offices where their declarations are registered for handling in accordance with law.

3. Competent customs offices shall examine and determine origin of imports and exports under Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC, this Circular and other relevant legal documents. Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance (the General Department of Customs) for consideration and guidance.

4. In the course of implementation, should relevant documents referred to in this Circular be amended, supplemented or replaced, the amending, supplementing or replacing documents shall prevail.-

For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
VU THI MAI