THEGOVERNMENT
No. 08/2015/ND-CP | SOCIALISTREPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence- Freedom - Happiness Hanoi, January 21, 2015 |
DECREE
Detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control
Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the June 23, 2014 Law on Customs;
At the proposal of the Minister of Finance,
The Government promulgates the Decree detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.Scope of regulation
This Decree details a number of articles of, and provides measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control of imports, exports and in-transit goods, vehicles on entry, exit and in transit, and information relating to the state management of customs.
Article 2.Subjects of application
1. Organizations and individuals that import, export and transit goods and have vehicles on entry or exit or in transit.
2. Organizations and individuals that have rights and obligations related to the import, export and transit of goods and to the entry, exit and transit of vehicles.
3. Customs offices and officers.
4. Other state agencies that coordinate in the state management of customs.
Article 3.Interpretation of terms
In this Decree, the terms below shall be construed as follows:
1. Electronic customs procedures means customs procedures according to which the declaration, receipt and processing of information for customs declaration and the exchange of other information between involved parties shall be carried out through the electronic customs data processing system.
2. Electronic customs data processing system means the system managed by the General Department of Customs which enables customs offices to carry out electronic customs procedures, connect and exchange information about import and export activities with relevant ministries and sectors.
3. Electronic customs declaration system means the system that enables customs declarants to make electronic customs declaration, receive information and feedback from customs offices in the process of carrying out electronic customs procedures.
4. Value consultation means the exchange and provision between customs offices and customs declarants of information relating to the customs valuation declared by customs declarants.
5. Imports and exports subject to specialized inspection means imports and exports subject to inspection of quality, health, culture, animal and plant quarantine and control of food safety in accordance with law.
Article 4.Places of customs procedure completion
1. Places of customs procedure completion must comply with Article 22 of the Customs Law.
2. On the basis of the import and export situation in each period, the Prime Minister shall decide on the list of imports for which customs procedures shall be carried out at border gates of importation.
3. On the basis of the master plan and the announcement about the system of seaports, international airports, land border gates, international railway stations and public postal networks providing international services, the Minister of Finance shall decide on the organizational structure and arrange forces to carry out customs procedures.
On the basis of the master plan and the announcement about the system of inland ports with export, import, exit, entry and transit activities; inland ports of goods import and export; the master plan on international airports, import and export values and workloads in areas where import, export, exit, entry and transit activities take place, the Minister of Finance shall stipulate conditions and procedures for establishment and closure of places of customs procedure completion and off-airport freight terminals.
Article 5.Customs declarants
Customs declarants include:
1. Owners of imports and imports. If a goods owner is a foreign trader without presence in Vietnam, the customs procedures shall be carried out through customs procedure agents.
2. Owners or operators of vehicles on entry or exit or in transit, or persons authorized by owners of vehicles on entry or exit or in transit.
3. Persons authorized by goods owners in case goods are personal gifts; luggage of persons on entry or exit shipped before or after their trips.
4. In-transit goods service providers.
5. Customs procedure agents.
6. International postal and express mail service providers, unless otherwise required by the goods owners.
Article 6.Objectssubject to customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision
1. Objects subject to customs procedures:
a/ Imported, exported and in-transit goods; items on board vehicles on entry or exit or in transit; imported and exported foreign-currency cash, Vietnam-dong cash, negotiable instruments, gold, precious metals, gems, cultural products, relics, antiques, precious objects, postal matters and parcels; luggage of persons on entry or exit; other exported, imported or in-transit articles within the customs operation areas;
b/ Road vehicles, railway vehicles, aircraft, sea, inland waterway and river craft (below referred collectively as vehicles) on entry or exit or in transit.
2. Objects subject to customs inspection:
a/ Objects specified in Clause 1 of this Article;
b/ Customs dossiers and relevant documents relating to the objects specified in Clause 1 of this Article.
3. Objects subject to customs supervision:
a/ Objects specified in Clause 1 of this Article;
b/ Goods and vehicles within customs operation areas; machinery, equipment and raw materials and supplies imported for processing and export production which are warehoused at production establishments of organizations and individuals;
c/ Goods subject to specialized inspection being stored pending customs clearance;
d/ Transported goods subject to customs supervision.
Article 7.Implementation of the national single-window mechanism
1. Customs declarants shall declare information and submit electronic documents in order to carry out customs procedures and administrative procedures required by state agencies in relation to imports or exports through an integrated information system (below referred to as national single-window portal). The time for declaration and submission of electronic documents must comply with the specialized management laws and their guiding documents.
2. State agencies shall receive and process information provided by customs declarants; send processing results to customs declarants; exchange the declared information under administrative procedures and results of processing such information with other state agencies through the national single-window portal.
3. Customs declarants shall receive processing results from state agencies through the national single-window portal.
4. Customs offices shall base themselves on the processing results from state agencies to make final decision on customs clearance for imported, exported or in-transit goods, and send results to customs declarants through the national single-window portal.
Article 8.Responsibilities of ministries and sectors for implementing the national single-window mechanism
1. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors in:
a/ Establishing and developing the national single-window portal;
b/ Issuing the regulation on management and operation of the national single-window portal;
c/ Unifying technical requirements for connection to the national single-window portal and specialized processing systems on the basis of national technical standards;
d/ Compiling the lists of data shared between ministries and sectors via the national single-window portal;
dd/ Amending and supplementing regulations concerning administrative procedures to be carried out electronically according to the national single-window mechanism;
e/ Creating and implementing a financial mechanism to ensure the management, operation, maintenance and development of the national single-window portal, ASEAN single-window system and exchange of information about imports, exports and in-transit goods and vehicles on entry or exit or in transit on the basis of treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.
2. Ministries and sectors shall issue administrative procedures for implementation of the national single-window mechanism; establish a national administrative and commercial database applicable to electronic documents exchanged and handled under the national single-window mechanism.
3. The General Department of Customs shall:
a/ Manage and operate the national single-window portal;
b/ Participate in negotiating and implementing the treaties concerning the information exchange through the national single-window portal with other countries on the basis of treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.
Chapter II
PRIORITY REGIME FOR ENTERPRISES
Article 9.Priority regime
1. The priority regime shall be implemented in accordance with Article 43 of the Customs Law.
2. Prioritized enterprises are entitled to have goods delivery and receipt procedures carried out and inspection and supervision conducted first by customs offices and port and warehouse operators.
3. For goods subject to specialized inspection, enterprises are entitled to bring them to their warehouses for preservation pending availability of specialized inspection results, unless the law on specialized inspection requires inspection at border gates. For goods subject to specialized inspection at border gates, prioritized enterprises are entitled to have their goods inspected first.
Article 10.Conditions for enjoying the priority regime
1. Observance of the customs and tax laws
Within 2 consecutive years up to the time an enterprise submits a written request for being recognized as a prioritized enterprise, the enterprise has not committed any of the following violations of the tax and customs laws to an extent as follows:
a/ Tax evasion; tax fraud; smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods;
b/ Administrative violations committed in a form and subject to a fine level beyond the competence of Customs Branch heads and holders of equivalent titles.
2. Observance of the accounting and audit laws:
a/ Applying the accounting standards set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ Annual financial statements are audited by auditing companies that meet the conditions for providing auditing services under the law on independent audit. An audit opinion about a financial statement expressed in the audit report must be an unqualified opinion in accordance with Vietnam’s Auditing Standards.
3. Internal control system:
An enterprise shall implement and maintain a system and process for managing, monitoring and controlling actual operations in its entire import or export supply chain.
4. Import or export values:
a/ Import or export enterprises shall record a value of USD 100 million per year;
b/ Enterprises that export made-in-Vietnam products shall record a value of USD 40 million per year;
c/ Enterprises that export agricultural and aquatic products produced or cultivated in Vietnam shall record a value of USD 30 million per year;
d/ For customs procedure agents, the number of customs declaration forms to be filled out under customs procedures in a year must reach 20,000.
The import or export value mentioned at Points a, b, c and d of this Clause must be the average value recorded over 2 consecutive years up to the date an enterprise files a written request, exclusive of the value from entrusted import or export.
5. The import or export value condition prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article is not applied to enterprises with hi-tech enterprise certificates granted by the Ministry of Science and Technology in accordance with the Law on High Technology.
6. The Ministry of Finance shall consider applying the priority regime under Article 9 of this Decree to goods imported for the implementation of key investment projects under the Prime Minister’s direction before granting investment licenses to those in the capital construction stage.
Article 11.Procedures for recognition, extension, suspension and cessation of application of the priority regime
1. A dossier of request for being recognized as a prioritized enterprise must comprise:
a/ A written request, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance: 1 original;
b/ A report on the enterprise’s import or export operations and statistics in the last 2 years, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance: 1 original;
c/ The report on observance of the customs, tax and accounting laws in the last 2 years, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance: 1 original;
d/ The audited financial statements of the last 2 years: 1 copy each;
dd/ The audit report made in the last 2 years: 1 copy;
e/ The inspection conclusion report made in the last 2 years (if any): 1 copy;
g/ A description of the enterprise’s internal control system, fully describing the process of managing, monitoring and controlling actual operations in its entire import or export supply chain: 1 copy;
h/ Certificates of merit and quality (if any): 1 copy each.
2. Appraisal and recognition of prioritized enterprise
a/ Within 30 days after receiving a complete dossier prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the General Department of Customs shall appraise and conclude on the recognition of an enterprise as prioritized enterprise.
For complicated cases in which consultation with relevant ministries and sector is required, the time limit for appraisal may be extended for another 30 days at most;
b/ If the enterprise is eligible, the General Director of Customs shall issue a decision to recognize such enterprise as a prioritized enterprise.
This decision is valid for 3 years from the date of its issue and shall automatically be extended for another 3 years if the enterprise still meets the prescribed conditions.
3. Suspension of application of the priority regime: If an enterprise fails to fulfill its responsibilities prescribed in Article 45 of the Customs Law after being notified by the customs office, the customs office shall suspend the application of the priority regime to such enterprise for 60 days.
4. Cessation of application of the priority regime
An enterprise is subject to cessation of the priority regime in the following cases:
a/ It no longer meets one of the priority conditions prescribed in Article 10 of this Decree;
b/ It still fails to comply with Article 45 of the Customs Law after the suspension period expires;
c/ It requests cessation of application of the priority regime.
If an enterprise is subjected to cessation of the application of the priority regime, in the subsequent 2 years, it shall not be considered and recognized as prioritized enterprise by the General Department of Customs.
Article 12.Management of prioritized enterprises
1. Responsibilities of customs offices for implementing the priority regime:
a/ To monitor, collect and analyze information about enterprises’ operations in order to guide them in improving their law observance, early detecting shortcomings for timely correction and maintaining the conditions for enjoying the priority regime;
b/ To coordinate with enterprises in dealing with any problems that may arise;
c/ To coordinate with port and warehouse operators in carrying out goods delivery and receipt procedures and conducting inspection and supervision for prioritized enterprises first.
2. Responsibilities of prioritized enterprises:
a/ To strictly comply with the customs, tax, accounting and audit laws;
b/ To implement the reporting regime prescribed in Clauses 1 and 3, Article 45 of the Customs Law;
c/ To exchange information with customs offices in order to report any problems that may arise (if any) and issues related to the maintenance of the conditions for enjoying the priority regime;
d/ To review, self-inspect, detect and correct any shortcomings and report thereon to customs offices.
Chapter III
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES, INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION FOR IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
Section 1
APPLICATION OF RISK MANAGEMENT IN CUSTOMS PROCEDURES, INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION
Article 13.Application of risk management to professional customs operations
1. Customs offices shall conduct customs inspection and supervision, post-customs clearance inspection, inspection and other professional measures on the basis of summarizing and processing results of the evaluation of customs declarants’ law observance and classification of risk levels.
2. The General Director of Customs shall use results of summarizing and processing results of the evaluation of customs declarants’ law observance and classification of risk levels mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article according to criteria issued by the Ministry of Finance as the basis for making decision or delegating the competence to decide on customs inspection and supervision, post-customs clearance inspection, customs inspection and other professional measures as suitable to the customs service’s human resources and actual management conditions.
Article 14.Evaluation of customs declarants’ lawobservance
1. Evaluation of the level of customs declarants’ law observance shall be based on criteria and information about:
a/ Frequency of violations of the customs and tax laws;
b/ Nature and severity of violations of the customs and tax laws;
c/ Cooperation with customs offices in carrying out customs procedures, inspection and supervision and compliance with other decisions of customs offices.
2. Customs offices shall evaluate the level of customs declarants’ law observance in order to apply customs management measures appropriate to the observance level.
Article 15.Classification of risk levels
1. The classification of levels of risk incurred in import, export, exit, entry or transit activities shall be based on the level of customs declarants’ law observance.
2. In the process of risk level classification, customs offices shall consider related factors including:
a/ Management and tax policies applied to imports, exports, in-transit goods, vehicles on entry, exit or in transit, and luggage of persons on entry, exit or in transit;
b/ Nature and characteristics of goods, luggage and vehicles;
c/ Frequency, nature and severity of violations related to goods, luggage and vehicles;
d/ Origin of imports, exports and in-transit goods;
dd/ Routes and modes of transportation of goods and luggage;
e/ Other factors related import, import, entry, exit and transit activities.
3. Customs offices shall evaluate and classify risks for customs declarants, import, export, exit, entry and transit activities according to different levels in order to apply appropriate customs inspection and supervision and inspection measures.
Section 2
CLASSIFICATION OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
Article 16.Classification of goods
1. Classification of goods aims to identify names and codes of goods according to the list of Vietnamese imports and exports.
2. Classification of goods shall be based on customs dossiers, technical documents and information about composition, physical and chemical properties, functions and utilities of imports and exports.
3. Classification of goods aims to identify codes of goods as the basis for tax calculation and the implementation of the goods management policy.
4. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate in detail the classification of goods.
Article 17.List of Vietnamese imports and exports
1. The list of Vietnamese imports and exports must include codes, names, description, unit of calculation and other attached explanations, and shall be compiled on the basis of full application of the International Convention on Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System in accordance with Clause 1, Article 26 of the Customs Law.
2. The Minister of Finance shall issue the list of Vietnamese imports and exports for application nationwide.
3. The list of Vietnamese imports and exports shall be used for:
a/ Formulating import and export tariffs;
b/ Compiling lists of goods to serve the state management according to the Government’s regulations;
c/ Making state statistics on imports and exports;
d/ Serving the state management of goods import and import and other fields.
Article 18.Database on the list of Vietnamese imports and exports
1. The database on the list of Vietnamese imports and exports is the collection of information about the classification of imports and exports, which includes:
a/ The database on the list of Vietnamese imports and exports, the list of goods banned from export and suspended from export, the list of goods banned from import and suspended from import, the list of imports and exports subject to permits of competent state agencies and the list of goods subject to specialized inspection;
b/ Guiding documents on goods classification issued by the Ministry of Finance.
2. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate in detail the development and use of the database on the list of Vietnamese imports and exports.
Article 19.Responsibilities of ministries and sectors for classification of imports and exports
1. The Ministry of Finance shall issue the list of Vietnamese imports and exports and their codes.
2. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall comply with Article 26 of the Customs Law and other provisions of this Decree when promulgating regulations or settling issues related to the classification of imports and exports within the scope of their functions and powers.
3. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies in charge of particular sectors as prescribed by law shall prepare the list of goods banned from export and suspended from export, the list of goods banned from import and suspended from import, the list of imports and exports subject to permits granted by competent state agencies and the list of goods subject to specialized inspection and send them to the Ministry of Finance. Within 10 working days, the Ministry of Finance shall identify codes of these goods which conform to the list of Vietnamese imports and exports to be publicized by ministries and ministerial-level agencies.
For the list of goods banned from export and suspended from export, the list of goods banned from import and suspended from import, the list of imports and exports subject to permits of competent state agencies and the list of goods subject to specialized inspection which are issued by ministries and ministerial-level agencies in charge of particular sectors before the effective date of this Decree but comprise no codes or improper codes, within 6 months from the effective date of this Decree, ministries and ministerial-level agencies in charge of particular sectors shall consult the Ministry of Finance to identify proper codes for these goods that conform to the list of Vietnamese imports and exports.
4. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries, agencies and organizations in, making decision on classification of goods in case there exists any discrepancy in applying the list of Vietnamese imports and exports or any discrepancy between lists of goods which are issued by ministries and ministerial-level agencies before the effective date of this Decree and the list of Vietnamese imports and exports.
