Circular 81/2019/TT-BTC management of risks in customs operations

CIRCULAR

On management of risks in customs operations^[1]

Pursuant to the June 23, 2014 Customs Law;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015, prescribing customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; and import duty, export duty and tax administration of imports and exports, and the Government’s Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP of April 20, 2018, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP;

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 promulgates the Circular on management of risks in customs operations.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes:

1. Collection, processing, management and use of risk management information; assessment of law compliance by customs declarants.

2. Classification of risk levels of customs declarants and import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

3. Application of risk management in customs operations.

Article 2.Subjects of application

1. Customs declarants.

2. Customs offices and customs officers.

3. State agencies in coordinated state management of customs.

4. Organizations and individuals involved in import, export or transit of goods, or entry, exit or transit of vehicles.

Article 3.Interpretation of terms

1.Application of risk managementmeans application of professional risk management principles, processes, measures and techniques and risk management information products to decide on and implement decisions on customs inspection and supervision, post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection and other operations.

2.Risk management informationmeans customs information collected and processed to serve the application of risk management in customs operations.

3.Risk management information systemmeans information and data systems managed by customs offices to collect, process and provide risk management information products for customs operations.

4.Compliance levelmeans results of assessment and classification carried out by customs offices of law observance by customs declarants in the management of import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

5.Criteria for compliance assessmentmeans standards for assessment and classification of compliance level in import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

6.Indexes of criteria for compliance assessmentmeans information indicators bearing specific value of criteria for compliance assessment.

7.Compliance assessmentmeans collection, analysis, verification and checking of information about operation and law observance based on indexes of criteria for compliance assessment to serve classification of levels of law compliance by customs declarants.

8.Compliance managementmeans assessment by customs offices of law compliance, and classification of risks of customs declarants to apply management measures suitable to each level in order to ensure the full and accurate implementation of provisions of the customs law.

9.Risk analysismeans forecasting of risk frequency and consequences.

10.Risk levelmeans severity of risks determined based on combination of risk frequency and consequences.

11.Criteria for risk classificationmeans standards for assessment and classification of risk levels in the management of import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

12.Index of criteria for risk classificationmeans information indicators bearing specific value of criteria for risk classification.

13.Risk assessmentmeans classification, consideration and comparison of risk levels against indexes of criteria for risk classification and previous handling of risks for making a priority order.

14.Sign of riskmeans a factor of informative value that shows a potential danger of an act in violation of the customs law.

15.Sign of violationmeans a factor of informative value that serves as a ground for assessment of commission of a violation of the customs law.

16.List of risk-bearing goodsmeans a list of goods that bear risks related to smuggling, tax evasion, trade fraud and other violations in the field of customs.

17.Determination of key pointmeans use of results of compliance or risk assessment to decide on application of risk control measures in customs inspection and supervision, post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection and other professional measures in import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

18.Key enterprisemeans an enterprise which is (assessed to be) of high risk in customs operations in each field of import, export or transit in a given period.

19.Key person on entry or exit or in transitmeans a person on entry or exit or in transit who is (assessed to be) of high risk in each field of entry, exit or transit in a given period.

20.Risk filemeans a collection of information and data on a risk-bearing subject or a circumstance where a risk might arise stored in a documented form or electronic data to serve the monitoring, management and determination of a key point of customs inspection and supervision, post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection and other professional measures in import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

21.Risk controlmeans application by customs offices of customs inspection, supervision and control, post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection, investigation and other professional measures to preclude, prevent and minimize risk frequency or consequences or detect and handle violations of the customs law.

22.Risk control planmeans an overall program on risk control issued by the General Director of Customs to organize, assign tasks, and coordinate resources and measures to control risks in the management of import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

23.Compliance measurementmeans decision on sample checking, and synthesis and analysis of information and data based on certain indexes to determine compliance level in each field of import, export or transit.

Article 4.Risk management principles

1. Risk management information shall be collected from domestic and overseas information sources in accordance with law; managed in a centralized manner at the General Department of Customs by means of information technology system applications and processed, shared and provided to customs offices at all levels and other state management agencies in accordance with law.

2. The assessment of law compliance and classification of risk levels shall be carried out in an automatic and accurate manner based on the criteria prescribed in this Circular.

3. The decision on customs inspection and supervision or choice of post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection or application of other professional measures shall be based on results of compliance assessment, risk classification and risk management information available in the customs information system and information about signs of violations and other signs of risks provided at the time of decision or choice.

