Decree No. 45/2016/ND-CP dated May 26, 2016 of the Government on amending a number articles of the Decree No. 127/2013/ND-CP dated October 15, 2013 of the Government promulgating the penalties on administrative violations and enforcement of administrative decisions in customs

THE GOVERNMENT

Decree No.  45/2016/ND-CP dated May 26, 2016 of the Government on amending a number articles of the Decree No. 127/2013/ND-CP dated October 15, 2013 of the Government promulgating the penalties on administrative violations and enforcement of administrative decisions in customs

Pursuant to the Law on Government organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Handling administrative violations dated June 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Law on Customs dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Tax administration dated November 29, 2006; the Law on the amendments to the Law on Tax administration dated November 20, 2012; the Law on amendments to tax laws dated November 26, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Electronic transactions dated November 29, 2005;

At the request of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates a Decree onamending number articles of the Decree No. 127/2013/ND-CP dated October 15, 2013 of the Government promulgating the penalties on administrative violations and enforcement of administrative decisions in customs.

Article 1.To amend a number articles of the Decree No. 127/2013/ND-CP dated October 15, 2013 of the Government promulgating the penalties on administrative violations and enforcement of administrative decisions in customs1. Article 4 is amended as follows:

“Article 4. Penalties and remedial measures

1. The organization or individual committing an administrative violation against regulations of law on customs (hereinafter referred to as custom offence) shall receive a warning or incur a fine as a primary penalty.

2. Fines incurred by individuals and organizations:

a) The fines mentioned in Section 2 Chapter 1 of this Decree are imposed upon organizations. The fines imposed upon an individual is 1/2 of those imposed upon an organization, except for the cases specified in Point c Clause 2 of this Article;

b) The fines for the violations specified in Article 9; Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 14 of this Decree are imposed upon individuals;

c) The fines for violations against tax offences specified in Article 8 of this Decree are imposed upon both individuals and organizations according to Clause 33 Article 1 of the Law on the amendments to the Law on Tax administration dated November 20, 2012.

3. Depending on the nature and severity of the violations, the illegal goods may also be confiscated as an additional penalty.

4. In addition to primary penalties and additional penalties, one or some of the following remedial measures may be enforced:

a) Remove or re-export goods or vehicles from Vietnam;

b) Transport the goods in transit, transshipped goods , goods being moved to another custom post outside the checkpoint area, temporarily imported goods at correct border checkpoint or route;

c) Discard goods packages or labels that are changed because of the violations;

d) Destroy goods or items harmful to human, animal, plant health and the environment, and indecent materials;

dd) Remove from Vietnam’s territory or destroy goods that fail to meet conditions or technical standards or fail to have a license though a license is compulsory, except for goods for export;

e) Pay an amount of money equal to the value of illegal goods if they no longer exist.”

2. To amend Article 5 as follows:

“Article 5. Cases in which penalties against customs offences are not imposed

1. The cases in which penalties are not imposed according to Article 11 of the Law on Handling administrative violations.

Customs authority or other competent authorities must be notified of the goods and vehicles that are imported to Vietnam due to unexpected events of force majeure events; such goods and vehicles must be removed from Vietnam after the event is over.

2. The recipient or legal representative has sent a written notification of the mistake made during the import or shipment of goods to Vietnam to the Director of the Sub-department of Customs where goods are stored before the customs declaration is registered, unless the imported goods are narcotics, weapons, reactionary documents, or noxious chemicals in Table 1 in Chemical Weapons Convention.

3. Cases in which adjustments to the declaration are permissible within a certain time limit as prescribed by law.

4. Any of the violations specified in Article 8 or Article 13 of this Decree is committed but the tax difference does not exceed 500,000 VND if the violation is committed by an individual, or 2,000,000 VND if the violation is committed by an organization.

5. The quantity or weight of exported or imported goods is different from the customs declaration according to Article 7 of this Decree, but their value does not exceed 10% of the value of goods exported or imported in reality or VND 10,000,000, whichever is lower.

6. The names of exported or imported goods are correct but their codes or tax rates or tax payable are incorrect for the first time.

7. Violations against regulations on customs declaration of cash in foreign currencies, cash in Vietnamese currency, or gold taken along when leaving or entering Vietnam, the value of which does not exceed VND 5,000,000.