Section 3
CUSTOMS VALUE
Article 20.Principles and methods of customs valuation
1. For exports, the customs value is the selling price of such goods at the border gate of exportation, exclusive of international insurance premium and freight. The selling price at the border gate of exportation is the price stated in the goods purchase and sale contract or another document that has similar legal validity as such contract, commercial invoices and relevant documents of the goods shipment suitable to actually exported goods.
2. For imports, the customs value is the actual price payable at the first border gate of importation on the basis of applying the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or in accordance with the international commitments made by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The first border gate of importation shall be identified as follows:
a/ For sea and air transportation, the first border gate of importation is the unloading port specified on the bill of lading;
b/ For railway transportation, the first border gate of importation is the border international railway station;
c/ For land and inland waterway transportation, the first border gate of importation is the border gate through which the goods are imported into the territory of Vietnam.
3. The Minister of Finance shall detail Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, and stipulate principles and methods of customs valuation for other cases.
Article 21.Customs inspection and valuation
1. Customs inspection and valuation shall be based on customs dossiers, relevant evidence and documents and actual goods.
2. Handling of results of customs inspection and valuation in the process of carrying out customs procedures:
a/ In case the customs office has sufficient grounds for rejecting the customs value that a customs declarant has declared and such customs declarant accepts this rejection, the customs office shall notify the customs declarant to adjust and supplement such value; the customs office shall impose a sanction for such administrative violation and allow customs clearance under regulations; if the customs declarant refuses to accept, the customs office shall allow customs clearance according to the customs declaration and conduct post-customs clearance inspection;
b/ In case the customs office has doubt about the declared value but does not have sufficient grounds for rejection, and the customs declarant requests consultation, the customs office shall clear goods on the basis of duty amounts that have been paid or declared and assessed by the customs declarant and secured by a credit institution, and hold value consultation. The time limit for such consultation is 5 working days;
c/ In case the customs office has doubt about the declared value but does not have sufficient grounds for rejection and the customs declarant does not request consultation, the customs office shall clear goods on the basis of duty amounts that have been paid or declared and assessed by the customs declarant and secured by a credit institution, and conduct post-customs clearance inspection in accordance with this Decree.
3. The exchange rate between Vietnam dong and a foreign currency used for customs valuation is the buying price of such foreign currency in the form of transfer announced at the head office of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam at the end of Thursday of the preceding week or of the workday preceding Thursday in case such Thursday is a holiday or day off. This exchange rate shall be used for duty calculation for customs declarations registered within a week.
As for foreign currencies of which the exchange rates are not announced by the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, the exchange rates of these foreign currencies shall be determined according to the cross rates between Vietnam dong and several foreign currencies that the State Bank of Vietnam has announced. For foreign currencies of which the cross rates are not published, the exchange rates of such foreign currencies shall be determined according to the principle of calculating the cross rate between the US dollar-Vietnam dong and the US dollar- such foreign currency exchange rates announced by the State Bank of Vietnam. The exchange rate announced by the State Bank of Vietnam is the exchange rate last updated on the website of the State Bank of Vietnam.
Article 22.Customs valuedatabase
1. The customs value database provides information relating to customs valuation of imports and imports that customs offices collect, synthesize and classify under regulations of the Ministry of Finance. This database shall be set up by the General Department of Customs in a centralized and uniform manner and regularly updated.
2. The customs value database shall be used as the basis for assessing risks of import and export values.
Section 4
PRE-IDENTIFICATION OF CODE, ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS VALUE OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
Article 23.Pre-identification of code, origin and customs value
1. Pre-identification of code, origin and customs value shall be carried out at the request of customs declarants. Customs offices shall pre-identify code, origin and customs value in accordance with Article 28 of the Law on Customs.
2. The pre-identification of customs value includes the pre-identification of methods and prices.
Article 24.Procedures for pre-identification of code, origin and customs value
1. Conditions for pre-identification of code, origin and customs value
a/ Organizations and individuals shall request customs offices to pre-identify code, origin and customs value of expected imports or exports, and provide necessary information, documents and dossiers for the pre-identification;
b/ Imports or exports of which customs values need to be pre-identified are goods that are imported or exported for the first time, or experience any major or abnormal change in the customs value currently applied by the customs declarant, or goods which are unique or unpopular or have no identical or similar ones in the market for comparison.
2. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals requesting pre-identification of code, origin and customs value:
a/ To submit sufficient dossiers of request for the pre-identification of code, origin and customs value to the General Department of Customs;
b/ To join dialogues with the customs office in order to clarify the request for the pre-identification of code, origin and customs value at the latter’s request;
c/ To send a written notice to the General Department of Customs within 10 working days from the date when occurs any change to goods for which they request the pre- identification of code, origin and customs value, clearly stating the changed content, reason for such change and change-making date.
3. Responsibilities of the General Department of Customs:
a/ Within 5 working days after receiving a request, the General Department of Customs shall issue a written refusal of the pre-identification of code, origin and customs value to the requesting organization or individual if conditions and documents for the pre-identification are insufficient;
b/ The General Director of Customs shall issue a notice of results of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value within 30 days after receiving a complete dossier (for normal cases), or within 60 days (for complicated cases requiring verification). The notice shall be sent to the requesting organization or individual and concurrently used for updating the database of the customs office and posted on the website of the General Department of Customs.
4. The notice of results of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value shall be used as the basis for customs declaration when customs procedures are carried out.
In case the requesting organization or individual disagrees with the General Director of Customs’ notice of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value of their goods but still needs customs clearance, it/he/she shall pay the self-assessed duty amounts or obtain guarantee under regulations in order to have the goods cleared. The customs office shall conduct post-customs clearance inspection at its office.
5. In case of disagreeing with the notice of pre-identification of code, origin and customs values, the requesting organization or individual shall send a written request to the General Department of Customs for consideration. Within 10 working days (for normal goods) or 30 days (for complicated cases requiring verification) after receiving the customs declarant’s request, the General Department of Customs shall issue a written reply to such customs declarant.
6. Validity of the notice of results of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value:
a/ The notice of results of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value is valid for 3 years at most from the date it is signed by the General Director of Customs. In particular, the notice of results of pre-identification of price must be directly valid to the shipment of goods of which the price is pre-identified;
b/ The notice of results of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value is not valid if actually imported or exported goods or dossiers thereof are different from sample goods or dossiers of request for pre-identification of code, origin and customs value;
c/ The General Director of Customs shall issue a document to cancel the notice of results of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value if documents submitted by the requesting organization or individual for the pre-identification of code, origin and customs value contain inaccurate and untruthful information;
d/ The notice of results of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value ceases to be valid if regulations used as the basis for issuing the notice are amended, supplemented or replaced.
7. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate dossiers for pre-identification of code, origin and customs value.
Section 5
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
Article 25.Customs declaration
1. Customs declaration shall be carried out electronically. Customs declarants shall register their customs declaration through the electronic customs procedures according to regulations of the Minister of Finance.
2. Paper customs declaration is permitted in the following cases:
a/ Imported or exported goods of border residents;
b/ Imported or exported goods in excess of duty-free limits applicable to persons on entry or exit;
c/ Goods used for emergency relief and humanitarian aid;
d/ Goods being personal gifts or effects;
dd/ Rotationally used containers of goods according to the mode of temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import prescribed at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 49 of this Decree;
e/ Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import which are carried along by persons on entry or exit for their work in a certain period of time;
g/ The electronic customs data processing system or electronic customs declaration system fails to perform electronic transactions between them, which may be caused by the operational failure of either or both of the systems or due to any other reason.
In case the electronic customs data processing system fails to carry out electronic customs procedures, customs offices shall make an announcement on the customs website within 1 hour from the time such failure occurs;
h/ Other goods determined by the Minister of Finance.
3. Customs declarants shall fill sufficient, accurate and clear information in the customs declaration, self-assess duty amounts and other remittances to the state budget and take responsibility before law for their declared information.
4. When making customs declaration, customs declarants shall:
a/ Input customs declaration information on the electronic customs declaration system;
b/ Send their customs declaration to the customs office through electronic customs data processing system;
c/ Receive feedback and follow instructions from the customs office.
With regard to paper customs declaration, customs declarants shall fully fill in the customs declaration form, give their signatures and append their seals (except when customs declarants are individuals) on their declaration forms before submission to customs offices.
5. For imports or exports which are not liable to, are exempted from, or are considered for exemption from, import and export duties, excise tax, value-added tax and environmental protection tax or, are subject to tax rates according to the tariff quotas, and have been released or cleared from customs procedures but then there are changes in types of goods not liable to such duties and taxes or in purposes for which goods are exempted from duty and tax payment or are considered for duty and tax exemption; in the application of tax rates according to the tariff quotas; for imports which are raw materials and supplies used for export processing and production or temporarily imported for re-export and have been released or cleared from customs procedures but then their use purpose has changed or are put up for domestic sale, new customs declaration forms shall be filled in. They shall be regulated by the import and export management and tax policies applicable at the time when their new customs declarations are registered, unless all the import and export management policies have been fully implemented at the time when the initial customs declarations are registered.
6. Goods imported or exported in different forms shall be declared on different import or export declarations corresponding to their respective form of import or export.
7. Customs declaration for goods with multiple contracts or orders
a/ Imports which have multiple contracts or orders, one or many invoices issued by one seller under the same terms of delivery, payment, one-off delivery, and have a single bill of lading may be declared on one or more than one customs declaration form;
b/ Imports which have many contracts or orders under the same terms of delivery and payment, or sold to the same client and on one-off delivery may be declared on one or more than one customs declaration form.
8. Registration of one-off customs declaration
Customs declarants who frequently import or export certain goods at a specified time under the same purchase and sale contract with the same seller or buyer through the same border gate may register their one-off customs declaration for no more than 1 year.
One-off customs declarations shall become invalid for further carrying out customs procedures when there is any change in the import and export management and tax policies.
9. Use of electronic customs declarations
Electronic customs declarations are valid for carrying out procedures for taxation, grant of certificates of origin, via-bank payment and other administrative procedures; and for proving the legality of goods circulated on the market. Relevant state management agencies shall use these electronic customs declarations for their management and may not request customs declarants to submit paper customs declarations.
Customs offices shall provide customs declaration information in the form of electronic data for relevant state management agencies. Relevant agencies shall install necessary equipment for getting access to these data.
10. The Ministry of Finance shall stipulate in detail the additional filling in or cancellation of customs declarations, registration of one-off customs declarations or completion of new customs declarations for goods of which the use purpose is changed or which are put up for domestic sale.
Article 26.Receipt, checking, registration and processing of customs declarations
1. The electronic customs data processing system shall receive, check, register and process customs declarations 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
2. In case the registration of customs declarations is rejected, customs offices shall send a notification clearly stating the reason to customs declarants through the electronic customs data processing system.
3. In case the registration of customs declarations is accepted, the electronic customs data processing system shall number and process customs declarations, and then issue a response to customs declarants.
4. The General Director of Customs shall base himself/herself on the criteria for classifying risk levels set by the Minister of Finance to decide on customs inspection and make announcement through the electronic customs data processing system in one of the following forms:
a/ Approving the information declared on the customs declarations and permitting customs clearance;
b/ Examining related documents in the customs dossiers submitted or produced by customs declarants, or any other documents stored on the national single-window portal in order to decide on customs clearance or physical inspection of goods before permitting customs clearance.
5. In case of paper customs declaration
Registration of customs declarations shall be made immediately after customs declarants complete their customs declarations and submit complete customs dossiers, and customs offices examine their conditions for registration of customs declarations, including:
a/ Checking the completeness and validity of declared information and documents in the customs dossiers;
b/ Examining compliance with management and tax regulations and policies applicable to imports and exports;
c/ Examining the application of the coercive measure to suspend customs clearance. Heads of Customs Branches that receive and process customs dossiers shall base themselves on customs dossiers and the actual state of goods to decide whether to carry out customs procedures.
In case customs declarants meet all conditions for registration of customs declarations, customs offices shall grant registration numbers and decide on customs inspection as prescribed.
In case customs declarants fail to meet the conditions for registration of customs declarations, customs offices shall immediately send a written notification thereof to customs declarants.
6. Goods imported or exported within the validity period of customs declarations prescribed in Clause 2, Article 25 of the Customs Law are subject to import and export management and tax policies effective at the time when customs declarations are registered.
7. Incomplete customs declarations to be made for imports or exports to meet urgent requirements, goods exclusively serving national defense and security purposes prescribed in Article 50 of the Customs Law, and incomplete customs declarations to be made for goods exported or imported by priority enterprises prescribed in Article 43 of the Customs Law must include the following information: name and address of the exporter or importer; preliminary information about the goods name, quantity and value; border gate of import; and transportation schedule.
Tax-liable imports and exports are subject to the tax policy that is effective at the time of registration and submission of incomplete customs declarations.
Article 27.Examination of customs dossiers
1. Examination of customs dossiers must comply with Article 32 of the Customs Law. The time limit for completing the examination of customs dossiers must comply with Point a, Clause 2, Article 23 of the Customs Law.
2. In the course of detailed examination of customs dossiers by customs officers, if it is detected that the information provided in customs declarations is inaccurate, insufficient and inconsistent with relevant documents in the customs dossiers or there are signs of incompliance with management and tax policies applicable to imports and exports or other relevant laws, the heads of the Customs Branches which receive and register customs declarations shall consider and decide on physical inspection of goods.
3. In case the examination of customs dossiers is conducted by customs officers, the heads of the Customs Branches shall, at the proposal of customs declarants, decide on extending the deadline for submission of several original documents enclosed with customs declarations no more than 30 days from the date of customs declaration registration.
Article 28.Customs inspection in the course of handling goods at seaports and airports
1. Based on the result of analysis of risk management information and the declarations of imported goods which are provided before the goods arrive at border gates, customs offices shall decide on physical inspection of the goods by means of screeners and other technical devices.
2. Port and warehouse operation enterprises shall arrange places for installment of screeners and other technical devices to serve the customs inspection in the areas where goods are loaded or unloaded onto or from vehicles.
3. In case the inspection of goods conducted by means of screeners or other technical devices shows any signs of suspicion and customs offices find it necessary to conduct physical inspection of such goods, customs offices shall notify port and warehouse operation enterprises to arrange separate warehousing areas.
Article 29.Physical inspection of goods
1. Physical inspection covers: checking goods name, code, quantity, weight, volume, type, quality, origin and customs value; checking the actual state of goods against their customs dossiers.
2. Competence to decide on forms and levels of physical inspection
For imports or exports subject to physical inspection, the head of the Customs Branch which receives and processes customs dossiers shall base himself/herself on Clause 4, Article 26 of this Decree and information relating to the goods to decide forms and levels of physical inspection.
The time limit for completing the physical inspection must comply with Point b, Clause 2, Article 23 of the Customs Law.
If detecting any signs of violation of the customs law, the head of the Customs Branch which receives and processes the customs dossier and the head of the Customs Branch which manages the goods warehousing place or the head of the customs office which manages the concentrated goods inspection place shall decide on the change in the level and/or form of physical inspection and take responsibility for their decision.
3. Level of physical inspection of goods: Physical inspection of goods shall be conducted until sufficient grounds for determining the legality and conformity of all of the goods shipment with information provided in the customs dossiers are obtained.
Customs officers shall conduct physical inspection in accordance with the decision issued by heads of Customs Branches and on the basis of information relating to the goods available at the time of inspection; and take responsibility for the physical inspection result with regard to goods that they have inspected.
4. Forms of physical inspection:
a/ Customs officers’ direct inspection;
b/ Inspection by means of technical equipment and other professional measures;
c/ Inspection based on results of analysis and assessment of goods.
In the course of physical inspection, when finding it necessary to change the form of physical inspection, the head of the Customs Branch which is conducting such inspection shall make his/her decision. The result of physical inspection with screeners or screening equipment in combination with electronic weighing equipment and other technical devices shall be used as the basis for customs offices to decide on the customs clearance of goods.
5. In case, upon using technical equipment and devices available at Customs Branches or customs inspection places, customs officers conducting the physical inspection cannot verify the accuracy of the information declared by customs declarants about goods name, code, type, quality, quantity, volume and weight, customs offices may request their professional and specialized organizations to carry out analysis, classification or assessment to verify such information.