4. Customs offices shall concentrate on inspecting, supervising and controlling high and average risks and apply measures appropriate to low risks.

5. In case the system encounters an incident or fails to meet requirements on application of risk management in customs operations in accordance with this Circular, the risk management shall be applied manually by approving documents on proposals or documents signed by persons competent to apply professional customs measures.

6. Customs officers who have strictly implemented regulations, provisions of this Circular and regulations and instructions on risk management according to power delegation are exempted from personal liability in accordance with law.

Article 5.Professional technical measures to manage risks in customs operations

Professional technical measures to manage risks in customs operations include:

1. Collecting and processing risk management information.

2. Managing and assessing law compliance and classifying risk levels for customs declarants.

3. Analyzing and assessing risks.

4. Managing, formulating, updating and applying criteria for assessing law compliance and criteria for classifying risk levels for customs declarants and criteria for classifying risk levels in import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

5. Examining and assessing the application of risk management and law compliance management in customs operations.

6. Other professional technical measures to manage risks, including:

a/ Drawing up and managing the list of risk-bearing goods;

b/ Compiling and managing risk files;

c/ Compiling files of and managing key enterprises;

d/ Measuring compliance with the customs law in import, export and transit activities;

dd/ Managing risk control plans; carrying out specialized risk controls; carrying out analysis after detection and handling of typical smuggling, tax evasion and trade fraud cases to forecast trends in order to give trend forecasts and warnings about risks.

Chapter II

COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF RISK MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

Article 6.Risk management information

1. Risk management information includes:

a/ Information about customs declarants:

a.1/ Information about enterprises engaged in goods import, export or transit activities;

a.2/ Information about agents carrying out customs procedures;

a.3/ Information about international post service providers and express mail service providers;

a.4/ Information about owners or drivers of vehicles on entry or exit or in transit or persons authorized by owners of vehicles on entry or exit or in transit;

a.5/ Information about persons authorized by goods owners under Clause 3, Article 1 of 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 of January 21, 2015, detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control (below referred to as Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP).

b/ Information about imported, exported or transited goods;

c/ Information about vehicles on entry or exit or in transit;

d/ Information about persons on entry or exit or in transit and their luggage;

dd/ Information about organizations and individuals engaged in goods import, export or transit or related to customs declarants or imported, exported or transited goods:

dd.1/ Information about organizations and individuals that are foreign capital-contributing partners;

dd.2/ Information about enterprises trading in duty-free goods;

dd.3/ Information about enterprises dealing in ports, warehouses and storing yards;

dd.4/ Information about enterprises dealing in bonded warehouses;

dd.5/ Information about enterprises dealing in container freight stations;

dd.6/ Information about enterprises providing container freight station services;

dd.7/ Information about enterprises transporting imported, exported or transited goods;

dd.8/ Information about enterprises providing services of assessment of imported or exported goods;

e/ Information about results of completion of customs procedures, application of measures to control risks and professional operation information provided, created or processed in the course of application of risk management in accordance with this Circular and other relevant regulations;

g/ Other information related to the state management of customs.

2. Risk management information specified at Points a, b, c, d and dd, Clause 1 of this Article is detailed in Appendix I on the set of risk management information indicators to this Circular.

Article 7.Collection and processing of risk management information

1. Risk management information shall be collected from the following sources:

a/ Information and data systems inside and outside the customs sector;

b/ State management agencies, and organizations and individuals involved in the customs field as specified in Articles 107 and 108 of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015, detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Custom Law regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control (below referred to as Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP);

c/ Foreign customs authorities, and related foreign agencies, organizations and individuals as defined by law;

d/ Organizations and individuals that import or export goods, or are on entry or exit or in transit as defined by law;

dd/ Information purchased under regulations;

e/ Hotlines or emails of the General Department of Customs;

g/ Customs inspection, supervision and control of imported, exported or transited goods; or vehicles on entry or exit or in transit;

h/ Other necessary professional measures as prescribed by law.

2. Risk management information shall be collected by the following modes:

a/ Provision or exchange of information in the form of e-data, e-documents, emails or text messages from telephone numbers officially announced by customs offices;

b/ Provision or exchange of information in documents, via telex or facsimile or in other written forms;

c/ Direct exchange of information included in written records bearing certification by the exchanging parties; appointment of representatives to work together, verify or collect information and documents; organization of conferences and other forms.