3. To amend Article 6 as follows:

“Article 6. Violations against regulations on time limit for completing customs procedure and submitting tax statement

1. A fine of from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Failure to complete, submit, produce the customs dossier or provide information about the customs dossier on schedule, except for the violations specified in Clause 3, Points and b Clause 4, and Clause 5 of this Article;

b) Failure to make an additional declaration when there are changes to the container number, port of loading, exporting checkpoint, or vehicle carrying goods for export;

c) Declaring official prices behind schedules in case official prices were not available when the customs declaration was registered;

d) Failure to punctually re-export the vehicle that crosses the border checkpoint to deliver goods.

2. A fine of from VND 1,000,000 VND to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for failure to perform any of the following tasks on schedule:

a) Provide the audit report or financial statement; notification of penalties for tax offences of accounting offences of enterprises eligible for priority;

b) Submit a report on quantity of goods imported serving factory construction and goods stored externally of an export processing enterprise;

c) Submit a report on quantity of goods entering, leaving, and stored in the transshipment port;

d) Submit a report on operation of the customs brokerage agent;

dd) Submit a statistical report on customs clearance of international postal packages transited through Vietnam.

3. A fine of from VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Submitting a customs declaration before goods for export are gathered at the location notified to the customs authority;

b) Failure to make declaration and follow procedures on schedule when goods for export are sold domestically; repurposing goods eligible for tax exemption, tax refund, or tax cancellation;

c) Failure to punctually submit the application for tax cancellation, financial statement, or report on use of tax-free goods;

d) Failure to adhere to regulations on handling excess materials and supplies, scrap, machinery or equipment that are rented or borrowed when the processing contract expires;

dd) Failure to punctually send a notification of the processor or manufacturer of goods for export; storage location of raw materials, machinery and equipment, products for export;

e) Failure to punctually send a notification when hiring a processor;

g) Failure to re-export or re-import on schedule or within the time limit registered with the customs authority, except for the violations specified in Point a Clause 4 of this Article;

h) Violating other regulations on deadline for making tax statement.

4. A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Failure to punctually re-export the temporarily imported goods eligible for tax exemption or goods temporarily imported for re-export;

b) Failure to punctually re-export the vehicle, except for vehicles for the transport of fewer than 24 people specified in Clause 5 of this Article and vehicles crossing the border checkpoint area to deliver goods;

c) Storing goods in transit in Vietnam past the deadline.

5. Failure to punctually re-export vehicles for the transport of fewer than 24 people, except for the cases specified in Point d Clause 1 and Point b Clause 4 of this Article, for which penalties are imposed as follows:

a) A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the vehicle is re-exported less than 30 days behind schedule;

b) A fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the vehicle is re-exported 30 days or more behind schedule;

6. Remedial measures:

a) Re-export the temporarily imported goods or vehicles, unless they are allowed to be sold in Vietnam, in case of the violation specified in Point d Clause 1, Point g Clause 3, Point a and Point b Clause 4, or Clause 5 of this Article.

b) Remove the goods from Vietnam in case of the violation specified in Point c Clause 4 of this Article”.

4. To amend Article 7 as follows:

“Article 7. Violations against regulations on customs declaration

1. A fine of from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed for failure to make a declaration or to provide correct information about the names, categories, quantity, weight, and origins of goods that are humanitarian aid or grant aid approved by competent authorities.

2. A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for failure to declare or to provide correct information about the names, categories, quantity, weight, and origins of goods that are:

a) Goods sent from abroad to a free trade zone or vice versa; or

b) Goods in transit; goods sent from abroad to a transshipment port or vice versa;

c) Goods used or destroyed within a free trade zone.

3. a) A fine of from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for failure to make a declaration or to provide correct information about the names, categories, quantity, quality, or value of exported or imported goods that are tax-free or eligible for tax exemption as prescribed by law.

4. A fine of from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND shall be imposed for declaring imported goods as processed products or domestic exports without a processor or manufacturer.

5. A fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed for declaring false name, quantity, weight, or value of goods for exported, except for those that are processed products, domestic exports, exports of export processing enterprises and temporarily imported goods.

6. Where any of the violations specified in Clauses 3, 4 and 5 of this Article results in understatement of the tax payable or overstatement of tax exempted, reduced, refunded, cancelled or tax evasion, penalties specified in Article 8 or Article 13 of this Decree shall be imposed.”