In case customs offices are incapable of verifying the accuracy of the information declared by customs declarants, they may request assessment by assessment organizations in accordance with law, and base themselves on the result of such assessment to decide on customs clearance.
Article 30.Processing of the result of customs inspection
1. If customs declarants agree to customs offices’ inspectionconclusion regarding goods name, code, origin, weight, type, quality and customs value, they shall additionally declare information at the request of customs offices, and the result of customs inspection shall be handled in accordance with the laws on tax, handling of administrative violations or other relevant laws.
If disagreeing with customs offices about the customs office’s inspection conclusion regarding goods name, code, origin, weight, type, quality and customs value, customs declarants may file their complaints. They may otherwise choose assessment agencies or organizations to assess the goods in accordance with law and, in such case, customs offices shall base themselves on the conclusion of such assessment agency or organization to decide on customs clearance.
2. In case customs offices disagree to the assessment result of customs declarants, customs offices may choose other assessment agencies or organizations and base on the result of this assessment to decide on customs clearance. If customs declarants disagree to the result of customs inspection announced by customs offices, they may file complaints or lawsuits in accordance with law.
Article 31.Collection and payment of fee for customs procedures
1. Customs declarants shall pay a fee for carrying out customs procedures in accordance with the law on charges and fees.
2. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate in detail the procedures and form of collection and payment of customs fee.
Article 32.Goodsrelease and customs clearance
1. Goods release must comply with Article 36 of the Customs Law. Goods shall be released in the following cases:
a/ Analysis, classification or assessment shall be conducted to identify goods code, quantity, weight and volume of imports or exports, and customs declarants who have already paid their taxes or credit institutions that provide guarantee for taxes self-assessed by customs declarants;
b/ Imports or exports have not had official prices at the time their customs declarations are registered and customs declarants pay taxes or have their taxes guaranteed by credit institutions on the basis of the price that they have temporarily calculated;
c/ Imports or exports are defined at Point b, Clause 2, Article 21 of this Decree;
d/ If customs declarants do not have sufficient information and documents to support customs valuation of their imports or exports, their goods shall be released provided that there is any credit institution providing guarantee for their taxes calculated based on customs value determined by customs offices.
2. Customs clearance must comply with Article 37 of the Customs Law. For imports or exports that have been cleared from customs procedures but have not been moved away from the custom operation area, if customs offices detect any signs of violation, the head of the Customs Branch shall decide to check customs dossiers, conduct physical inspection of goods, apply handling measures in accordance with laws and pay any expenses incurred when detecting no violations.
Article 33.Responsibilities of competent state agencies and coordination relationship between these agencies in the inspection of goods and vehicles at border gates
1. Imports, exports, in-transit goods, vehicles on entry, exit or in transit that are subject to quarantine must undergo such quarantine at border gates before completing customs procedures, unless they are permitted by the quarantine law to be brought to inland places for quarantine. For imports, exports and in-transit goods and vehicles on entry, exit or in transit that are subject to quality inspection or food safety control, customs offices shall base themselves on conditions and criteria promulgated by state management agencies to carry out inspection or control as designated by ministries or ministerial-level agencies in charge of particular sectors, or on the conclusions made by specialized management agencies to decide on customs clearance.
State management agencies shall coordinate with one another in concurrently inspecting imports, exports or in-transit goods and vehicles on entry, exit or in transit at border gates or goods inspection places, unless goods are required to be brought to specialized inspection places to meet technical or professional requirements.
Customs offices shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate, customs inspection of imports, exports and in-transit goods and vehicles on entry, exit or in transit which is conducted by state management agencies at border gates. Coordinated customs inspection conducted by state management agencies at border gates must comply with the Prime Minister’s regulation on specialized inspection at border gates.
2. For imports and exports subject to specialized inspection before customs clearance, within 10 days after inspection registration papers are granted or the samples of such goods are taken for the purpose of specialized inspection, unless otherwise prescribed by the law on specialized inspection, competent specialized inspection agencies shall send the inspection conclusions to customs offices in accordance with Article 35 of the Customs Law or to the national single-window portal, in case such specialized inspection agencies have their information technology system connected with the national single-window portal, for customs offices to decide on customs clearance. If the specialized inspection agency cannot give the specialized inspection conclusion after the expiration of the above time limit, it shall send a written explanation for such delay clearly stating the date on which the inspection conclusion will be available and sent to the customs office.
3. Imports or exports subject to specialized inspection shall be warehoused at border gates, ports of importation or exportation located in the inland, bonded warehouses or centralized inspection places for imports and exports, and shall be placed under customs supervision until customs clearance. In addition to the above-mentioned places, goods may be brought to the following places:
a/ Inland quarantine places as prescribed by the quarantine law;
b/ If, as prescribed by law, goods are permitted to be brought to other places for specialized inspection or customs declarants file a written request for bringing their goods to their warehousing places, customs offices shall allow customs declarants to bring their goods to the warehouses or storing yards which must have clear addresses and be separated from surrounding areas in order to ensure that the goods shall be kept intact.
For some imports that cannot be sampled for specialized inspection and of which specialized inspection can only be conducted at inland places or construction or project sites in accordance with the law on specialized inspection, customs offices shall allow customs declarants to bring their goods back to their warehousing places; customs declarants shall take responsibility before law for the warehousing of these goods until customs clearance.
4. The Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with other ministries, ministerial-level agencies and relevant agencies and organizations in building infrastructure facilities, arranging machinery and equipment for the goods inspection at border gates, including physical inspection by customs offices and specialized inspection by specialized management agencies at international border gates through which the flow of imports and exports is great. Relevant state management agencies and organizations operating at border gates shall arrange workforce to coordinate in inspections prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.
Article 34.Customs supervision of imports, exports and in-transit goods
1. Customs supervision of imports, exports and in-transit goods must comply with Articles 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Customs Law.
2. To implement the provisions of the Customs Law regarding customs supervision, port, warehouse and storing yard operation enterprises shall:
a/ Arrange separate areas for storing imports, exports, in-transit goods and goods which have been imported for more than 90 days since the date of their arrival at border gates but left unclaimed;
b/ Use an information technology system up to prescribed standards to manage and supervise imports and exports currently subject to customs supervision when they are brought in for storage or out of areas of ports, warehouses and storing yards, and connect it with that of state management agencies at border gates;
c/ Check documents bearing customs certification that goods have been cleared from customs procedures, released or permitted to be transported to places of preservation or places of inspection before permitting such goods to be loaded onto vehicles for export or imported goods to be brought out of ports, warehouses or storing yards;
d/ Keep confidential information on the system in accordance with law;
dd/ Implement decisions of competent agencies on handling of goods violating the storage duration and backlogged goods under Article 58 of the Customs Law.
3. To implement the provisions of Clauses 2 and 6, Article 41 of the Customs Law, customs offices shall:
a/ Inspect the performance of the responsibilities of port, warehouse and storing yard operation enterprises prescribed in Article 41 of the Customs Law and Clause 2 of this Article. In case port, warehouse and storing yard operation enterprises violate the provisions on customs supervision, they shall be handled in accordance with law and customs offices shall intensify measures to strictly inspect and supervise goods brought into or out of areas of warehouses, storing yards or ports;
b/ Share information in customs declarations for goods which have been cleared from customs procedures, released, permitted to be transported to places of preservation or inspection for port, warehouse and storing yard operation enterprises to comply with Clauses 2 and 6, Article 41 of the Customs Law to serve the connection while ensuring system safety and security;
c/ Appoint officers to coordinate with port, warehouses and storing yard operation enterprises in inspecting goods brought into port areas when a system incident occurs;
d/ Inspect the state of goods and customs sealing of imported and exported goods shipments subject to customs sealing under regulations of the Ministry of Finance;
dd/ Conduct patrol and control activities in areas of ports, warehouses and storing yards under regulations.
4. In the course of customs supervision or patrol in customs operation areas, heads of Customs Branches may:
a/ Decide to postpone the departure of or stop vehicles which transport imports, exports or in-transit goods when detecting a sign of violation of the customs law.
In case of emergency, customs officers on duty may temporarily stop vehicles and immediately report such to heads of Customs Branches;
b/ Decide on checking of dossiers, physical inspection of imports, exports, in-transit goods, vehicles on entry or exit or in transit when detecting a sign of violation of the customs law;
c/ Decide on pursuit of vehicles carrying imports, exports or in-transit goods and showing a sign of violation of the customs law moving out of customs operation areas.
5. The Minister of Finance shall specify customs supervision.
Article 35.Customs procedures for goods imported and exported on the spot
1. Goods imported and exported on the spot include:
a/ Goods ordered to be processed in Vietnam and sold by ordering foreign organizations and individuals to organizations and individuals in Vietnam;
b/ Goods purchased and sold between domestic enterprises and export processing enterprises or enterprises in non-tariff zones;
c/ Goods purchased and sold between Vietnamese enterprises and foreign organizations and individuals without presence in Vietnam and designated by foreign traders to deliver to or receive from other enterprises in Vietnam.
2. The Minister of Finance shall specify customs procedures for goods imported and exported on the spot.
Section 6
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR, CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF GOODS IMPORTED OR EXPORTED FOR PROCESSING; GOODS IMPORTED FOR EXPORT PRODUCTION
Article 36.Customs procedures for, customs inspection and supervision of goods imported or exported for processing and goods imported for export production
1. Before carrying out procedures for importing the first shipment of materials and supplies for processing or export production, organizations and individuals shall notify their production establishments to customs offices.
2. Organizations and individuals importing or exporting goods for processing or export production shall make finalization reports on the management and use of imported materials, supplies, machinery and equipment and exported goods.
3. Storage places for materials, supplies, machinery and equipment imported for processing or export production and exported products shall be located within production areas of such organizations and individuals. In case such materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and products are stored outside their production areas, organizations and individuals shall send written requests to customs offices for consideration and decision.
4. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate customs procedures for and the making of finalization reports on materials, supplies, machinery and equipment imported or exported for processing or export processing; inspection of production establishments, production capacity and use and inventory of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment.
Article 37.Responsibilities of organizations and individuals importing goods for processing or export production
1. Before carrying out procedures for importing the first shipment of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment for processing or export production, an organization or individual shall submit the following documents to the Customs Branch which they are expected to send their finalization reports:
a/ Business registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate, or investment license or investment certificate, for foreign-invested enterprises: 1 copy;
b/ Written notice of processing or export production establishments and places for storing materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and exported products, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance: 1 original.
Any change in contents of the written notice shall be notified to the customs office before it is implemented;
c/ Contract on rent of workshops and production grounds, in case workshops and production grounds are rented: 1 copy.
When carrying out customs procedures for importing materials, supplies, machinery and equipment for processing or export production, the organization or individual is not required to submit the documents specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 1 of this Article.
2. To keep processing contracts and their annexes, use norms of materials and supplies for each kind of product, diagrams of product pattern design or production process and design-cutting diagrams (if any) and produce them to customs offices for inspection in accordance with law.
3. To make warehousing, ex-warehousing and inventory finalization reports on the use of materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and exported goods; to take responsibility before law for the accuracy of actual norms for production of exported products, data of finalization reports and use of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment imported for processing or export production.
4. To provide sufficient dossiers, invoices and documents related to imports, exports, workshops, machinery and equipment; to explain data and production processes related to the use and inventory of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment to customs offices when the latter conduct inspection in accordance with law.
Article 38.Responsibilities of customs officers
1. To receive written notices of processing or export production establishments, and places for storing materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and exported products from organizations and individuals.
2. To inspect processing or export production establishments and their processing or production capacity, the use and inventory of materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and exported products in cases subject to inspection specified in Articles 39 and 40 of this Decree.
3. To receive finalization reports on the use of materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and exported products from organizations and individuals; to solve matters related to taxation on import of materials and supplies for export production.
4. To check finalization report dossiers against results of processing of customs information and risk management criteria; for organizations and individuals suspected of committing commercial fraud, to conduct post-customs clearance and handle them under regulations.
5. To make tax assessment and administratively sanction violations of the customs and tax laws in accordance with the tax laws and law on handling of administrative violations.
Article 39.Inspection of processing or production establishments and their capacity
1. Cases subject to inspection:
a/ Organizations or individuals show signs of risk in performing processing contracts or are eligible for the tax payment time limit of 275 days for materials and supplies imported for export production;
b/ There are grounds to determine that organizations or individuals have no production establishment or import materials and supplies in abnormally higher or lower quantities compared to their production capacity.
2. Inspection shall be conducted after 5 working days from the date of issuance of an inspection decision. The inspection duration must not exceed 5 working days.
3. Handling of results of inspection of processing or production establishments and their processing or production capacity:
a/ In case the organization or individual has no processing or production establishment, it/he/she shall pay fully taxes and late payment interests arising in the period from the date of registration of the import customs declaration to the date of actual tax payment and being fined for violation for the quantities of imported materials and supplies ineligible for tax incentives under regulations;
b/ In case there are sufficient grounds to determine that the organization or individual imports materials, supplies, machinery and equipment beyond its/his/her production capacity or not in conformity with the business lines stated in the business license, such organization or individual may explain or prove the case; in case the organization or individual fails to give any explanation or gives unreasonable explanation, post-customs clearance or specialized inspection shall be conducted under regulations.
Article 40.Inspection of use and inventory of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment
1. Cases subject to inspection:
a/ Organizations or individuals show signs of risk that they have imported machinery, equipment, materials and supplies but make no product for export upon the expiration of the production cycle;
b/ There are grounds to determine that organizations or individuals import materials, supplies, machinery and equipment or export products in abnormally higher or lower quantities compared to their production capacity;
c/ There are grounds to determine that organizations or individuals sell materials, supplies, machinery, equipment or products into the inland without making customs declarations;
d/ Organizations or individuals are detected to have improperly and untruthfully declared their export products;
dd/ Finalized data on the use of materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and export goods are abnormally different from those on the system of customs offices.
2. Heads of Customs Branches shall conduct post-customs clearance inspection under decisions of directors of provincial-level Customs Departments.
Inspection shall be conducted within 5 working days at production establishments or head offices of organizations or individuals. For complicated cases, directors of provincial-level Customs Departments shall issue decisions to extend the inspection time limit for another 5 working days at most.
3. Contents of inspection:
a/ Customs dossiers, warehousing - ex-warehousing - inventory report and documents monitoring warehoused and ex-warehoused materials, supplies, machinery and equipment;
b/ Actual norms of export products;
c/ Compatibility of materials and supplies with export products;
d/ Materials, supplies, machinery and equipment on the production chain;
dd/ Goods left in stock;
e/ Finished products not yet exported.
4. Handling of inspection results
In case goods left in stock or stored in warehouses of organizations and individuals are detected to be in quantities inconsistent with quantities stated in dossiers, documents or finalization reports, such organizations or individuals shall be required to give written explanations.
In case customs offices reject their explanations and have sufficient grounds to prove that those organizations or individuals have violated the customs or tax law, they shall decide to assess tax or handle violations under regulations.
Article 41.Finalization reporting; inspection of finalization reports on use of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment
1. Principles of finalization reporting
Organizations and individuals shall make finalization reports on the use of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment in the form of warehousing - ex-warehousing - inventory reports.
2. Handling of finalization reports
a/ Customs offices shall inspect finalization reports on the basis of risk management;
b/ Based on results of inspection of finalization reports, customs offices shall settle problems related to taxes on materials and supplies imported for export production.
3. The Minister of Finance shall guide in detail procedures for and time of making finalization reports on the use of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment imported for export processing or production and inspection thereof.
Section 7
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR GOODS IN TRANSSHIPMENT OR TRANSIT, GOODS BROUGHT INTO OR OUT OF NON-TARIFF ZONES
Article 42.Customs procedures for goods brought into or out of non-tariff zones
1. Goods brought from abroad into non-tariff zones or vice versa are subject to customs declaration.
2. Goods brought from non-tariff zones into the inland must undergo procedures like imports.
3. Goods brought from the inland into non-tariff zones must undergo procedures like exports.
4. Goods transferred from one non-tariff zone to another must undergo customs procedures like goods transported under customs supervision.
5. The Minister of Finance shall specify customs procedures for goods brought into or out of non-tariff zones.
Article 43.Customs procedures for and customs inspection and supervision of goods in transit
1. Customs procedures for goods in transit shall be carried out at customs offices of the first border-gate of importation and the last border-gate of exportation.
2. A customs dossier for goods in transit must comprise:
a/ Transportation declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance.