3. After being collected, risk management information shall be processed through the following steps:

a/ Evaluating relevance of collected information to needs and use purposes of collectors; and examining reliability and accuracy of collected information;

b/ Comparing collected information with information available in the information system of the customs sector and information collected or obtained from different sources; classifying and storing information;

c/ Analyzing collected information to find components of information products to serve the risk management;

d/ Synthesizing and linking relevant factors found through analysis; clarifying contents and value of collected information and improving risk management information products.

Article 8.Creation, management and use of risk management information

1. Risk management information shall be created and managed in centralized information and data systems, and updated, integrated, processed, stored, provided and shared in accordance with this Circular. In case a system encounters an incident or transmission error, the update, integration, processing and storage of information in such system shall be carried out immediately after such incident or error is remedied.

2. A risk management information system shall be built and connected online with customs e-data processing systems and related information and data systems.

3. The connection and sharing of risk management information with organizations and individuals outside the customs sector, foreign customs authorities and international organizations in accordance with Vietnam’s law, treaties and international agreements to which Vietnam is a contracting party must comply with regulations on security of information technology systems and protection of state secrets and customs secrets.

4. Customs offices shall apply measures to ensure data safety and confidentiality, computer safety and cyber security in accordance with law.

Chapter III

ASSESSMENT OF LAW COMPLIANCE BY CUSTOMS DECLARANTS AND CLASSIFICATION OF RISK LEVELS IN CUSTOMS OPERATIONS

Section 1

ASSESSMENT OF LAW COMPLIANCE BY CUSTOMS DECLARANTS

Article 9.Management of law compliance by customs declarants

1. The management of law compliance by customs declarants covers:

a/ Compilation and management of files of customs declarants; compilation and management of risk files of customs declarants with the risk of failure to comply with law;

b/ Elaboration of criteria and indexes of criteria for assessment of law compliance by customs declarants;

c/ Assessment of law compliance by customs declarants;

d/ Classification of risk levels of customs declarants;

dd/ Application of customs inspection, supervision and control, post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection and other professional measures to customs declarants in accordance with law;

e/ Examination and assessment of law compliance by customs declarants;

g/ Organization of programs on customs-enterprise partnerships, exchange and provision of information and support for customs declarants to comply with law.

2. Customs offices shall organize uniform application of the mechanism of management of law compliance by customs declarants.

3. The assessment of law compliance by enterprises dealing in warehouses, storing yards and ports shall be carried out as for enterprises engaged in import, export or transit activities.

Article 10.Classification of levels of law compliance by customs declarants

Customs declarants shall be assessed and classified into one of the following levels of law compliance:

1. Level 1: Priority enterprise.

2. Level 2: High compliance.

3. Level 3: Medium compliance.

4. Level 4: Low compliance.

5. Level 5: Non-compliance.

Article 11.Criteria for assessment of law compliance by customs declarants

1. Criteria for assessment of enterprises to be classified as priority ones (level 1) must comply with Article 10 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP and Articles 12 thru 17 of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC of May 12, 2015, prescribing the application of priority regime in customs clearance, and customs inspection and supervision of imported and exported goods of enterprises (below referred to as Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC).

2. Criteria for assessment of customs declarants whose law compliance is to be classified as high (level 2) are provided in Appendix II to this Circular.

3. Criteria for assessment of customs declarants whose law compliance is to be classified as medium (level 3) are provided in Appendix III to this Circular.

4. Criteria for assessment of customs declarants whose law compliance is to be classified as low (level 4) are provided in Appendix IV to this Circular.

5. Criteria for assessment of customs declarants whose law compliance is to be classified as non-compliance (level 5) are provided in Appendix V to this Circular.

Article 12.Methods of assessment of law compliance by customs declarants

1. Law compliance by customs declarants shall be automatically assessed by the information technology system at 00:00 hour every day at the General Department of Customs on the basis of integration and processing of customs information data according to compliance assessment criteria provided in Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP and Article 11 of this Circular and on the following principles:

a/ Enterprises assessed and classified as priority ones (level 1) must comply with Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC and the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 07/2019/TT-BTC of January 28, 2019, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC;

b/ Customs declarants’ law compliance shall be assessed and classified for the first time or subsequently into level 2, level 3 or level 4 when fully satisfying relevant criteria provided in Appendix II, Appendix III or Appendix IV to this Circular;

c/ Customs declarants’ law compliance shall be assessed and classified into level 5 when satisfying one of the criteria provided in Appendix V to this Circular. Their law compliance of level 5 may be increased to a higher level when:

c.1/ If they commit one of the acts specified at Point 1, Section I of Appendix VI to this Circular and fully satisfy the criteria for assessment of law compliance of a higher level within 365 days after the change of their previous compliance level, their law compliance level may be considered for increase to level 4;

c.2/ If they commit one of the acts specified at Point 2, Section I of Appendix VI to this Circular and fully satisfy the criteria for assessment of law compliance of a higher level within 365 days after the change of their previous compliance level, their law compliance level will be increased to level 4. Subsequent times of compliance assessment must comply with Point b of this Clause;

c.3/ If they fully satisfy the criteria for assessment of law compliance of a higher level without committing any act specified in Section I of Appendix VI to this Circular, their law compliance level may be increased to a correspondingly higher level.

2. In case the system encounters an incident, results of the assessment of law compliance by customs declarants are those of the day preceding to the date of occurrence of the incident.

3. Customs offices shall monitor and review results of the assessment of law compliance by customs declarants by the following modes:

a/ Random selection of customs declarants for analysis, assessment and adjustment of their law compliance levels according to the criteria for compliance assessment provided in Article 11 of this Circular;

b/ Coordination with relevant agencies in exchange and provision of information about the process of law compliance by customs declarants to verify information.

4. Customs offices shall assist customs declarants in increasing their law compliance levels via applications on the Customs Portal as follows:

a/ Search for results of the assessment of law compliance and reasons for assessment and classification of law compliance levels;

b/ Exchange and provision of information to serve the assessment of law compliance and reporting on problems and recommendations related to the assessment of law compliance.

In case an application on the Customs Portal fails to meet technical requirements, the exchange and provision of information shall be carried out in written form.

5. Customs offices shall promote customs declarants’ voluntary compliance with the customs law by organizing programs on customs-enterprise partnership, making memoranda of understanding, holding dialogue conferences and workshops, and providing them with training and assistance.

Section 2

CLASSIFICATION OF RISK LEVELS IN CUSTOMS OPERATIONS

Article 13.Principles for classification of risk levels

1. Risk levels in import, export, entry, exit and transit activities shall be classified on the basis of law compliance levels of customs declarants and relevant factors specified in Article 15 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP.

2.  In case relevant factors specified in Article 15 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP are similar, a customs declarant with higher level of law compliance shall be classified as facing lower risks and vice versa.

3. Customs offices shall manage and apply the risk management information system in automatically integrating and processing data according to the criteria specified in Articles 15 and 17 of this Circular to classify risk levels in customs operations.

Article 14.Classification of risk levels of customs declarants

Enterprises engaged in import, export or transit activities; agents carrying out customs procedures; international post service providers; international express mail service providers; owners of vehicles on entry or exit or in transit or persons authorized by such owners; and enterprises dealing in warehouses, storing yards and ports shall be classified based on their risk levels in one of the following cases:

1. Grade 1: priority enterprises, which are those specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 12 of this Circular.

2. Grade 2: customs declarants facing very low risks.

3. Grade 3: customs declarants facing low risks.

4. Grade 4: customs declarants facing medium risks.

5. Grade 5: customs declarants facing high risks.

6. Grade 6: customs declarants facing very high risks.

7. Grade 7: customs declarants that have carried out goods import or export activities for less than 365 days prior to the date of assessment and not committed any violations.

8. Grade 8: customs declarants that have carried out goods import or export activities for less than 365 days prior to the date of assessment and are handled for their violations, excluding the acts prescribed for Grade 9 in this Article.

9. Grade 9: customs declarants that have carried out goods import or export activities for less than 365 days prior to the date of assessment and are handled for their violations specified in Sections I and II in Appendix VI to this Circular.

Article 15.Criteria for classifying risk levels for customs declarants

Risk levels for customs declarants and enterprises dealing in warehouses, storing yards and ports that are listed in Grade 2 thru Grade 6 shall be classified based on the factors specified in Article 15 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP as follows:

1. Compliance level of customs declarants and enterprises dealing in warehouses, storing yards and ports as specified in Article 10 of this Circular.

2. Time of establishment; headquarters; number of employees; type of enterprise; information on enterprise owners; capital; listing on the stock exchange.

3. Time and frequency of operation, routes; goods and forms of import or export; import and export turnover, total tax amount paid; turnover, profit; results of inspection, supervision, post-customs clearance inspection, investigation and specialized inspection by customs offices, tax offices and related agencies.