5. To amend Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8. Violations against regulations on tax statement

The taxpayer that makes understatement of the tax payable or overstatement of tax exempted, reduced, refunded or cancelled shall face the following penalties in addition to fully paying tax and late payment interest:

1. A fine of 10% of the understated amount of tax payable or the overstated amount of tax exempted, reduced, refunded or cancelled shall be imposed in the following cases:

a) The taxpayer realizes the mistake and adjusts the tax statement within 60 days from the date of customs clearance and before the customs authority issues a decision on post-clearance inspection;

b) The taxpayer realizes the errors in the name, category, quantity, weight, quality, code, tax rate, tax amount or origin of exports or imports while following customs procedures and adjusts the tax statement after the customs authority examines the customs dossier and before customs clearance is granted.

2. A fine of 20% of the understated amount of tax payable or the overstated amount of tax exempted, reduced, refunded or cancelled shall be imposed in the following cases:

a) The customs authority finds errors in the name, category, quantity, weight, quality, code, tax rate, tax amount or origin of exports or imports while the taxpayer is following customs procedures or during post-clearance inspection but the violator has voluntarily and fully paid tax before an offence record is issued;

b) Information about tax-free goods or goods eligible for tax exemption provided is incorrect;

c) In-quota goods are used against the law;

d) Information provided in the application for tax exemption/reduction/refund/cancellation or application for refund of overpaid tax/fine is incorrect;

dd) A violation against regulations on management of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment, processed products or domestic exports results in discrepancy between actual stock and values in accounting documents, accounting books or documents about exports/imports other than the cases specified in Points d, dd, e and g Clause 1 Article 13 of this Decree;

e) A violation against regulations on management of goods in a tax-suspension warehouse results in discrepancy between actual stock and values in accounting books other than the cases specified in Point g Clause 1 Article 13 of this Decree;

g) Failure to declare or incorrect declaration results in understatement of the tax payable or overstatement of tax exempted, reduced, refunded or cancelled.

3. Penalties specified in Article 13 of this Decree shall be imposed for any violation specified in this Article that involves tax evasion or tax fraud shall face.

4. This Article does not apply to the cases specified in Article 14 of this Decree”.

6. To amend Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Violations against regulations on declaration of cash in foreign currencies, cash in Vietnamese currency, negotiable instruments, gold, precious metals, gemstones taken along when leaving or entering Vietnam

1. Penalties for failure to declare or to correctly declare the amount of cash in foreign currencies, cash in Vietnamese currency, or gold carried by a person when leaving Vietnam in excess to the legal limit:

a) A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 5,000,000 to under VND 30,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 30,000,000 to under VND 70,000,000;

c) A fine of from VND 15,000,000 to VND 25,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 70,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

d) A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is VND 100,000,000 or above but the violation does not constitute a criminal offence.

2. Penalties for failure to declare or to correctly declare the amount of cash in foreign currencies, cash in Vietnamese currency, or gold carried by a person when entering Vietnam in excess to the legal limit:

a) A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 5,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

c) A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is VND 100,000,000 or above but the violation does not constitute a criminal offence.

3. Penalties for overstating the amount of cash in foreign currencies, cash in VND or gold carried:

a) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of overstated amount of cash in foreign currencies, cash in VND or gold in excess to the actual amount carried is from VND 10,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 15,000,000 to VND 25,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of overstated amount of cash in foreign currencies, cash in VND or gold in excess to the actual amount carried is VND 100,000,000 or above but the violation does not constitute a criminal offence.

4. Penalties for the failure to declare or to declare correctly the amount of gold or cash in foreign currencies carried by a person against the law when entering or leaving Vietnam using a laissez-passer or bordering resident’s ID card:

a) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for if the exhibit value is under VND 50,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

c) A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is VND 100,000,000 or above but the violation does not constitute a criminal offence.

5. Penalties for failure to declare or to correctly declare the amount of precious metals, gemstones, negotiable instruments carried by a person which, by law, must be declared when entering or leaving Vietnam:

a) A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 5,000,000 to under VND 30,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 30,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000;

c) A fine of from VND 15,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

d) A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit value is 100,000,000 VND or above but the violation does not constitute a criminal offence.

6. Exhibits shall be returned after the decision on penalties is implemented. Cash in foreign currencies and VND, gold, precious metals, gemstones, negotiable instruments shall be taken along when entering or leaving Vietnam in accordance with law”.