For goods in transit not through the land territory, the customs declarant is not required to fill in the transportation declaration but shall fill in the manifest of goods in transit made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance: one original.
For goods in transit under an agreement on goods transit between Vietnam and a bordering country which requires the use of transit documents, the customs declarant is not required to fill in the transportation declaration but shall fill in the transit document: one original;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading;
c/ One original of the license prescribed by law.
3. Responsibilities of the customs declarants:
a/ To transport goods along the routes, through border gates and within the time limit prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 65 of the Customs Law;
b/ To ensure customs seals or the intactness of goods in case customs sealing cannot be made from border gates of goods entry to border gates of goods exit.
4. Responsibilities of Customs Branches of border gates of importation:
a/ To receive and handle customs dossiers under Clause 2 of this Article;
b/ To seal vehicles containing goods in transit;
c/ To appoint customs officers to directly supervise goods in transit in the case specified at Point c, Clause 6 of this Article.
5. Responsibilities of Customs Branches of border gates of exportation:
a/ To check information in transportation declarations on the database of customs offices;
b/ To check transit documents certified by Customs Branches of border gates of importation, in case of transit under the agreements on goods transit between Vietnam and the bordering countries;
c/ To inspect the state of the customs seals or intactness of goods before carrying out exit procedures.
6. Customs supervision of in-transit goods
a/ In-transit goods shall be customs-sealed; those that cannot be sealed shall be handed to customs declarants for preservation of their original state;
b/ In-transit goods being goods banned from trading, banned from export, temporarily suspended from export, banned from import and temporarily suspended from import; goods imported or exported under permits shall be supervised with technical devices;
c/ Weapons, ammunitions or explosive materials and highly dangerous goods in transit shall be supervised with technical devices or directly by customs officers;
d/ While having their goods transited through the Vietnamese territory, if customs declarants carry out the transshipment, carriage transfer, warehousing or division of their goods shipments, change the mode of transportation or carry out other activities, they shall notify such in advance to and obtain approval of customs offices where import procedures are carried out.
7. Inforce majeurecircumstances where the goods’ intactness or customs seals cannot be ensured or goods cannot be transported along designated routes and within prescribed time limit, customs declarants shall, after applying necessary measures to limit and prevent damage, promptly notify such to customs offices for handling. In case customs declarants cannot promptly notify customs offices of the situation, they may notify such to the public security, border guard or marine police office, whichever is convenient for them, for certification and handling in accordance with law.
Article 44.Customs inspection and supervision of transshipped goods
1. Transshipped goods are those brought from abroad into a transshipment area then brought abroad directly from this transshipment area. They may not be transported in the Vietnamese territory for export through other border gates, unless they are transported under treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party or under the Prime Minister’s decisions. Transshiped goods may be brought abroad in part or in whole of their shipments previously transported into ports.
2. Transshipped goods shall be notified to customs offices and subject to customs supervision during the time they are retained at ports. Transshipped goods may be physically inspected only in case signs of violation are detected.
3. Responsibilities of goods transshipment service providers:
a/ To notify transshipped goods to customs offices according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ To keep intact goods during the time they are retained at ports;
c/ To provide, as authorized by goods owners, services of reinforcing packages or repackaging to preserve goods according to transportation requirements or in case processing of goods is permitted under the Prime Minister’s regulations;
d/ To package transshipped goods in the same packing or container with other goods for export.
Section 8
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF OTHER IMPORTED AND EXPORTED GOODS
Article 45.Personal effects
1. When carrying out customs procedures, a foreigner carrying his/her belongings into Vietnam shall submit:
a/ Two originals of the customs declaration;
b/ One copy of the written certification that he/she comes to work in Vietnam, made by the agency or organization where he/she works, or his/her work permit in Vietnam granted by a competent agency;
c/ One copy of the bill of lading in case of his/her belongs are transported by sea, air or railway.
2. When carrying out customs procedures, a foreigner carrying his/her belongings out of Vietnam shall submit:
a/ Two originals of the customs declaration;
b/ One copy of the written certification that his/her working term has expired;
c/ One copy of the import customs declaration with the customs office’s certification of belongings being automobiles and motorcycles or documents on the change of use purpose and tax payment for taxable goods:
3. When carrying out customs procedures, a Vietnamese organization or citizen carrying its/his/her belongings back to Vietnam shall submit:
a/ Two originals of the customs declaration;
b/ One copy of the document proving that its business duration or his/her working term abroad has expired or that he/she returns to Vietnam for residence;
c/ One copy of the bill of lading in case its/his/her belongings are transported by sea, air or railway.
4. When carrying out customs procedures, a Vietnamese organization or citizen carrying its/his/her belongings abroad shall submit:
a/ Two originals of the customs declaration;
b/ One copy of the document proving its/his/her business, work or residence abroad.
5. The Prime Minister shall promulgate the list of goods being belongings banned from import, restricted from import or for conditional import and permitted to be brought into Vietnam in each period and quotas of duty-free belongings.
Article 46.Strayed or mistakenly imported goods, exported goods, consigned luggage of persons on entry or exit
1. Strayed or mistakenly imported goods, exported goods, consigned luggage of persons on entry or exit are subject to inspection and supervision by customs offices at border gates of importation or exportation.
2. Missing or mistakenly consigned luggage of persons on entry or exit by air:
Port operation enterprises or representatives of carriers shall notify customs offices of lists of strayed or mistakenly consigned luggage. Customs offices shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with airport authorities and aviation security offices in, checking such luggage through screening machines before bringing them into storing areas.
a/ In case the luggage screening does not detect any excess of the prescribed duty-free quota or violating goods, such luggage shall be handed to port operation enterprises or representatives of carriers to be returned to persons on entry or exit;
b/ In case the luggage screening detects any excess of the prescribed duty-free quota or violating goods, customs offices shall seal such excessive or violating goods before bringing them into port operation enterprises’ areas for keeping of strayed or mistakenly consigned luggage. When claiming missing or mistakenly consigned luggage, persons on entry or exit shall carry out customs procedures under Article 59 of this Decree.
The opening of strayed or mistakenly consigned luggage for inspection shall be approved and supervised by customs offices.
3. The Ministry of Finance shall specify the handling of strayed or mistakenly consigned luggage whose owners are unidentified.
Article 47.Customs procedures for re-import of exported goods
1. Forms of re-import of goods which have been exported but later returned (below collectively referred to as re-import of returned goods) include:
a/ Re-import of returned goods for repair or recycling (collectively referred to as recycling) and subsequent re-export;
b/ Re-import of returned goods for domestic sale;
c/ Re-import of returned goods for destruction in Vietnam (not applicable to goods processed for foreign traders);
d/ Re-import of returned goods for re-export to other foreign partners.
2. A customs dossier must comprise:
a/ Customs declaration for imports;
b/ Bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway: One copy to be submitted;
c/ Written notification of the foreign partner that goods are returned or document of the shipping firm/shipping agent notifying that goods are left unclaimed: One copy to be submitted.
3. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter (except import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection).
4. Customs offices shall impose no tax on re-imported goods mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, if customs declarants submit complete dossiers for tax exemption as prescribed when carrying out re-import procedures.
5. For goods re-imported for recycling, the recycling duration must not exceed 275 days from the date of re-import and shall be registered with customs offices. In the recycling duration, customs declarants are not yet required to pay tax. Upon the expiration of the registered recycling duration, any goods not yet re-exported must comply with the tax law.
6. Procedures for re-exporting recycled goods must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.
7. Handling of recycled goods which cannot be re-exported:
a/ For recycled products being processed goods: Customs procedures shall be carried out for domestic sale or destruction;
b/ Recycled products other than processed goods shall be put for domestic sale like goods re-imported for domestic sale.
8. For re-imported goods which are export products made from imported materials and supplies, and goods for trading eligible for import duty refund, customs offices where re-import procedures are carried out shall notify the case specified at Point b or c, Clause 1 and the case in which goods cannot be re-exported specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article or the cases specified in Clause 7 of this Article or the case of expiration of the recycling duration specified in Clause 5 of this Article to customs offices where import duty refund procedures are carried out (if they are different) for tax handling under regulations.
Article 48.Customs procedures and supervision of imports which are required to be re-exported
1. Forms of re-export of imports for which customs procedures have been completed include:
a/ Re-export for return to customers abroad;
b/ Re-export to a third country or into a non-tariff zone.
2. A customs dossier must comprise:
a/ Export custom declaration;
b/ One copy of the written consent of the foreign goods owner to receive back goods (in case goods are re-exported for return to the selling owner);
c/ One copy of the decision of the competent agency compelling re-export (if any).
3. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter (except import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection).
If customs declarants submit complete dossiers for tax exemption as prescribed when carrying out export procedures, customs offices shall impose no tax on goods exported for return to their owners, or exported to a third country or into a non-tariff zone and decide on customs clearance under regulations,.
4. Goods (except narcotics, weapons, reactionary documents, schedule-I toxic chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention) for which import procedures have not yet been carried out and which are retained in customs supervision areas since they are mistakenly consigned or strayed or remain unclaimed or are abandoned by their owners, shall be supervised until they are actually exported out of the Vietnamese territory right through the border gates of importation as decided by heads of Customs Branches where they are retained after their carriers or owners make written requests for permission for their re-export, clearly stating the reason: mistaken consignment, being strayed or abandonment.
Article 49.Customs procedures for goods containers rotationally used for temporary import for re-export
1. Goods containers used on a rotational basis include:
a/ Empty containers with or without hangers;
b/ Flexi-tank containers for liquid cargoes;
c/ Other containers for rotational use.
2. The time limits for temporary import for re-export and temporary export for re-import shall be agreed upon by traders and their partners and registered with Customs Branches where procedures are carried out. In case traders and their partners agree to extend the time limit for temporary import for re-export, before the expiration of such time limit, customs declarants shall send written notices enclosed with written agreements on the extension to Customs Branches where procedures are carried out. Past the registered time limit for temporary import for re-export, traders that fail to re-export or re-import goods shall be handled in accordance with law.
3. Customs procedures for goods containers used on a rotational basis specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article:
a/ When importing goods, a customs declarant shall submit one manifest of transported goods, specifically listing goods containers rotationally used in import;
b/ When exporting goods, a customs declarant shall submit one list of temporarily imported or temporarily exported empty containers before being loaded onto vehicles, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance, and one manifest of transported goods;
c/ Customs Branches where temporary import or temporary export procedures are carried out shall monitor, compare and certify number of temporarily imported or temporarily exported containers; and conduct physical inspection upon any suspicion.
The Minister of Finance shall guide e-procedures for goods containers used on a rotational basis specified in this Clause.
4. A customs dossier for goods containers used on a rotational basis specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article for temporary import for re-export:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway;
c/ One original of the import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
5. A customs dossier for other goods containers used on a rotational basis specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One original of the import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
6. Customs procedures for other goods containers used on a rotational basis specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.
7. Places of customs procedure completion:
a/ For goods containers used on a rotational basis specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article: Customs procedures shall be carried out at border-gate Customs Branches;
b/ For other containers used on a rotational basis specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article: Customs procedures shall be carried out at border-gate Customs Branches or Customs Branches where import procedures for goods for processing or export production have been carried out.
8. Within the time limit for temporary import for re-export, if a customs declarant registers goods containers rotationally used for temporary import for re-export with customs offices, such containers are not yet subject to duty. In case the use purpose of such containers changes, customs procedures shall be carried out as follows:
a/ The customs declarant shall send to the Customs Branch where the temporary import list is registered and temporary import procedures are carried out a document clearly explaining the reason for change of the use purpose of rotationally used containers;
b/ The head of the Customs Branch where the temporary import list is registered and temporary import procedures are carried out shall consider the reason and explanation of the customs declarant; if detecting no sign of trade fraud, he/she shall accept the request of the customs declarant;
c/ The customs declarant shall carry out import procedures under Section 5 of this Chapter at the Customs Branch of the border-gate of temporary import. In case goods are temporarily imported through multiple border gates, he/she may choose the Customs Branch at one among such border gates to carry out import customs procedures.
Article 50.Customs procedures for construction equipment, machinery and vehicles, molds and models temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for production, construction of works, implementation of projects or testing
1. A customs dossier for construction equipment, machinery and vehicles, molds and models temporarily imported for re-export:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway;
c/ One original of the import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
2. A customs dossier for construction equipment, machinery and vehicles, molds and models temporarily exported for re-import:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One original of the export permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
3. Places of customs procedure completion: Customs procedures shall be carried out at border-gate Customs Branches or Customs Branches of localities where production establishments or projects are located. For construction machinery, equipment and vehicles, molds and models temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import to serve processing contracts, export processing or operation of export processing enterprises, procedures shall be carried out at Customs Branches where import procedures for goods used for processing or export production have been carried out.
4. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.
5. Time limits for temporary import for re-export and temporary export for re-import shall be agreed upon by traders and their partners and registered with customs offices. When necessary to extend the time limit for temporary import for re-export for production, work construction, project implementation or testing as agreed with partners, customs declarants shall notify such in writing to Customs Branches where temporary import for re-export procedures are carried out.
Past the time limit for temporary import for re-export, traders that fail to re-export or re-import goods shall be handled in accordance with law.
6. In case enterprises engaged in temporary import for re-export request in writing permission for sale, giving as gifts or donation of construction machinery, equipment and vehicles and molds and models temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for production, work construction, project implementation or testing, they shall carry out customs procedures under Section 5 of this Chapter.
Article 51.Customs procedures for foreign seagoing ships and aircraft temporarily imported for re-export for repair or maintenance in Vietnam
1. A customs dossier must comprise:
a/ Custom declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One copy of the contract on provision of seagoing ship or aircraft repair or maintenance services with the foreign partner.
2. Places of customs procedure completion: Border-gate Customs Branches.
3. The time limit for temporary import for re-export must comply with contracts on provision of seagoing ship or aircraft repair or maintenance services with the foreign partners and shall be registered with border-gate Customs Branches.
4. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.
5. Customs inspection and supervision:
a/ Border-gate Customs Branches shall supervise customs declarants in navigating seagoing ships or aircraft from anchoring or parking positions at wharves or aprons to repair or maintenance areas. When carrying out re-export procedures, Customs Branches shall supervise customs declarants in navigating seagoing ships or aircraft from repair or maintenance areas to anchoring or parking positions at wharves or aprons before they are actually exported;
b/ Customs declarants shall manage seagoing ships and aircraft in repair or maintenance areas.
Article 52.Customs procedures for components, spare parts and articles temporarily imported to serve replacement and repair of foreign seagoing ships and aircraft
1. For temporarily imported components, spare parts and articles carried on board aircraft or seagoing ships upon their entry or consigned before or after the entry of aircraft or seagoing ships:
a/ Customs declarants must be operators of aircraft or seagoing ships or agents of aircraft or seagoing ship owners;
b/ Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.
2. A customs dossier:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway (except where goods are carried on board ship or aircraft);
c/ One original of the import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
3. Places of customs procedure completion: Border-gate Customs Branches.
4. For components, spare parts and articles temporarily imported for repair or use for operation of seagoing ships or aircraft under contracts on provision of seagoing ship or aircraft repair or maintenance services signed with foreign parties, customs procedures shall be carried out as for those for processing as guided by the Minister of Finance.
Article 53.Customs procedures for goods temporarily imported for re-export, temporarily exported for re-import for trade fairs, exhibitions or product displays
1. A customs dossier for goods temporarily imported for re-export:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway;
c/ One copy of the document on the organization of a trade fair or an exhibition, with certification of a competent agency (except temporary import for re-export for product display);
d/ One original of the import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
2. A customs dossier for goods temporarily exported for re-import:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One copy of the document on the organization of a trade fair or an exhibition, with certification of a competent agency (except temporary export for re-import for product display);
c/ One original of the import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
3. Places of customs procedure completion: Border-gate Customs Branches of localities where trade fairs, exhibitions or product displays are organized, or border-gate Custom Branches.
4. Time limit for re-export or re-import:
a/ Goods temporarily imported for a trader fair, an exhibition or a product display in Vietnam shall be re-exported within 30 days after the end of such trade, exhibition or product display as registered with the customs office;
b/ The time limit for temporary export of goods for a trade fair, an exhibition or a product display abroad is one year after such goods are temporarily exported. Past the above time limit, if such goods are not yet re-imported, their owners shall pay duty and perform other financial obligations prescribed by Vietnamese law.
5. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.
6. The sale or giving as gifts of goods at trade fairs, exhibitions or product displays under Articles 136 and 137 of the Commercial Law is subject to customs procedures for import prescribed by law.
Article 54.Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import to serve work for a definite term
1. Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import to serve work for a definite term include goods for conferences, seminars, scientific research, education, sports competitions, cultural and art performances, medical examination and treatment, or product research and development.
2. A customs dossier for goods temporarily imported for re-export must comprise:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
In case the customs declarant fills in a paper customs declaration under Point e, Clause 2, Article 25 of this Decree, he/she shall submit 2 originals of such customs declaration;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway (except where goods are carried as luggage by persons on entry);
c/ One copy of the document on the use of goods for a work or an event specified in Clause 1 of this Article;
d/ One original of import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
3. A customs dossier for goods temporarily exported for re-import must comprise:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
In case the customs declarant fills in a paper customs declaration under Point e, Clause 2, Article 25 of this Decree, he/she shall submit 2 originals of such customs declaration;
b/ One copy of the document on the use of goods for a work or an event specified in Clause 1 of this Article;
c/ One original of the export permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
4. Places of customs procedure completion: Border-gate Customs Branches.
5. The time limits for temporary import for re-export and temporary export for re-import shall be registered with customs offices.
6. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.
Article 55.Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for warranty or repair
1. A customs dossier for goods temporarily imported for re-export must comprise:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway;
c/ One original of the import permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
2. A customs dossier for goods temporarily exported for re-import must comprise:
a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One original of the export permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.
3. Places of customs procedure completion: Border-gate Customs Branches.
4. The time limits for temporary import for re-export and temporary export shall be agreed upon by traders and their partners and, when temporary import or temporary export procedures are carried out, registered with Customs Branches.
5. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.
Article 56.Monitoring of customs declarations for temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import
1. Customs Branches where temporary import or temporary export procedures are carried out shall monitor customs declarations for temporary import or temporary export of goods specified in this Section.
2. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate the monitoring of customs declarations for temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import of goods specified in this Section.
Section 9
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR LUGGAGE OF PERSONS ON ENTRY OR EXIT
Article 57.Objects of application
Luggage of persons on entry or exit with passports or passport substitutes granted by Vietnamese or foreign competent state agencies is subject to this Section.
Article 58.Duty-free luggage quota
1. The duty-free luggage quota for persons on entry must comply with decisions of the Prime Minister.
2. The duty-free luggage quota for persons on entry shall be prescribed:
a/ For each entry;
b/ Duty-free luggage quotas of many entries may not be aggregated for a single entry to enjoy duty exemption;
c/ Duty-free luggage quotas of many persons on entry may not be aggregated for a single person on entry to enjoy duty exemption, except luggage carried by members of a family in the same trip.
3. Luggage of a person on entry in excess of the duty-free luggage quota shall be regarded as imports and must comply with the laws on imports and import duty. The person on entry may choose an article to be dutied from among many articles in his/her luggage.
4. In case the total duty amount for the luggage part of a person on entry in excess of the duty-free luggage quota is under VND 100,000, such duty amount shall be exempted.
5. A person who enters Vietnam on a regular basis for his/her work is not entitled to the duty-free luggage quota upon each entry but may enjoy such quota once every 90 days. Persons who enter Vietnam on a regular basis include:
a/ Aircraft operators and attendants on international flights;
b/ Train drivers and attendants on international trains;
c/ Officers and crewmembers working on board seagoing ships;
d/ Vietnamese drivers and laborers working in neighboring countries bordering on Vietnam.
Duty-free luggage quotas for persons entering Vietnam on a regular basis must comply with decisions of the Prime Minister.
6. Persons on exit are not subject to duty-free luggage quota. Persons on exit may not carry in their luggage articles banned from export, temporarily suspended from export or subject to conditional export in accordance with law.
Article 59.Procedures for luggage of persons on entry or exit
1. Luggage of persons on entry or exit must undergo customs procedures at border gates.
2. Persons on entry or exit are not required to make customs declaration if having no luggage in excess of the duty-free quota prescribed by the tax law or no luggage consigned before or after their trips.
Persons on entry or exit who carry goods in excess of the duty-free quota through a customs inspection area without making customs declaration shall be regarded as illegally importing or exporting goods and shall be handled in accordance with law.
3. Luggage of persons on entry or exit shall be inspected with screening machines and other devices. After analyzing information and results of supervision of persons on entry or exit, customs offices shall choose luggage for physical inspection.
4. When having grounds to believe that persons on entry or exit commit acts of smuggling or illegally transporting goods across the border, customs offices shall search such persons in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations.
5. Persons on entry or exit may temporarily consign their luggage into warehouses of border-gate customs offices and may receive them back upon their entry or exit. The duration of temporary consignment of luggage into customs warehouses must not exceed 180 days.
6. If a person on entry or exit makes a written waiver of the consigned luggage in the duration of temporary consignment prescribed in Clause 5 of this Article or refuses to claim back the consigned luggage upon the expiration of the duration, such luggage shall be handled in accordance with law. After subtracting expenses, proceeds from the liquidation of consigned luggage shall be paid into the state budget.
Article 60.Customs procedures for luggage of persons on entry in excess of the duty-free quota; luggage of persons on entry or exit consigned before or after their trips
1. Luggage of persons on entry in excess of the duty-free quota and luggage of persons on entry or exit consigned before or after their trips must undergo customs procedures under Section 5 of this Chapter.
2. A customs dossier must comprise:
a/ Two originals of the customs declaration, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
b/ One copy of the passport or passport substitute bearing the immigration agency’s stamp of certification for the person on entry;
c/ One original of the entry or exit declaration bearing certification of the Customs Branch where entry procedures are carried out for the person on entry;
d/ One copy of the bill of lading, in case the luggage of the person on entry is consigned before or after the trip.
3. Customs offices shall conduct physical inspection of goods in order to apply the import and export management and tax policies in accordance with law.
4. Persons on entry shall carry out customs procedures for their luggage consigned before or after their trips within 30 days after their luggage arrives at a border gate.
Chapter IV
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR VEHICLES ON ENTRY OR EXIT OR IN TRANSIT
Section 1
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF AIRCRAFT ON ENTRY OR EXIT OR IN TRANSIT
Article 61.Customs dossiers for aircraft on entry or exit or in transit
1. A customs dossier for an aircraft on entry must comprise:
a/ Declaration of goods imported by air in case the aircraft carries imported goods;
b/ Information on the secondary bill of lading, in case the aircraft carries imported goods;
c/ List of passengers, in case the aircraft carries passengers;
d/ List of flight crewmembers and attendants on board the aircraft;
dd/ Manifest of consigned luggage, in case the aircraft carries passengers.
2. A customs dossier for an aircraft on exit must comprise:
a/ Declaration of goods exported by air in case the aircraft carries exported goods;
b/ List of passengers, in case the aircraft carries passengers;
c/ List of flight crewmembers and attendants on board the aircraft;
d/ Manifest of consigned luggage, in case the aircraft carries passengers.
3. A customs dossier for an aircraft in transit:
When carrying out entry procedures for an aircraft in transit, a customs declarant shall submit a customs dossier prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. When carrying out exit procedures, if there are new documents compared to those submitted for entry, the customs declarant shall submit a customs dossier including such new documents.
Upon technical stops, aircraft in transit are not required to carry out procedures for customs declaration but are subject to customs supervision.
4. Customs dossiers prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be submitted to customs offices in electronic files.
In case the e-customs data processing system and e-customs declaration system cannot perform e-transactions, customs declarants shall submit paper dossiers.
Article 62.Deadlines for provision of information in customs dossiers
1. For aircraft on entry:
a/ No later than 3 hours before the entry of an aircraft at the first Vietnamese airport, for flights of over 3 hours;
b/ No later than 30 minutes before the entry of an aircraft at the first Vietnamese airport, for flights of under 3 hours.
2. For aircraft on exit: Right after the carrier completes procedures for exported goods or passengers on exit.
3. For aircraft on transit:
Upon their entry, procedures shall be carried out under Clause 1 of this Article; upon their exit, if customs declaration is required, procedures shall be carried out under Clause 2 of this Article.
4. Customs declarants shall submit the documents specified at Points a, c, d and dd, Clause 1, and Clause 2, Article 61, and issuers of house bills of lading shall submit the document specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 61 according to the deadlines prescribed in this Article via the e-customs data processing system.
5. The modification and supplementation of information and customs dossiers for aircraft on entry or exit or in transit must comply with the Minister of Finance’s guidance.
Article 63.Receipt and processing of customs dossiers
1. Customs offices shall examine dossiers, conduct physical inspection of aircraft and certify the completion of customs procedures for aircraft on entry or exit under the Minister of Finance’s guidance.
2. The time limit for carrying out customs procedures for aircraft on entry or exit: One hour after the customs declarant submits or produces a complete dossier under Article 61 of this Decree.
3. The General Department of Customs shall build a system to receive e-information from customs declarants and share information with related agencies based at airports.
Article 64.Responsibilities of airport operation enterprises
1. At least 24 hours (or one hour for unscheduled flights) before an aircraft’s entry or before a carrier completes aviation procedures for passengers on exit and exported goods, an airport operation enterprise shall provide to the Customs Branch of the international airport the following information:
a/ Nationality of the aircraft;
b/ Type of the aircraft;
c/ Flight route;
d/ Time of arrival and time of departure of the aircraft;
dd/ Parking position of the aircraft;
e/ Passenger entry gate;
g/ Time for cargo loading or unloading onto/from the aircraft.
2. At least one hour before an aircraft’s entry or exit, airport operation enterprises shall notify customs offices of any change in information specified in Clause 1 of this Article.
Section 2
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR AND CUSTOSM INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF SEAGOING SHIPS ON ENTRY OR EXIT OR IN TRANSIT
Article 65.Customs dossiers for seagoing ships on entry or exit or in transit
1. A customs dossier for a seagoing ship on entry must comprise:
a/ General declaration;
b/ Declaration of goods imported by sea, in case the ship carries imported goods;
c/ Information on the house bill of lading, in case the ship carries imported goods;
d/ List of ship crewmembers;
dd/ Declaration of luggage of ship crewmembers and attendants working on board the ship;
e/ Declaration of the ship stores;
g/ List of passengers, in case the ship carries passengers;
h/ Declaration of dangerous goods, in case the ship carries dangerous goods.
2. A customs dossier for a seagoing ship on exit must comprise:
a/ General declaration;
b/ Declaration of goods exported by sea in case the ship carries exported goods;
c/ List of ship crewmembers;
d/ Declaration of luggage of ship crewmembers and attendants working on board the ship;
dd/ Declaration of the ship stores;
e/ List of passengers, in case the ship transports passengers;
Upon the ship’s exit, if there is no change compared to contents declared upon its entry, the customs declarant is required to submit only the general declaration specified at Point a of this Clause.
3. A customs dossier for a seagoing ship in transit must comprise:
When carrying out entry procedures for a seagoing ship in transit, a customs declarant shall submit a customs dossier prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. When carrying out exit procedures, if there are new documents compared to those submitted for entry, the customs declarant shall submit a customs dossier including such new documents.
4. Customs dossiers prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be submitted to customs offices in electronic files.
In case the e-customs data processing system and e-customs declaration system cannot perform e-transactions, customs declarants shall submit paper dossiers.
5. The Minister of Finance shall guide customs procedures for seagoing ships on entry or exit in special cases in accordance with the maritime law.
Article 66.Deadlines for provision of information in customs dossiers
1. For seagoing ships on entry:
a/ For declaration of imports and information on house bill of lading: At least 12 hours before the expected time of arrival, for seagoing ships on a voyage of under 5 days; at least 24 hours before the expected time of arrival, for seagoing ships on other voyages;
b/ For the documents specified at Points c, d, dd, e, g and h, Clause 1, Article 65 of this Decree: At least 8 hours before the expected time of arrival.
2. For seagoing ships on exit:
The deadline for provision of information on the documents specified in Clause 2, Article 65 of this Decree is one hour before the exit.
3. For seagoing ships in transit:
Upon entry, customs declarants shall comply with Clause 1 of this Article; upon exit, if customs declaration is required, customs declarants shall comply with Clause 2 of this Article.
4. Customs declarants shall submit the documents specified at Points c, d and dd, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 65 of this Decree and issuers of house bills of lading shall submit the documents specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 65 of this Decree according to the deadlines prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article through the e-customs data processing system.
5. The modification or supplementation of information and customs dossiers for seagoing ships on entry or exit or in transit must comply with the guidance of the Minister of Finance.
Article 67.Receipt and processing of customs dossiers
1. Customs offices shall examine dossiers, conduct physical inspection of seagoing ships and certify the completion of customs procedures for seagoing ships on entry or exit or in transit under the guidance of the Minister of Finance.
2. The time limit for a customs office to carry out customs procedures for a seagoing ship on entry or exit or in transit is one hour after the customs declarant submits or produces a complete customs dossier under Article 65 of this Decree.
3. The General Department of Customs shall establish a system to receive e-information from customs declarants and share information with related agencies based at seaports.
Article 68.Responsibilities of seaport authorities and seaport operation enterprises
1. Upon receiving a confirmation of the time of ship arrival at the seaport and expected time of departure from the seaport, the seaport authority shall notify such to the customs office and other management agencies based at the seaport for coordination.
2. Upon deciding to navigate a ship on entry or exit or in transit to enter the seaport, the seaport authority shall notify the customs office and other management agencies based at the seaport of the time and place designated for the ship to anchor at the seaport.
3. Before unloading cargoes at the seaport, the seaport operation enterprise shall notify the customs office of the location of warehouses and storing yards where imported goods are expected to be stored.
Section 3
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF INTERNATIONAL TRAINS ON ENTRY OR EXIT
Article 69.Customs dossiers for trains on entry
1. A customs dossier for a train at a border international railway station must comprise:
a/ One original of the document on cargo delivery and receipt;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading;
c/ Two originals of an excerpt of the manifest of imported goods unloaded at each international railway station, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
d/ One original of the list of passengers, for passenger trains, and passengers who check in at the border international railway station (if any);
dd/ One original of the list of fuels, tools and foodstuffs on the train (if any).
2. A customs dossier for a train at a domestic international railway station must comprise:
a/ Documents specified at Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article;
b/ One original of the list of passengers, for passenger trains, and passengers who check in at the station (if any).
Article 70.Customs dossiers for trains on exit
1. A customs dossier for a train at a domestic international railway station must comprise:
a/ One original of the written confirmation of the order of train formation, for passenger trains which undergo customs procedures at the domestic international railway station;
b/ One copy of the bill of lading;
c/ Two originals of an excerpt of the manifest of exported goods at the domestic international national railway station, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
d/ One original of the list of passengers, for passenger trains, and passengers who check in at the station (if any).
2. A customs dossier for a train at a border international railway station must comprise:
a/ Documents specified at Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article;
b/ One original of the document on cargo delivery and receipt;
c/ One copy of the bill of lading;
d/ One original of the written confirmation of the order of train formation;
dd/ One original of the list of passengers, for passenger trains, and passengers who check in at the station (if any).
Article 71.Time limit for provision of information in customs dossiers
1. For trains on entry: Upon the arrival of a train at a border or domestic order of international railway station, the station agent or train conductor or his/her lawful representative shall submit to the customs office the documents specified in Clause 1 or 2, Article 69 of this Decree.
2. For trains on exit: At least 30 minutes for passenger trains and one hour for cargo trains before the departure of a train from a domestic or border international railway station, the station agent or train conductor or his/her lawful representative shall submit to the customs office the documents specified in Clause 1 or 2, Article 70 of this Decree.
3. Before the dossier examination is completed for a train on entry or exit, the station agent or train conductor or his/her lawful representative may make additional declaration in the following cases:
a/ There is a difference in the name, weight or quantity (higher or lower) of imported goods or exported goods between the actually transported cargo and those stated in the bill of lading, manifest excerpt or goods delivery and receipt document submitted to the customs office;
b/ There is any change in vehicle, cargo or luggage occurring in the course of transportation, storage in the warehouse or storing yard, ex-warehousing or warehousing compared to submitted documents.