4. Frequency, nature and severity of violations and compliance with the customs law; compliance with the tax laws; compliance with the laws on post, transport and trade and other relevant laws concerning import, export, entry, exit or transit activities.

5. History of violations involving goods owners, consignors and consignees.

6. Objectives and requirements of customs management in a given period.

7. Signs of risks, and signs of violations of the customs law.

Article 16.Classification of risk levels for import, export, entry, exit and transit activities in customs operations

Risks for import, export, entry, exit and transit activities in customs operations shall be classified into one of the following levels:

1. High.

2. Medium.

3. Low.

Article 17.Criteria for classifying risk levels for import, export, entry, exit and transit activities in customs operations

Risks for import, export, entry, exit and transit activities in customs operations shall be classified based on the factors specified in Article 15 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP as follows:

1. Compliance levels and risk levels of customs declarants as specified in Articles 10 and 14 of this Circular.

2. Management policies and tax policies for imported, exported and transited goods.

3. History of violations involving:

a/ Goods owners, consignors, consignees, or consignees’ addresses;

b/ Imported, exported and transited goods;

c/ Owners of vehicles on entry or exit or in transit;

d/ Persons on entry or exit or in transit and their luggage.

4. Nature, characteristics, origin, routes and modes of transportation of:

a/ Imported, exported and transited goods;

b/ Vehicles on entry or exit or in transit;

c/ Persons on entry or exit or in transit and their luggage.

5. Customs declarants, imported, exported and transited goods; vehicles on entry or exit or in transit; persons on entry or exit or in transit; and luggage of persons on entry or exit or in transit shall be managed under risk control plans, specialized risk controls and risk files.

6. Objectives and requirements of customs management in a given period.

7. Results of implementation of operations relating to imported, exported and transited goods; vehicles on entry or exit or in transit; persons on entry or exit or in transit; and luggage of persons on entry or exit or in transit.

8. Professional operation information, and risk warnings concerning entities, modes, tricks in smuggling, tax evasion, illegal cross-border transportation of goods, or trade frauds in import, export, entry, exit or transit activities in a given period.

9. Result of assessment of law compliance by enterprises dealing in warehouses, storing yards and ports; and enterprises providing services for import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

10. Signs of risks, and signs of violations of the customs law.

11. Random selection to meet management requirements in each period.

12. Other factors relating to import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.

Article 18. Methods of classification of risk levels

1. Risk levels of customs declarants, and for import, export, entry, exit and transit activities shall be automatically assessed and classified by the system on a periodical basis through processing customs data and information based on the factors specified in Article 15 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, and Articles 15 and 17 of this Circular.

2. The system shall automatically update the assessment and classification of risk levels of customs declarants if there is a change in their law compliance levels and other factors specified in Article 15 of this Circular.

3. In case the e-customs data processing system fails to automatically adjust risk levels, results of classification of risk levels of customs declarants shall be updated manually by customs officers.

Article 19.Lists of risk-bearing goods

1. A list of risk-bearing goods shall be issued by a customs office and used as a source of information for risk analysis and assessment and for deciding to apply professional customs measures and proposing and formulating management regimes and policies for imported and exported goods.

The list of risk-bearing goods is not the only ground to decide on customs inspection and supervision, post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection and other measures for import, export and transit activities.

2. Lists of risk-bearing goods in customs operations include:

a/  List of goods bearing risks related to specialized management policies;

b/ List of goods bearing classification-related risks;

c/ List of goods bearing value-related risks;

d/ List of goods bearing origin-related risks;

dd/ List of goods bearing environmental risks;

e/ List of goods bearing risks related to counterfeit goods and protection of intellectual property rights;

g/ List of goods bearing risks related to narcotics and precursors;

h/ List of goods bearing risks related to weapons, radioactive substances;

i/ List of goods bearing risks related to smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation.

3. A list of risk-bearing goods covers:

a/ Import and export activities or only import or export activity;

b/ Names and codes of risk-bearing goods detailed by 8-digit or 10-digit HS codes and standardized to meet data processing requirements in the system.

c/ Categories and characteristics to recognize goods;

d/ Signs of risks and other related information.

4. Criteria for making a list of risk-bearing goods include:

a/ Criteria for making and modifying a list of goods bearing value-related risks and list of enterprises facing value-related risks as specified in Article 24 of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 39/2015/TT-BTC of March 25, 2015, prescribing customs value of exported and imported goods, and Clause 13, Article 1 of Circular No. 60/2019/TT-BTC of August 30, 2019, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 39/2015/TT-BTC;

b/ Criteria for making a list of risk-bearing goods mentioned at Point a, b, d, dd, e, g, h or i, Clause 1 of this Article as specified in Article 17 of this Circular.