7. To amend Article 10 as follows:

“Article 10. Violations against regulations on customs inspection

1. A fine of VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for falsifying the registered customs dossier, provided this falsification does not change the amount of tax payable or affect exports and imports management policies.

2. A fine of from VND 2,000,000 to VND 4,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Failure to provide personnel or equipment serving the physical inspection of goods or vehicles at the request of the customs authority without legitimate reasons;

b) Violating regulations on preparation, and retention of documents;

c) Failure to comply with the decision on tax inspection issued by a customs authority.

3. A fine of from VND 4,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Failure to present goods under customs supervision and goods in storage required to undergo post-clearance inspection for inspection by the customs authority as prescribed by law;

b) Failure to provide or adequately and punctually provide documents or electronic data related to exports or imports, vehicles leaving and entering Vietnam at the request of the customs authority as prescribed by law.

4. A fine of from VND 20,000,000 ND to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for swapping goods that have undergone customs inspections and goods that have not.

5. A fine of from VND 40,000,000 to VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Use of a fraudulent customs seal; submission or presentation of fraudulent or illegal or untruthful documents without constitution of a criminal offence;

b) Illegal use of another entity’s account or digital signature to follow customs procedures;

c) Illegal access, falsification, or destruction of customs information system that does not constitute a criminal offence.

6. Additional penalties:

a) Illegal goods specified in Clause 4; Point a Clause 5 of this Article that are banned from export or import, suspended from export or import, fail to meet conditions or technical standards prescribed by law, or fail to have a license though a license is compulsory shall be confiscated;

b) Fraudulent seal, fraudulent documents and illegal documents mentioned in Point a Clause 5 of this Article shall be confiscated.

7. Remedial measures:

The violator shall pay an amount of money equal to the value of illegal goods that are banned from export or import, suspended from export or import, fail to meet conditions or technical standards prescribed by law, or not having any license though a license is compulsory if such illegal goods no longer exist in case of the violation specified in specified in Clause 4 or Point a Clause 5 of this Article.

8. An individual or organization that commits the violation specified in Point a Clause 5 of this Article for the purpose of tax evasion or tax fraud shall incur the penalties specified in Article 13 of this Decree”.

8. To amend Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Violations against regulations on customs supervision

1. A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for transshipment, storage, division of shipment, or change to modal of transport during transport of goods under customs supervision without notification or approval by the customs as prescribed by law.

2. A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Transporting goods in transit, goods moved to another custom post outside the checkpoint area, temporarily imported goods without adherence to prescribed or registered route, location, destination or time specified in the customs dossier without acceptable explanation;

b) Breaking the customs seal without permission;

c) Changing the packages or labels of goods under customs supervision without permission;

d) Failure to maintain the status quo of the goods under customs supervision or goods in storage pending customs clearance;

dd) Storing goods at a location other than that prescribed by the customs or registered with the customs;

e) Move raw materials, supplies, machinery and equipment to another factory for reprocessing without notifying the customs authority.

3. A fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Selling goods under customs supervision.

If the goods sold are tax-free or eligible for tax exemption or concessional tax within tariff quota and do not violate exports and imports management policies, penalties specified in Point dd Clause 2 Article 8 or Point g Clause 1 Article 13 of this Decree shall be imposed;

b) Selling a vehicle that is registered overseas and temporarily imported into Vietnam.

4. A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed for selling goods in storage pending customs clearance.

5. A fine of from 40,000,000 VND to 60,000,000 VND shall be imposed for any of the violations specified in Point a Clause 3 or Clause 4 of this Article which involves:

a) Goods banned from export or import; goods suspended from export or import; goods that fail to meet the conditions for export or import; goods that do not have any license though a license is compulsory; or

b) Temporarily imported goods without a license though a license is compulsory; Goods on the list of goods banned or suspended from temporary import.

6. Additional penalties:

Exhibits of violations specified in Point b Clause 3 and Point a Clause 5 of this Article shall be confiscated.