Article 72.Responsibilities of customs offices
1. To receive and process customs dossiers submitted or produced by customs declarants under Article 69 or 70 of this Decree as follows:
a/ To check and compare information in dossiers on ID number and cargo quantity of each wagon or container containing cargo or consigned luggage; to check carrier seals (if any) on each wagon or container containing cargo or consigned luggage;
b/ To affix customs seals on each wagon containing cargo or consigned luggage subject to customs supervision and transported to a border or domestic international railway station; for extra-long, extra-heavy or bulk cargoes which cannot be sealed up, the train conductor shall ensure the intactness of cargoes, consigned luggage and wagons in the course of transportation to the station of destination under regulations;
c/ To hand over imported goods or exported goods to customs offices at domestic or border international railway stations, in case of trains on entry transporting cargoes subject to customs supervision to domestic international railway stations or trains on exit transporting cargoes subject to customs supervision to border international railway stations, and record the handover in writing according to a form set by the Ministry of Finance;
d/ To certify and append seals to documents submitted by station agents or train conductors or their lawful representatives; to seal up documents in customs dossiers to be handed over to station agents or train conductors or their lawful representatives for submission to customs offices at border or domestic international railway stations under regulations;
dd/ To certify and notify customs offices at border or domestic international railway stations of the receipt of goods and dossiers of goods shipments subject to customs supervision and the state of goods transported to their stations. A customs dossier must comprise a cargo manifest and relevant documents as prescribed.
2. To organize supervision and control of trains on entry or exit within their operation areas as follows:
a/ To supervise wagons (including empty containers, wagons and wagons) carrying imported goods or exported goods; to supervise exported goods until they leave their operation areas or imported goods until they are customs-cleared, released and brought out of customs operation areas;
b/ To supervise the luggage and goods of persons on entry, drivers and attendants working on trains right after they leave trains to enter the check-in or isolation area;
c/ To supervise the luggage and goods of persons on exit, drivers and attendants working on trains right after they leave the check-out or isolation area to get on trains on exit;
d/ To supervise goods and consigned luggage transported from the storing warehouse or check-out area to the train for loading and goods and consigned luggage unloaded from the train and transported to the storing warehouse or check-in area;
dd/ To supervise diplomatic and consular bags if such bags are received and consigned at train platforms;
e/ To deploy a force to patrol and control each train suitable to its characteristics based on results of collection and processing of information on trains on entry or exit.
3. The time limit for the customs office to carry out customs procedures for an international train on entry or exit is one hour after the customs declarant submits and produces a customs dossier prescribed in Article 69 or 70 of this Decree.
Article 73.Responsibilities of station agents and train conductors at international railway stations
1. Responsibilities of station agents:
a/ To notify in advance through the computer network, in writing or by facsimile customs offices at international railway stations of information on trips of trains on entry or exit, including ID numbers of locomotives and wagons; positions and time/duration of train arrival, stay and departure; and information on imported or exported goods, luggage of passengers on entry or exit, including positions and time of loading and unloading onto/from trains and changes in information on trains, goods and luggage;
b/ To certify and append seals to the documents submitted by conductors of trains for carrying out customs procedures;
c/ To submit and produce documents in customs dossiers and carry out customs procedures under regulations;
d/ To take responsibility for the truthfulness of documents submitted to customs offices;
dd/ To coordinate with customs offices in conducting inspection, supervision and control to promptly detect and prevent violations of the customs law on trains and at international railway stations.
2. Responsibilities of train conductors:
a/ To submit and produce fully and properly documents in customs dossiers and carry out customs procedures under regulations;
b/ To take responsibility for the truthfulness of documents submitted to station agents and customs offices;
c/ To coordinate with station agents in carrying out customs procedures (including transfer of customs dossiers between customs offices at border and domestic international railway stations) under regulations;
d/ To ensure the intactness of goods, customs seals (if any) and carrier seals in the course of transportation of goods subject to customs supervision
Section 4
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF AUTOMOBILES ON ENTRY OR EXIT OR IN TRANSIT
Article 74.Customs dossiers for automobiles on entry
1. For an automobile on entry (temporarily imported foreign automobile or re-imported Vietnamese automobile), a customs declarant shall:
a/ Produce the original of the transshipment permit granted by a competent agency;
b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration, for temporarily imported foreign automobiles;
c/ Submit one original of the list of passengers, for passenger automobiles;
d/ Produce one original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export; or submit the original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily exported for re-import with temporary export certification by the border-gate Customs Branch that has carried out temporary export procedures.
2. For automobiles on entry under the Greater Mekong Subregion Cross-Border Transport and Trade Facilitation Agreement (GMS Agreement), procedures must comply with such Agreement and guiding documents.
Article 75.Customs dossiers for automobiles on exit
1. For an automobile on exit (temporarily exported Vietnamese automobile or re-exported foreign automobile), a customs declarant shall:
a/ Produce the original of transshipment permit granted by a competent agency;
b/ Produce the original of vehicle registration, for temporarily exported Vietnamese automobiles;
c/ Submit one original of the list of passengers, for passenger automobiles;
d/ Produce one original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily exported for re-import: or submit the original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export with temporary-import certification by the border-gate Customs Branch that has carried out temporary import procedures.
2. For automobiles on exit under the Greater Mekong Subregion Cross-Border Transport and Trade Facilitation Agreement (GMS Agreement), procedures must comply with such Agreement and guiding documents.
Article 76.Time limit for submission of customs dossiers
1. For automobiles on entry: Upon arrival of an automobile at a border gate, its operator or lawful representative shall submit or produce to the border-gate Customs Branch the documents specified in Article 74 of this Decree.
2. For automobiles on exit: Upon arrival of an automobile at a border gate, its operator or lawful representative shall submit or produce to the border-gate Customs Branch the documents specified in Article 75 of this Decree.
Article 77.Procedures for customs inspection and supervision of automobiles on entry or exit
1. Customs procedures for automobiles on entry or exit
a/ Customs offices receive customs dossiers;
b/ Customs offices perform risk management to examine dossiers, conduct physical inspection, and certify temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import for automobiles on entry or exit.
2. Customs supervision of automobiles on entry or exit
a/ Within a customs operation area, the customs office shall assume the prime responsibility for supervising with technical devices automobiles on entry or exit;
b/ Outside a customs operation area, the public security office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, inspecting and supervising automobiles on entry or exit.
3. In case of single-window one-stop inspection, regulations on customs procedures for single-window one-stop inspection or national single-window mechanism shall be complied with.
4. The Minister of Finance shall issue customs declaration forms and guide customs procedures for road vehicles on entry or exit.
Article 78.Customs procedures for automobiles on entry or exit not for commercial purposes
1. For a customs dossier for an automobile on entry (temporarily imported foreign automobile or re-imported Vietnamese automobile) under a bilateral agreement between Vietnam and a bordering country, a customs declarant shall:
a/ Produce the original of the transshipment permit granted by a competent agency;
b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration, for temporarily imported foreign automobiles;
c/ Produce the original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export: or submit one original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily exported for re-import, with temporary-export certification by the border-gate Customs Branch that has carried out temporary export procedures.
2. A customs dossier for a foreign automobile with right-hand drive specified in the Government’s Decree No. 80/2009/ND-CP of October 1, 2009, or a motor vehicle brought by a foreigner into Vietnam for the tourism purpose specified in the Government’s Decree No. 152/2013/ND-CP of November 4, 2013, must comprise:
a/ The original of the Ministry of Transport’s approval;
b/ The original of the vehicle registration;
c/ The original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export.
3. For a custom dossier for an automobile on exit (temporarily exported Vietnamese automobile or re-exported foreign automobile), a customs declarant shall:
a/ Produce the original of the written permission of a competent agency;
b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration, for temporarily exported Vietnamese automobiles;
c/ Submit one original of the declaration of road vehicles of transport temporarily imported for re-export, with temporary-import certification by the border-gate Customs Branch that has carried out temporary import procedures.
4. Customs offices shall carry out procedures for customs inspection and supervision under Clauses 1 and 2, Article 77 of this Decree.
Section 5
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF OTHER VEHICLES ON EXIT AND ENTRY OR IN TRANSIT
Article 79.Customs procedures for waterway craft (boats, canoes and motorboats) on exit or entry via riverway border gates
1. For a customs dossier for waterway craft on entry (temporarily imported foreign boats, canoes and motorboats and re-imported Vietnamese boats, canoes and motorboats), a customs declarant shall:
a/ Produce the original of the cross-border navigation permit issued by a competent agency;
b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration paper, for temporarily imported foreign waterway craft;
c/ Produce 1 original of the declaration for riverway craft temporarily imported for re-export, or submit 1 original of the declaration for riverway craft temporarily exported for re-import with temporary import certification by the Customs Branch of the border gate that performs temporary export procedures;
d/ Submit 1 original of the list of persons on board the craft (if any);
dd/ Submit 1 original of the manifest of provisions on board the craft.
2. For a customs dossier for waterway craft on exit (re-exported foreign boats, canoes and motorboats and temporarily exported Vietnamese boats, canoes and motorboats), the customs declarant shall:
a/ Produce the original of the cross-border navigation permit issued by a competent agency;
b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration paper, for temporarily exported Vietnamese waterway craft;
c/ Submit 1 original of the declaration for riverway craft temporarily imported for re-export with temporary import certification by the Customs Branch of the border gate that performs temporary import procedures, or produce the original of the declaration for riverway craft temporarily exported for re-import;
d/ Submit 1 original of the list of persons on board the craft (if any);
dd/ Submit the original of the manifest of provisions on board the craft.
3. Customs declarants shall produce dossiers for waterway craft (boats, canoes and motorboats) on exit or entry as prescribed in Clause 1 or 2 of this Article.
4. Customs offices shall receive customs dossiers and perform risk management to check the dossiers, conduct physical inspection and certify the temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import of waterway craft on entry or exit.
5. Customs supervision of waterway craft
a/ Within a customs operation area, the customs office shall use technical equipment to supervise waterway craft on entry or exit;
b/ Outside a customs operation area, the public security agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, inspecting and supervising waterway craft on entry or exit.
6. The Minister of Finance shall issue the form of customs declaration and guide e-customs procedures for riverway craft on exit or entry.
Article 80.Customs procedures for motorcycles and mopeds on exit or entry
1. For a customs dossier for a motorcycle or moped on entry (temporarily imported foreign motorcycles and mopeds and re-imported Vietnamese motorcycles or mopeds), a customs declarant shall:
a/ Produce the original of the written permission (if any) of a competent agency;
b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration paper, for temporarily imported foreign motorcycles and mopeds;
c/ Produce the original of the declaration for road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export, or submit 1 original of the declaration for road vehicles temporarily exported for re-import with temporary import certification by the Customs Branch of the border gate that performs temporary export procedures.
2. For a customs dossier for a motorcycle or moped on exit (re-exported foreign motorcycles and mopeds and temporarily exported Vietnamese motorcycles and mopeds), a customs declarant shall:
a/ Produce the original of the written permission (if any) of a competent agency;
b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration paper, for temporarily exported Vietnamese motorcycles and mopeds;
c/ Submit 1 original of the declaration for road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export with temporary import certification by the Customs Branch of the border gate that performs temporary import procedures, or produce 1 original of the declaration for road vehicles temporarily exported for re-import.
3. Customs offices shall receive customs dossiers and conduct risk management operations to check the dossiers, conduct physical inspection and certify the temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import of motorcycles and motor vehicles on entry or exit.
4. Customs supervision of motorcycles and mopeds on entry or exit
a/ Within a customs operation area, the customs office shall use technical equipment to supervise motorcycles and mopeds on entry or exit;
b/ Outside a customs operation area, the public security agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, inspecting and supervising motorcycles and mopeds on entry or exit.
Article 81.Customs inspection and supervision of vehicles of persons and organizations crossing the border
1. Vehicles of organizations and persons crossing the border to deliver and receive goods in border areas must comply with relevant regulations on goods import and export and exit and entry of vehicles and treaties between Vietnam and bordering countries.
2. Vehicles of persons and organizations entering border areas for goods delivery and receipt include:
a/ Foreign trucks that enter Vietnamese border gates for delivery of imports or receipt of exports;
b/ Vietnamese trucks that cross the border for delivery of exports or receipt of imports and then return to Vietnam;
c/ Foreign boats and canoes that enter Vietnamese border gates for delivery of imports or receipt of exports;
d/ Vietnamese boats and canoes that cross the border for delivery of exports or receipt of imports and then return to Vietnam.
The duration for vehicles prescribed at Points a and b, Clause 2 of this Article to deliver and receive goods must not exceed 24 hours and that for vehicles prescribed at Points c and d, Clause 2 of this Article must not exceed 72 hours.
3. Rudimentary vehicles means human-powered vehicles (pulled or dragged vehicles). Rudimentary vehicles must operate within border gates and border areas. Customs declarants for rudimentary vehicles transporting imports or exports shall submit import or export declarations to customs offices.
Customs offices shall supervise rudimentary vehicles during their operation within border gates.
4. For vehicles mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, if wishing to prolong their stay within border gates, their operators or goods owners shall send a written request to the head of the Customs Branch concerned for consideration and extension; the extended time must not exceed 48 hours.
5. To conduct customs inspection and supervision of vehicles of persons, agencies or organizations in border areas that regularly cross the border to meet their daily-life needs.
6. Vehicles prescribed in this Article may be temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import only via the same border gate. Border-gate customs offices shall supervise these vehicles.
Chapter V
ESTABLISHMENT PROCEDURES FOR AND OPERATION OF BONDED WAREHOUSES, TAX SUSPENSION WAREHOUSES AND CONTAINER FREIGHT STATIONS
Section 1
BONDED WAREHOUSES
Article 82.Establishment of bonded warehouses
1. Conditions for establishment of a bonded warehouse:
a/ A bonded warehouse shall be established within an area prescribed in Clause 1, Article 62 of the Customs Law; or an area planned for development of logistics services for the export of mass-produced agricultural, forest and aquatic products. A bonded warehouse shall be separated from surrounding areas by fences and must be subject to regular inspection and supervision by the customs office, except a warehouse within a border gate or port with fences separating it from surrounding areas;
b/ The bonded warehouse owner must be a lawfully established enterprise doing the business of commercially operating storehouses and storing yards, forwarding imports and exports or providing customs procedure agency services;
c/ A bonded warehouse must have a minimum area of 5,000 m2(including storehouses, storing yards and auxiliary works), of which the area of storehouses must be at least 1,000 m2. For keeping one type or several types of goods with special preservation requirements, a bonded warehouse must be at least 1,000 m2large. Particularly, a specialized bonded storing yard must be at least 10,000 m2large and no requirement is imposed on its storehouse area;
d/ The bonded warehouse owner must keep a computerized accounting system which meets the criteria prescribed by the state management agency to monitor and manage warehoused, ex-warehoused, stored and backlogged goods, and is directly connected to the bonded warehouse-managing customs office. A bonded warehouse shall be equipped with cameras serving the customs office’s supervision of warehoused, ex-warehoused and backlogged goods.
2. Establishment dossier:
a/ Application for establishment of a bonded warehouse, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance: 1 original;
b/ Business registration certificate indicating the business of commercially operating storehouses and storing yards: 1 copy;
c/ Design plan of the area of storehouses and storing yards, clearly indicating their boundaries, locations of goods storehouses, internal roads for goods transportation, fire and explosion prevention and fighting systems, security offices, office of the bonded warehouse, and working place of the customs office;
d/ Paper proving land use rights: 1 copy.
3. Establishment procedures:
a/ An enterprise shall submit the dossier prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article to the provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Department;
b/ Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier from the enterprise, the provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Department shall complete the checking of the dossier and inspection of the actual state of storehouses and storing yards; and shall report to and propose the General Department of Customs to issue an establishment decision if the establishment conditions are met;
c/ Within 7 working days after receiving a report from the provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Department, enclosed with the establishment dossier, the General Director of Customs shall issue a decision establishing a bonded warehouse or issue a written reply to the Customs Department and applying enterprise if the establishment conditions are not met.
4. An enterprise that wishes to narrow, expand, transfer the ownership of, or relocate a bonded warehouse and meets the conditions prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall send a dossier to the provincial-level Customs Department. The dossier must comprise:
a/ Written request for relocation, expansion or narrowing of the bonded warehouse: 1 original;
b/ Plan of storehouses and storing yards in the place where the bonded warehouse will be relocated to, expanded or narrowed: 1 copy;
c/ Paper proving the right to use storehouses and storing yards upon relocation or expansion: 1 copy.