5. Lists of risk-bearing goods shall be assessed and modified according to the criteria specified at Point 4 of this Article as suitable to the practical management of import and export activities, and updated and managed in the risk management information system.

Chapter IV

APPLICATION OF RISK MANAGEMENT IN CUSTOMS OPERATIONS

Article 20.Application of risk management in customs operations

1. Customs offices shall, based on results of assessment of law compliance by customs declarants specified in Article 10 and results of classification of risk levels in customs operations mentioned in Articles 14 and 16 of this Circular, decide on the application of the following measures:

a/ Decision on goods inspection during loading, unloading and storage at ports, warehouses, storing yards and border gates;

b/ Decision on inspection in the process of carrying out customs procedures;

c/ Selecting post-customs clearance inspection;

d/ Decision on inspection in the management of export processing and production activities and export processing enterprises;

dd/ Decision on inspection of the management of duty-free goods trading;

e/ Classification of, and decision on inspection of dossiers for refund or non-collection of taxes on, imported and exported goods;

g/ Decision on mode of goods supervision and inspection during customs supervision;

h/ Decision on sampling supervision for specialized inspection in customs operation areas;

i/  Decision on inspection and supervision of vehicles on entry and exit and in transit; persons on entry and exit and in transit; and luggage of persons on entry and exit and in transit;

k/ Decision on taking goods samples for analysis and inspection;

l/ Selecting specialized inspection and applying risk management in other operations.

2. Customs offices shall conduct inspection and supervision in accordance with law and based on instructions in the system. In case of having suspicious information or detecting signs of violations of the customs law, the head of a customs office shall decide to change the form and level of inspection within his/her competence and take responsibility for his/her decision.

Article 21.Decision on goods inspection during loading, unloading and storage at ports, warehouses, storing yards or border gates

On the basis of risk levels during the process of goods loading, unloading and storage at ports, warehouses, storing yards or border gates and professional operation information upon the issuance of a decision, a customs office shall decide on goods inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

1. For customs declarants facing high risks or medium risks: conducting physical inspection of goods by one or the combination of the following methods:

a/ Non-intrusive inspection with scanners;

b/ Inspection with other technical devices;

c/ Direct inspection by customs officers.

2. For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting no inspection or conducting non-intrusive random inspection with scanners to assess compliance with the customs law.

Article 22.Decision on inspection in the process of carrying out customs procedures

1. Decision on inspection of imported and exported goods

Based on risk levels in the process of carrying out customs procedures, professional operation information provided at the time of decision making and information in customs declaration forms, customs offices shall decide on customs inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

a/ Channel 1 (Green): accepting information in customs declarations for customs declarants facing low risks or based on the selection indicators for random inspection;

b/ Channel 2 (Yellow): examining customs dossiers in the process of carrying out customs procedures for customs declarants facing medium risks or based on the selection indicators for random inspection;

c/ Channel 3 (Red): conducting physical inspection of goods through examining related documents in customs dossiers when customs procedures are conducted for customs declarants facing high risks or based on the selection indicators for random inspection according to one of the following forms or levels:

c.1/ Direct inspection by customs officers;

c.2/ Inspection with scanners or other technical devices or other professional measures;

c.3/ Inspection through goods analysis and verification.

2. Decision on inspection of goods subject to independent transportation

Based on risk levels in the process of carrying out customs procedures, professional operation information at the time of decision making and information in customs declaration forms, customs offices shall decide on customs inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

a/ Channel 1 (Green): accepting information in customs declarations for customs declarants facing low risks;

b/ Channel 2 (Yellow): examining relevant documents in the customs dossiers when customs procedures are carried out for customs declarants facing high risks or medium risks.

Article 23.Selection of post-customs clearance inspection

1. Selection of post-customs clearance inspection based on risk management

On the basis of risk levels in post-customs clearance inspection, customs offices shall select post-customs clearance inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

a/ For customs declarants facing high risks or medium risks: conducting post-customs clearance inspection;

b/ For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting no post-customs clearance inspection but  making further assessment of law compliance and classifying risk levels for the subsequent period of assessment.

2. Selection of post-customs clearance inspection to assess law compliance by customs declarants

The inspection and assessment of law compliance by enterprises prescribed in Clause 3, Article 78 of the Customs Law shall be applied to no more than 0.5% of the total number of enterprises engaged in import and export activities, counted from January 1 to December 31 of the year preceding the year of assessment.

Article 24.Deciding on inspection in the management of export processing and production and export processing enterprises

On the basis of risk levels in export processing and production and export processing enterprises and professional operation information at the time of decision making, customs offices shall decide on inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

1. For customs declarants facing high risks: inspecting one or several of the following contents:

a/ Inspecting export processing or production establishments and their processing or production capacity and locations of storage of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment and export products under Clause 1, Article 39 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, which was amended and supplemented under Clause 17, Article 1 of Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP;

b/ Inspecting the use and inventory of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment and exported products under Clause 1, Article 40 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, which was amended and supplemented under Clause 18, Article 1 of Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP;

c/ Inspecting settlement reports on the use of imported materials and supplies and exported products under Clause 2, Article 41 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP.

2. For customs declarants facing medium risks: selecting enterprises based on a random rate and inspecting one or several of the contents provided in Articles 39, 40 and 41 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, which was amended and supplemented under Clauses 17 and 18, Article 1 of Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP.

3. For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting no inspection but making further assessment of law compliance and classifying risk levels for the subsequent period of assessment.

Article 25. Decision on inspection of the management of duty-free goods trading

Based on risk levels in duty free goods trading and professional operation information at the time of decision making, customs offices shall decide on inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

1. For customs declarants facing high risks: inspecting one or several of the following contents:

a/ Inspecting goods transported between duty-free warehouses and duty-free shops under Point b, Clause 2, Article 10 of the Government’s Decree No. 167/2016 of December 27, 2016, on duty free goods trading (below referred to as Decree No. 167/2016/ND-CP);

b/ Inspecting the sale of duty-free goods by duty-free traders under Point b, Clause 5, Article 12; Point b, Clause 3, Article 13; Point b, Clause 3, Article 14; Point c, Clause 3, Article 15; and Point b, Clause 2, Article 16, of Decree No. 167/2016/ND-CP;

c/ Conducting physical inspection of cash brought by duty-free goods traders into and out of isolation areas and restricted areas under Point c, Clause 2, and Point b, Clause 3, Article 20 of Decree No. 167/2016/ND-CP;

d/ Inspecting settlement reports on goods sold in duty-free shops under Point c, Clause 5, Article 21 of Decree No. 167/2016/ND-CP.

2. For customs declarants facing medium risks: selecting enterprises based on a random rate and inspecting one or several of the contents prescribed in Articles 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20 and 21 of Decree No. 167/2016/ND-CP.

3. For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting no inspection but making further assessment of law compliance and classifying risk levels for the subsequent period of assessment.

Article 26.Classification of, and decision on inspection of dossiers for refund or non-collection of taxes on, imported and exported goods

Based on the tax laws and risk levels for imported and exported goods, customs offices shall classify dossiers for refund or non-collection of taxes and apply the following management measures:

1. For customs declarants facing high risks:  conducting inspection first, tax refund later.

2. For customs declarants facing medium risks: conducting tax refund first, inspection later and conducting inspection within 3 years after the issuance of a tax refund decision.

3. For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting tax refund first, inspection later and conducting random inspection within 5 years after the issuance of a tax refund decision.

Article 27.Decision on modes of goods supervision and inspection during the customs supervision process

Based on risk levels during the customs supervision process and professional operation information at the time of decision making, customs offices shall decide on modes of goods supervision and inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

1. For customs declarants facing high risks: conducting customs sealing combined with supervision with technical devices and equipment or conducting law-prescribed sealing combined with direct inspection by customs officers.

2. For customs declarants facing medium risks: conducting customs sealing or law-prescribed sealing combined with supervision with technical devices and equipment.

3. For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting law-prescribed sealing or supervision with technical devices and equipment.

4. Customs offices shall conduct physical inspection of goods during the customs supervision process if detecting signs of violations.

Article 28.Decision on supervision of taking samples for specialized inspection in customs operation areas

Based on risk levels in the supervision of taking samples for specialized inspection  in customs operation areas and notice of taking samples for specialized inspection, customs offices shall decide on the supervision and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

1. For customs declarants facing high or medium risks: conducting direct supervision.

2. For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting no supervision but making further assessment of law compliance and classifying risk levels for the subsequent period of assessment.