The order and procedures for relocation, expansion or narrowing of a bonded warehouse are the same as those for establishment of a bonded warehouse prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article. Particularly, the expansion or narrowing of a bonded warehouse shall be decided by the director of the provincial-level Customs Department.
5. If renaming the owner of the bonded warehouse established under the decision of the General Department of Customs as certified in writing by a competent state agency, the enterprise shall notify in writing such renaming to the managing Customs Branch for information and monitoring.
6. Cases of termination of operation of a bonded warehouse:
a/ The provincial-level Customs Department requests in writing the termination of the operation of a bonded warehouse due to its failure to satisfy the customs inspection and supervision conditions and establishment conditions prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article;
b/ The enterprise requests in writing the termination of the operation of the bonded warehouse;
c/ The enterprise fails to put the bonded warehouse into operation without a plausible reason after six months from the date of issuance of the establishment decision;
d/ The enterprise has committed in a year three administrative violations regarding management of bonded warehouses and has been fined for each violation at a level falling beyond the sanctioning competence of the head of a Customs Branch.
Article 83.Bonded warehouse services
Owners of goods consigned to bonded warehouses shall themselves provide or authorize owners of bonded warehouses or customs procedure agents to provide the following services for such goods:
1. Reinforcing, dividing into packages and packaging; consolidatingLess than Container Loadgoods; classifying and maintaining goods.
2. Taking goods samples for management work or customs clearance.
3. Transferring the ownership of goods.
4. Preparing, and changing the types of, goods, for bonded warehouses specialized in storing chemicals, petrol and oil that meet customs and relevant specialized state management requirements.
Article 84.Lease of bonded warehouses
1. Entities eligible to lease bonded warehouses:
a/ Vietnamese organizations and individuals of all economic sectors that are licensed to conduct import and export business;
b/ Foreign organizations and individuals.
2. Bonded warehouse lease contracts:
a/ A bonded warehouse lease contract shall be agreed upon by the bonded warehouse owner and goods owner in accordance with law, unless the goods owner is also the bonded warehouse owner;
b/ The validity duration and lease term shall be agreed upon between the goods owner and bonded warehouse owner and indicated in the bonded warehouse lease contract but must not exceed the period during which the goods are permitted for consignment to the bonded warehouse as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 61 of the Customs Law;
c/ Past the bonded warehouse lease term prescribed in Clause 1, Article 61 of the Customs Law, if the goods owner or his/her authorized person fails to bring the goods out of the bonded warehouse, or within the bonded warehouse lease term, if the goods owner or his/her authorized person requests in writing the goods liquidation, the Customs Department shall organize the liquidation of such goods in accordance with law.
Article 85.Goods consigned to bonded warehouses
1. Goods from Vietnam for which export procedures have been completely cleared and goods from abroad awaiting customs clearance for import into Vietnam or awaiting export to a third country, of entities eligible to lease bonded warehouses as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 84 of this Decree, shall be consigned to bonded warehouses.
2. Goods from abroad to be consigned to bonded warehouses include:
a/ Goods of foreign owners that have not yet signed contracts on sale of goods to domestic enterprises;
b/ Goods imported from abroad by Vietnamese enterprises for circulation on the domestic market or export to a third country;
c/ Goods brought from abroad into bonded warehouses for export to a third country.
3. Goods from Vietnam’s inland to be consigned to bonded warehouses include:
a/ Goods already cleared from customs procedures and awaiting export;
b/ Goods required to be re-exported before the temporary import duration expires.
4. The following goods may not be consigned to bonded warehouses:
a/ Goods bearing counterfeit Vietnamese brands or origin names;
b/ Dangerous or polluting goods;
c/ Goods banned or suspended from import or export, except cases permitted by the Prime Minister.
In addition to the goods specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 4 of this Article, based on the import and export situation in each period, the Prime Minister shall decide on the list of imports and exports not permitted to be consigned to bonded warehouses.
Article 86.Management of storage and preservation of goods consigned to bonded warehouses
1. Goods stored and preserved in bonded warehouses must be compatible with those stated in bonded warehouse lease contracts; specialized bonded warehouses may store only goods items suitable to their preservation and storage conditions.
2. Goods brought into or out of bonded warehouses shall be cleared from customs procedures in accordance with law. Particularly for machinery, equipment or other kinds of goods supplied from the inland into a bonded warehouse to serve packaging, classification or maintenance activities, the goods owner or authorized person are not required to carry out customs procedures for them but shall notify such to the bonded warehouse-managing Customs Branch for monitoring.
3. Information technology equipment shall be used to manage goods brought into and out of bonded warehouses and information on the actual state of goods in the warehouses and operation of the warehouses shall be provided to customs offices via information technology systems connected to customs offices.
4. If wishing to destroy lots of goods which are broken, damaged, deteriorated or which expire during their storage, the bonded warehouse owner shall obtain written agreement from the goods owner or his/her lawful representative on the destruction. Such written agreement shall be sent to the Customs Department of the locality where the bonded warehouse is situated, for monitoring. The goods owner or bonded warehouse owner shall take responsibility and pay expenses for the goods destruction in accordance with law.
Article 87.Customs supervision of bonded warehouses
1. Vehicles entering or leaving and goods brought into or out of and services provided in bonded warehouses are subject to inspection and supervision by customs offices. Customs offices shall base themselves on kinds of goods consigned to and operation of bonded warehouses as well as law observance by bonded warehouse owners to apply appropriate supervision measures.
2. Before providing the services of reinforcing, dividing into packages and packaging; consolidating Less than Container Load goods; classifying and maintaining goods; and taking goods samples in a bonded warehouse, the goods owner or bonded warehouse owner shall notify such in writing to the bonded warehouse-managing Customs Branch for monitoring and supervision.
3. Goods transported from a border gate to a bonded warehouse and vice versa and from a bonded warehouse to another place of customs clearance outside a border gate and vice versa are subject to customs clearance, inspection and supervision.
Article 88.Customs procedures for goods brought into or out of bonded warehouses
1. For goods brought from abroad, the inland or a non-tariff area into a bonded warehouse, the goods owner or his/her authorized person shall carry out warehousing procedures at the bonded warehouse-managing Customs Branch.
2. For goods brought from a bonded warehouse abroad or into the inland or a non-tariff area, the goods owner or his/her authorized person shall declare information on ex-warehoused goods to the bonded warehouse-managing Customs Branch. Goods imported into Vietnam’s markets must undergo customs procedures like goods imported from abroad according to the corresponding form of import; the actual time of import of goods is the time when the customs office certifies the ex-warehousing of the goods.
Goods consigned to a bonded warehouse which are required to be re-exported under decisions of competent state management agencies may not be re-imported into Vietnam’s markets.
3. Goods transported from a border gate of import to a bonded warehouse, goods brought from a bonded warehouse to a border gate of export, and goods brought from the inland into a bonded warehouse and vice versa must undergo customs procedures like transported goods subject to customs supervision, except goods for which the procedures for export from the inland have been completed or goods for which combined transportation declarations have been made upon carrying out the procedures for import into the inland.
4. The Minister of Finance shall guide customs procedures for and customs inspection and supervision of goods brought out of or into bonded warehouses and guide the handling of goods which are backlogged after the duration of storage in bonded warehouses.
Section 2
CONTAINER FREIGHT STATIONS (CFSs)
Article 89.Establishment of inland CFSs
1. Conditions for establishment of a CFS
A place where a CFS is to be established must satisfy the following conditions:
a/ Storehouses and storing yards for establishment of the CFS are located within the area prescribed in Clause 1, Article 62 of the Customs Law;
b/ The enterprise has registered the business of forwarding and transporting imports and exports and commercially operating storehouses and storing yards;
c/ The CFS is at least 1,000 m2large, exclusive of the area of storing yards and auxiliary works;
d/ It ensures working conditions for the customs office, such as working office, place for goods inspection, place for installation of equipment for customs inspection, and storehouse for exhibits;
dd/ Storehouses and storing yards have fences separating them from surrounding areas and are equipped with cameras meeting the customs office’s requirements;
e/ Goods brought out of and into storehouses and storing yards are managed by a computer system connected to the customs office’s supervision system.
2. Establishment dossier:
a/ Application for establishment of a CFS, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance: 1 original;
b/ Economic-technical study report for construction of the CFS: 1 copy;
c/ Paper proving land use rights: 1 copy;
d/ Business registration certificate stating the business of commercially operating storehouses and storing yards: 1 copy.
3. Establishment procedures:
a/ An enterprise shall submit a dossier prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article to the provincial-level Customs Department;
b/ Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier from the enterprise, the Customs Department shall complete the checking of the dossier and inspection of the actual state of storehouses and storing yards, and report to and propose the General Department of Customs to issue a decision establishing the CFS if the establishment conditions are met;
c/ Within 7 working days after receiving the Customs Department’s report, enclosed with the establishment dossier, the General Director of Customs shall issue a decision establishing the CFS or issue a written reply to the Customs Department and applying enterprise if the prescribed conditions are not met.
For a CFS within a seaport or an inland port for goods import and export, an enterprise is not required to carry out establishment procedures prescribed in Clause 2 or 3 of this Article. Before operating the CFS, the enterprise shall notify such to the Customs Branch of this seaport or port.
4. An enterprise that wishes to narrow, expand, transfer the ownership of, or relocate a CFS and meets the conditions prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall send a dossier to the provincial-level Customs Department. The dossier must comprise:
a/ A written request for relocation, expansion or narrowing of the CFS: 1 original;
b/ A plan of storehouses and storing yards in the place where the CFS will be relocated to, expanded or narrowed: 1 copy;
c/ Paper(s) proving the right to use storehouses or storing yards upon relocation or expansion: 1 copy.
The order and procedures for relocation, expansion or narrowing of a CFS are the same as those for establishment of a CFS prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article. Particularly, the expansion or narrowing of a CFS shall be decided by the director of the provincial-level Customs Department.
5. If renaming the owner of the CFS established under the decision of the General Department of Customs as certified in writing by a competent state agency, an enterprise shall notify such in writing to the managing Customs Branch for information and monitoring.
6. Cases of termination of operation of a CFS:
a/ The provincial-level Customs Department requests in writing the termination of operation of a CFS due to its failure to satisfy the customs inspection and supervision conditions and establishment conditions prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article;
b/ The enterprise requests in writing the termination of operation of the CFS;
c/ The enterprise fails to operate the CFS without a plausible reason after six months from the date of issuance of the establishment decision;
d/ The enterprise has in a year committed three administrative violations regarding CFS management and has been fined for each violation at a level falling beyond the sanctioning competence of the head of a Customs Branch.
Article 90.Services permitted in a CFS
1. Packaging, re-packaging, arranging or re-arranging goods awaiting export.
2. Bringing in-transit or transshipped goods into a CFS within a port in order to be divided or consolidated together with export containers or with Vietnamese exports.
3. Dividing lots of imports to await clearance of import procedures or consolidating them in containers together with other lots of exports for export to a third country.
4. Transferring the ownership of goods during storage.
Article 91.Customs management and supervision
1. Imports or exports which are stored in a CFS beyond the time limit specified in Clause 3, Article 61 of the Customs Law and are not brought out of such CFS shall be handled in accordance with Article 57 of the Customs Law.
2. CFSs, goods stored in CFSs as well as activities carried out and services provided in CFSs are subject to customs inspection and supervision.
3. Goods transported from a border gate to a CFS outside this border gate and vice versa or goods transported from a CFS to another place for customs clearance outside a border gate and vice versa must undergo customs procedures and are subject to customs inspection and supervision.
4. Customs supervision of goods stored in CFSs must comply with Section 3, Chapter III of the Customs Law.
Section 3
TAX-SUSPENSION WAREHOUSES
Article 92.Procedures for establishment of a tax-suspension warehouse
1. An enterprise recognized as a priority enterprise may establish a tax-suspension warehouse if meeting the following conditions:
a/ The enterprise has accounting books and applies information technology that meet the criteria set by state management agencies for monitoring and managing warehoused, ex-warehoused, stored and backlogged goods;
b/ The tax-suspension warehouse is within the enterprise’s production area, separated from the area for storing materials and supplies ineligible for tax suspension, and equipped with cameras meeting the customs office’s requirements for supervision of ex-warehoused and warehoused goods.
2. An export production enterprise earning an export turnover of at least USD 40 million may establish a tax-suspension warehouse and shall, in addition to the conditions prescribed at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article, meet the following conditions:
a/ Having conducted export activities for at least 2 consecutive years without violating the customs and tax laws;
b/ Complying with the accounting and statistics laws;
c/ Making via-bank payment in accordance with law.
3. Dossier for establishment of a tax-suspension warehouse
An export production enterprise that wishes to establish a tax-suspension warehouse shall send a dossier to the Customs Department of the locality where its production establishment is based. The dossier must comprise:
a/ Written request for establishment of a tax-suspension warehouse;
b/ Design plan of the warehouse area: 1 copy.
4. Within 5 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier from an enterprise, the Customs Department shall:
a/ Examine the establishment conditions and check the establishment dossier;
b/ Conduct field surveys of storehouses and storing yards;
c/ Make a report and its proposal and send the dossier to the General Department of Customs.
5. Within 7 working days after receiving a complete dossier for establishment of a tax-suspension warehouse from the provincial-level Customs Department, the General Director of Customs shall decide to establish the tax-suspension warehouse if the conditions prescribed in Clause 1 or 2 of this Article are met.
Article 93.Customs procedures for materials and supplies brought into or out of tax-suspension warehouses
1. Customs procedures for imported materials and supplies brought into tax-suspension warehouses are the same as those for goods imported for export production, except the tax payment procedures.
2. Goods brought into a tax-suspension warehouse may be used only for producing exports of the owner of this tax-suspension warehouse.
3. When putting materials and supplies into production, enterprises shall manage and monitor them in accordance with the accounting and statistics laws.
Article 94.Examination and supervision of tax-suspension warehouses
1. Once every year, customs offices shall examine enterprises in managing tax-suspension warehouses. The examination covers:
a/ Examining the compliance with Clause 1, Article 92 of this Decree;
b/ Examining the actual quantity of backlogged goods; comparing this quantity with the quantity of backlogged goods shown in accounting books and documents used for monitoring tax-suspension warehouses, and reporting on the use of materials by enterprises.
2. Handling of examination results:
a/ In case an enterprise fails to meet the conditions prescribed in Clause 1, Article 92 of this Decree or if the goods stored in tax-suspension warehouses are not those serving export production, the enterprise shall be handled in accordance with law;
b/ An enterprise that fails to properly comply with regulations on accounting and documents for monitoring the import, export, ex-warehousing and warehousing of goods shall, depending on the severity of its violations, be handled in accordance with law;
c/ If detecting through examination that the actual quantity of backlogged goods does not coincide with that shown in accounting books or documents for monitoring tax-suspension warehouses and reports on the use of materials by the enterprise, the enterprise shall, depending on the severity of its violations, be handled in accordance with law.
3. Extraordinary examination of backlogged materials and supplies:
In the course of monitoring the use of materials and supplies stored in a tax-suspension warehouse, if the customs office detects that an enterprise has imported many materials and supplies eligible for tax suspension but the quantity of exported products is smaller than the registered quantity, or when the customs office has sufficient information on the enterprise’s sale of materials and supplies eligible for tax suspension into the inland, it shall examine the quantity of backlogged materials and supplies for determining violations of the enterprise and handle the enterprise in accordance with law.
4. Enterprises shall organize the management of their own tax-suspension warehouses and closely coordinate with customs offices in the examination and supervision of these warehouses.
Article 95.Reporting on use of materials and supplies in tax-suspension warehouses
1. Owners of tax-suspension warehouses shall quarterly report on the management and use of goods stored in their tax-suspension warehouses and register plans for putting such goods into production in the subsequent period with their managing customs offices, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance.
2. When a plan year draws to an end (December 31 every year), enterprises shall make reports not later than January 31 of the subsequent year in accordance with Point dd, Clause 2, Article 63 of the Customs Law according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance.
Enterprises having tax-suspension warehouses shall take responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of their reports on the use of materials and supplies stored in their tax-suspension warehouses.
Article 96.Disposal of damaged or deteriorated materials and supplies in tax-suspension warehouses
When materials and supplies stored in tax-suspension warehouses are damaged or deteriorated, thus failing to meet production requirements, customs procedures shall be carried out for their re-export or destruction. Re-export procedures are the same as those for imported goods which are required to be re-exported. Destruction procedures are as follows:
1. An enterprise shall send a written request to the Customs Department managing the tax-suspension warehouse, clearly stating the reason for destruction, names, types and quantities of materials and supplies, and the serial number and date of issuance of their import customs declaration.