Article 29.Decision on inspection and supervision of vehicles on entry and exit and in transit; persons on entry and exit and in transit; luggage of persons on entry and exit and in transit

Based on risk levels for vehicles on entry and exit and in transit; persons on entry and exit and in transit; luggage of persons on entry and exit and in transit, and professional operation information at the time of decision making, customs offices shall decide on the inspection and supervision and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

1. For customs declarants facing high risks or medium risks: conducting inspection and supervision.

2. For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting no inspection and supervision but making further assessment of law compliance by customs declarants and classifying risk levels for the subsequent period of assessment.

Article 30.Decision on taking goods samples for analysis and inspection

Based on risk levels of imported and exported goods and professional operation information, customs offices shall decide on taking goods samples for analysis and inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

1. For customs declarants facing high risks or medium risks: taking samples for analysis, inspection and assessment.

2. For customs declarants facing low risks: taking no samples for analysis, inspection and assessment but making further assessment of law compliance and classifying risk levels for the subsequent period of assessment.

Article 31.Selection of specialized inspection and application of risk management in other operations

1. Selection of specialized inspection

Based on risk levels in specialized inspection, customs offices shall select specialized inspection and make a notice in the e-customs data processing system as follows:

a/ For customs declarants facing high risks or medium risks: conducting specialized inspection;

b/ For customs declarants facing low risks: conducting no specialized inspection but making further assessment of law compliance and classifying risk levels for the subsequent period of assessment.

2. Application of risk management in other operations

Based on risk levels in other operations and professional operation information, customs offices shall decide on the application of appropriate professional measures within their assigned functions and tasks.

Article 32.Examination and assessment of the application of risk management in customs operations

1. Examination and assessment of the application of risk management in customs operations include:

a/ Examination and assessment of the quality of the application of professional measures and techniques in risk management;

b/ Examination and assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the application of risk management in customs operations;

c/ Examination and assessment of the organization and the results of implementation of decisions on customs inspection, supervision and control, post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection or other professional measures based on the application of risk management.

2. Contents and measures to examine and assess the application of risk management in customs operations:

a/ Summarizing information and data reported by units of all levels in the application of risk management;

b/ Collecting, analyzing and synthesizing information about results of inspection, supervision and post-customs clearance inspection;

c/ Analyzing and synthesizing information about violations detected during the inspection, supervision and post-customs clearance inspection;

d/ Forming working teams to inspect customs units at all levels in the application of risk management.

3. The General Director of Customs shall delegate responsibilities to risk management units to inspect and assess the application of risk management in customs operations under Clause 2 of this Article. The assessment shall be made periodically (monthly, biannually and annually) and according to specific requirements.

Chapter V

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 33.Implementation responsibility

1. The General Director of Customs shall issue:

a/ Indexes of criteria specified in Articles 11, 15 and 17 of this Circular;

b/ Lists of risk-bearing goods on a periodical basis;

c/ Processes and regulations on uniform application of risk management in customs operations.

2. The Director of the Risk Management Department under the General Department of Customs shall act as a focal unit and assume the prime responsibility for:

a/ Managing and operating the risk management information system and systems of information and data serving risk management as delegated;

b/ Organizing the implementation of and guiding customs operations and inspecting the collection and processing of risk management information; risk management measures and techniques and the application of risk management in customs operations;

c/ Managing the set of indexes of criteria promulgated by the General Director of Customs prescribed at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article in the risk management information system and related information systems; monitoring, assessing, adjusting and adding indexes of criteria to meet management requirements in each period.

3. Customs offices and customs officers of all levels shall implement risk management plans and programs of the customs sector; and apply professional measures based on provided risk management information.

4. State agencies coordinating in state management of customs; with customs declarants, and organizations and individuals involved in import, export or transit of goods, or entry, exit or transit of vehicles shall implement this Circular.

Article 34. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on January 1, 2020.

2. The provisions of Articles 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 15, Section I, Chapter II of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC of March 25, 2015, prescribing customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision, import and export duties and tax administration of imports and exports; the Minister of Finance’s Decision No. 464/QD-BTC of June 29, 2015, on risk management in customs operations, and the Minister of Finance’s Decision No. 465/QD-BTC of June 29, 2015, promulgating the set of criteria for risk management in customs operations, remain effective until January 1, 2021.

3. In the course of implementation, should the documents mentioned in this Circular be amended, supplemented or replaced, the amending, supplementing or replacing documents shall be applied.

4. Any problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Finance (the General Department of Customs) for consideration, guidance and settlement.-

For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
VU THI MAI