2. The enterprise shall itself organize, and take responsibility for, the destruction. The destruction shall be conducted under the supervision of the customs office and environmental agency, for goods managed under the law on environmental protection.
3. After destruction, a minutes shall be made and contain the full name and signature of the destruction supervisor.
4. Once destructed, imported materials and supplies eligible for tax suspension are not subject to import duty and value-added tax on imports.
Chapter VI
POST-CUSTOMS CLEARANCE INSPECTION
Article 97.Post-customs clearance inspection at customs offices
1. For customs dossiers prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 78 of the Customs Law, directors of provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Departments or heads of Customs Branches shall issue decisions on post-customs clearance inspection at customs offices. For goods which are in large quantities and of complicated types and involve tax risks, directors of provincial-level Customs Departments shall issue decisions on post-customs clearance inspection at the offices of customs declarants.
2. The Ministry of Finance shall stipulate in detail the post-customs clearance inspection at customs offices.
Article 98.Post-customs clearance inspection at offices of customs declarants
1. Post-customs clearance inspection at the offices of customs declarants shall be conducted for the cases specified in Article 78 of the Customs Law, except customs dossiers already checked in accordance with Clause 1, Article 97 of this Decree;
2. Competence to decide on post-customs clearance inspection for assessing customs declarants’ law observance:
a/ The General Director of Customs shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection to assess the law observance of priority enterprises, enterprises implementing national key projects, groups and corporations having export production establishments, and branches carrying out import and export activities in many localities;
b/ Directors of provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Departments shall conduct post-customs clearance inspection to assess the law observance of enterprises based in localities under their management;
c/ The Director of the Post Clearance Audit Department shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection to assess the law observance of enterprises, except the cases specified at Points a and b of this Clause.
3. Competence to decide on post-customs clearance inspection for the cases prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 78 of the Customs Law:
a/ Directors of provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Departments shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection for customs declarants that carry out customs procedures within localities under their management;
b/ The Director of the Post Clearance Audit Department shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection nationwide.
4. Within 5 working days after finishing post-customs clearance inspection, the head of the inspection team shall sign the inspection minutes. Within 5 days after the signing date of the minutes, the customs declarant shall give sufficient explanations (if any).
5. Within 15 working days after finishing post-customs clearance inspection, the inspection decider shall sign the inspection conclusion and send it to the customs declarant.
6. In case the customs office has to wait for a competent agency’s expert opinion on the inspection conclusion, the time limit for signing the inspection conclusion is 15 days counting from the date of receiving the written opinion of the competent agency. The competent specialized agency shall give its opinion within 30 days after receiving a request from the customs office.
If the competent specialized agency fails to give a written opinion after the 30-day time limit, the customs office shall issue the inspection conclusion.
Article 99.Modification, supplementation, suspension or annulment of post-customs clearance inspection decisions
1. The modification or supplementation of a post-customs clearance inspection decision shall be considered by its issuer in the following cases:
a/ There is a change in membership of the inspection team, or in the time, scope and content of inspection;
b/ The decision contains errors in its format, content or presentation technique.
2. The suspension of a post-customs clearance inspection decision shall be considered by its issuer in the following cases:
a/ The customs declarant is currently subject to examination, inspection or investigation by a tax, inspection, state audit or public security agency;
b/ The customs declarant cannot implement the decision due to aforce majeureevent.
3. A post-customs clearance inspection decision shall be cancelled by its issuer in case the customs declarant has absconded, dissolved, gone bankrupt, been missing or terminated its operation or in other cases, making the customs office unable to enforce the decision. A decision cancelling the post-customs clearance inspection decision must clearly state the reason for cancellation.
Article 100.Handling of post-customs clearance inspection results
1. The head of a Customs Branch who has issued a post-customs clearance inspection decision shall:
a/ Issue a tax assessment decision;
b/ Issue tax and customs-related administrative decisions in accordance with regulations;
c/ Collect taxes and urge the customs declarant to pay taxes under tax assessment decisions and to pay late-payment interests (if any) in accordance with law;
d/ Issue decisions on and organize tax payment coercion in accordance with law;
dd/ Institute a criminal case in accordance with the criminal procedure law;
e/ Monitor and enter data into the accounting program.
2. The director of a provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Department who has issued a post-customs clearance inspection decision shall:
a/ Issue a tax assessment decision;
b/ Issue tax and customs-related administrative decisions in accordance with regulations;
c/ Issue decisions on, and organize, tax payment coercion in accordance with law;
d/ Institute a criminal case in accordance with the criminal procedure law;
dd/ Collect taxes and urge the customs declarant to pay taxes under tax assessment decisions and to pay late-payment interests (if any) in accordance with law;
e/ Organize the monitoring and entry of data into the accounting program.
3. The General Director of Customs who has issued a post-customs clearance inspection decision shall:
a/ Issue a tax assessment decision;
b/ Issue tax and customs-related administrative decisions in accordance with regulations;
c/ Issue decisions on, and organize, tax payment coercion in accordance with law;
d/ Collect taxes and urge the customs declarant to pay taxes under tax assessment decisions and to pay late-payment interests (if any) in accordance with law;
dd/ Transfer the case to a competent person for instituting a criminal case in accordance with the criminal procedure law;
e/ Organize the monitoring and entry of data into the accounting program.
4. The Director of the Post Clearance Audit Department who has issued the post-customs clearance inspection decision shall:
a/ Issue tax and customs-related administrative decisions in accordance with regulations;
b/ Collect taxes and urge the customs declarant to pay taxes under tax assessment decisions and to pay late-payment interests (if any) in accordance with law;
c/ Issue decisions on, and organize, tax payment coercion in accordance with law;
d/ Institute a criminal case in accordance with the criminal procedure law;
dd/ Monitor and enter data into the accounting program.
e/ Propose the General Director of Customs to issue a tax assessment decision.
Chapter VII
CUSTOMS CONTROL MEASURES
Article 101.Customs control measures
1. Customs control measures include:
a/ Mobilizing people to participate in preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods;
b/ Conducting customs patrol;
c/ Collecting and studying information about areas and routes for goods transportation, cases, phenomena, vehicles on exit and entry or in transit, and related persons;
d/ Collecting and studying information about persons who show signs of carrying out activities related to smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods;
dd/ Collecting and processing domestic and overseas information relating to customs activities. Sending customs officers abroad to verify and collect information and documents in accordance with Vietnam’s law and treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party;
e/ Selecting, training and employing persons who are outside the payroll of customs offices to perform the tasks of preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods;
g/ Assigning customs officers to examine, supervise and monitor activities of smugglers and persons illegally transporting goods across the border;
h/ Using professional technical equipment in accordance with law for examining, supervising and monitoring activities of smugglers and person illegally transporting goods across the border.
2. Customs offices may combine customs control measures and technical equipment for preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.
3. The Ministry of Finance shall issue regulations on implementation of customs control measures specified in this Article.
Article 102.Customs patrol
1. Customs offices shall organize forces and vehicles for conducting patrol within customs operation areas to prevent and combat smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.
2. During patrol, customs offices may:
a/ Use signal lights, flags, flares, loudspeakers and whistles to give commands;
b/ Stop vehicles for searching vehicles and goods thereon when detecting signs of violation of the customs law;
c/ Search people, vehicles and articles in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations;
d/ Temporarily detain people and seize exhibits and vehicles involved in violations in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations;
dd/ Control forces that, while patrolling the internal waters or territorial sea, detect any vessels showing signs of law violation shall give signals to stop the vessels for examination in accordance with the Law of the Sea of Vietnam. If a search is required, the vessels shall be instructed to move to a port or place of anchorage to ensure safety for the search. The search shall be conducted in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations.
Upon finishing the examination, the customs office shall make a minutes and send a copy thereof to the vehicle owner or operator.
Article 103.Postponement of the departure and stoppage of vehicles
1. Customs offices may postpone the departure of, and stop, vehicles in the following cases:
a/ They have received information about acts of smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods and ascertained that such information is reliable;
b/ They have received from functional agencies information about acts of smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods or their requests for stoppage or postponement of the departure of vehicles;
c/ They have received from customs offices of other countries information about acts of smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods;
d/ During customs patrol or control, they detect vehicles that show signs of smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods;
dd/ They detect that vehicles that transport goods currently undergoing customs procedures or goods not yet permitted for customs clearance or release intentionally move out of areas under customs control;
e/ They have grounds to believe that vehicles are transporting illicit goods or show other signs of violation of the customs law.
2. Competence to postpone the departure of, and stop, vehicles:
a/ Heads of Customs Branches, heads of customs control teams under provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Departments, and heads of anti-smuggling and control teams under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department may stop, and postpone the departure of, vehicles within their customs operation areas.
When having grounds to believe that, unless vehicles are promptly stopped, exhibits, documents or vehicles can be dispersed or destroyed, customs officers on duty may stop the vehicles for search and immediately report such to a competent person mentioned in this Clause;
b/ Heads of marine control teams under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department and heads of customs control teams under provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Departments may stop, and postpone the departure of, vessels in the internal waters and territorial sea in accordance with the Law on the Sea of Vietnam.
3. Customs officers may use signal lights, flags, flares, loudspeakers and whistles to stop vehicles.
The postponement of the departure of vehicles must have a decision of a competent agency prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article. Customs offices shall notify maritime authorities of the postponement of the departure of inland waterway and seaway craft.
4. Persons who issue decisions to postpone the departure of, or stop, vehicles shall take responsibility before law for their decisions.
Article 104.Chasing vehicles or smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border
1. When having grounds to believe that smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border or vehicles transporting such goods are moving out of a customs operation area, the customs office shall continue to chase them for prevention and handling in accordance with law.
2. Heads of Customs Branches, heads of customs control teams under provincial-level or inter-provincial Customs Departments, and heads of anti-smuggling control teams, and heads of marine control teams under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department may decide on the chase.
When having grounds to believe that, unless they are promptly chased, vehicles or smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border can be dispersed or destroyed, customs officers on duty may chase the vehicles and goods and immediately report such to a competent person mentioned in this Clause.
3. When chasing vehicles or smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border, customs officers prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article are entitled to stop the vehicles.
4. The chase and stoppage of vehicles and smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border shall be notified to public security agencies, border guards, coast guards and market management agencies in localities for coordination and application of prevention and handling measures in accordance with law.
Chapter VIII
CUSTOMS INFORMATION
Article 105.Customs information
Customs information includes:
1. Information from customs operations:
a/ Information in customs dossiers for goods and vehicles imported, exported, on exit or entry or in transit;
b/ Customs operation information collected from customs inspection, supervision and control of goods and vehicles imported, exported, on exit or entry or in transit.
2. Information from related ministries and ministerial-level agencies:
a/ Information on policies on the management of goods produced, imported, exported or in transit and vehicles on exit or entry or in transit in different specialized management fields;
b/ Information on the grant of permits for imports and exports and vehicles on exit or entry or in transit;
c/ Information on the handling of import and export-related violations of organizations and individuals.
3. Information on organizations and individuals engaged or involved in production, import, export, exit, entry or transit activities:
a/ Information on registration, establishment, dissolution, bankruptcy and financial situation;
b/ Information on production, trading, import, export, exit, entry or transit activities;
c/ Information on observance of the customs, tax, accounting and statistics laws;
d/ Other information relating to import, export, exit, entry or transit activities carried out by organizations and persons.
4. Other information relating to the state management of customs.
Article 106.Customs offices’ responsibility to collect and provide information
1. Customs offices shall collect customs information, covering:
a/ Receiving and processing customs information through the provision, exchange, connection and sharing of information with state management agencies and organizations and individuals related to the customs sector;
b/ Taking other necessary professional measures to collect relevant information on goods, vehicles, organizations and individuals involved in import, export, entry, exit or transit activities.
2. Customs offices shall provide customs information, covering:
a/ Providing information on customs-related regimes, policies and guidelines to organizations and individuals engaged or involved in production, import, export, entry, exit or transit activities;
b/ Providing customs declarants with information relating to their rights and obligations;
c/ Providing customs information to justice agencies and other state management agencies;
d/ Providing customs statistical information in accordance with the statistics law;
dd/ Providing customs declarants with information about their customs dossiers inforce majeurecases to restore their customs dossier data.
Article 107.State management agencies’ responsibility to provide information
1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and justice agencies shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, provide customs offices with:
a/ Information relating to policies on the management of imports, exports and in-transit goods and vehicles on entry and exit or in transit, and information about goods in their specialized management fields;
b/ Information on the grant of permits for imports, exports and in-transit goods and vehicles on entry and exit or in transit;
c/ Information on organizations and individuals that have been handled for their violations and results of handling violations related to import and export activities in their management fields;
d/ Information about seaports, border river ports, inland waterway ports, international airports and international railway stations through which imports and exports are transported;
dd/ Information about organizations and individuals carrying out import and export activities;
e/ Information about persons on entry and exit and vehicles on entry and exit or in transit.
2. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, ministerial-level agencies and justice agencies in, elaborating specific regulations on the exchange and provision of customs information.
Article 108.Responsibility to provide information of organizations and individuals involved in the state management of customs
1. Credit institutions defined in the Law on Credit Institutions shall provide information to customs offices to serve information collection and processing, customs inspection, inspection, investigation, verification, and handling of acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border goods transportation, covering:
a/ Dossiers and information on payment transactions for imports and exports and tax payment relating to imports and exports via bank accounts of customs declarants; and information on banks’ guarantee amounts for taxpayers at the request of customs offices;
b/ Dossiers, documents and information on serial numbers of payment accounts, copies of detailed accounting books of payment accounts, copies of international payment documents, domestic payment documents and via-bank cross-border payment documents of organizations and individuals at the request of customs offices.
2. Insurance institutions shall, at the request of customs offices, provide dossiers and documents relating to insurance transactions to serve customs inspection, inspection, investigation, verification, and handling of acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border goods transportation.
3. Organizations and persons that are business partners or customers of customs declarants shall, at the request of customs offices, provide information relating to import and export activities of customs declarants.
4. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall, at the request of customs offices, provide information relating to the grant of certificates of origin of Vietnamese exports and information on registration and protection of intellectual property rights and technology transfer in Vietnam and abroad.
5. Business associations shall, at the request of customs offices, provide information on export contracts of customs declarants in case these associations are required by law to certify export contracts before customs clearance for exports.
Article 109.Forms of information provision
1. Customs information may be provided and exchanged in paper or electronic form. E-customs information must be valid as prescribed in the Law on E-Transactions.
2. E-customs information shall be exchanged and provided through computer networks or mobile communication networks in the form of emails or messages from addresses and telephone numbers officially announced by customs offices.
Chapter IX
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS
Article 110.Effect of the Decree
1. This Decree takes effect on March 15, 2015.
2. This Decree replaces the Government’s Decrees No. 154/2005/ND-CP of December 15, 2005, detailing a number of articles of the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection and supervision; No. 87/2012/ND-CP of October 23, 2012, detailing a number of articles of the Customs Law regarding e-customs procedures for commercial imports and exports; No. 66/2002/ND-CP of July 1, 2002, on luggage quotas for persons on entry and exit and tax-exempt imported gifts and donations; No. 06/2003/ND-CP of January 22, 2003, on classification of imports and exports; and No. 40/2007/ND-CP of March 16, 2007, on customs valuation for imports and exports.
3. To annul Clause 2 of Article 4, Articles 6 and 7, Clause 5 of Article 25, and Article 50, of the Government’s Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP of July 22, 2013, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Tax Administration; and the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 65/2004/QD-TTg of April 19, 2004, promulgating the Operation Regulation of customs forces specialized in the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods, and Decision No. 19/2011/QD-TTg of March 23, 2011, on pilot receipt of goods declarations and relevant documents and e-customs clearance for seagoing ships on entry and exit.
Article 111.Implementation responsibility
1. The Ministry of Finance shall guide the implementation of articles and clauses of this Decree as assigned.
2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decree.-
On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN TAN DUNG
Vietnamese
Decree 08/2015/NĐ-CP DOC (Word)
Decree 08/2015/NĐ-CP PDF (Original)
Decree 08/2015/NĐ-CP ZIP (Word)