7. Remedial measures:

a) The violator shall have to adhere to the correct route and correct checkpoint while transporting goods in transit or temporarily imported goods on in case of the violation specified in Point a Clause 2 of this Article;

b) The violator shall have to remove or re-export the illegal goods from Vietnam in case of the violation specified in Point b Clause 5 of this Article;

c) The violator shall have to pay an amount of money equal to the value of illegal goods if illegal goods no longer exist in case of the violation specified in Point b Clause 3 or Clause 5 of this Article;

d) The violator shall have to remove the packages and labels that are changed because of the violation specified in Point c Clause 2 of this Article.”

9. To amend Article 12 as follows:

“Article 12. Violations against regulations on customs control

1. A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Failure to comply with the order to stop and inspect the vehicle as prescribed;

b) Failure to provide the warehouse diagram, give instructions or open the suspected cargo hold on the vehicle for inspection.

2. A fine of from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations if the value of illegal goods is under VND 50,000,000:

a) Storing, trading, transporting exports or imports without in a customs-controlled area without legitimate documents, except for the cases specified in Articles 7, 8, 9, 13 and 14 of this Decree;

b) Illegal transport of goods across the border that does not constitute a criminal offence

3. A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for sending a foreign vehicle across the border without adherence to the prescribed route or checkpoint.

4. A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the violations in Clause 2 of this Article if the value of illegal goods is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000.

5. A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Any of the violations specified in Clause 2 of this Article where the value of illegal goods value is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000 and that does not constitute a criminal offence.

b) Unloading goods at a port other than the port of destination specified in the goods manifest or bill of lading without acceptable explanation;

c) Loading, unloading, transferring exports, imports or goods in transit on a vehicle under customs control without permission by the customs authority;

d) Illegally liquidating or destroying goods to avoid customs inspection or customs supervision.

6. Additional penalties:

Illegal goods in case of the violation specified in Clause 2, Clause 4 or Point a or Point d Clause 5 of this Article shall be confiscated, except for those that have to be destroyed as prescribed in Point c Clause 7 of this Article.

7. Remedial measures:

a) The violator shall have to pay an amount of money equal to the value of illegal goods if they no longer exist in case of the violation specified in Point d Clause 5 of this Article;

b) The violator shall have to re-export the vehicle in case of the violation specified in Clause 3 of this Article;

c) The violator shall have to destroy goods or items harmful to human, animal, plant health and the environment, and indecent materials in case of the violation specified in Clause 2, Clause 4 or Point a Clause 5 of this Article.”

10. To amend Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Penalties for tax evasion and tax fraud

1. Acts of tax evasion and tax fraud include:

a) Use of illegal or false documents to make tax statement; Falsification of documents that leads to understatement of tax payable or overstatement of  tax exempted, reduced or refunded;

b) Incorrect declaration of codes of goods, tax rates, tax amount though instructions have been provided by the customs;

c) Failure to declare or correctly declare the name, category, quantity, weight, quality, code, tax rate, tax amount or origin of exports or imports which is discovered by the customs during post-clearance inspection and the violator does not voluntarily and fully pay tax before an offence record is issued;

d) Following procedures for exporting processed products, domestic exports or exports of an export processing enterprise without actually exporting them;

dd) Overstatement of the quantity, weight, or categories of processed products, domestic exports, exports of an export processing enterprise or re-exported goods that involves tax evasion of VND 100,000,000 or more, which does not constitute a criminal offence;

e) Exporting processed products, domestic exports or exports of an export processing enterprise that are not made of the imported materials; importing products processed abroad that are not made of the exported materials;

g) Repurposing tax-free goods, goods eligible for tax exemption, tax reduction, or tax refund without notifying the customs authority as prescribed;

h) Failure to declare or to correctly declare names, categories, quantity, weight, quality, value, tax rates, tax amount or origins of goods imported from a free trade zone into the domestic market;

i) Failure to record the revenues and expenditures related to the determination of tax payable;

k) Selling tax-free goods to ineligible buyers;

l) Failure to declare or deliberate declaration of incorrect names, categories, quantity, weight, quality, value, tax rates, tax amount or origins of exports or imports to evade tax.

2. Apart from paying tax arrears in full, the taxpayer that commits any of the violations specified in Clause 1 of this Article which does not constitute a criminal offence shall also incur:

A fine equal to the amount of evaded tax if no aggravating circumstances are found.

Every aggravating circumstance that is found will cause the fine to increase by 20% but not exceeding 03 times the evaded tax. If the violation is committed by an individual, every aggravating circumstance will cause the fine to increase by 10% but not exceeding 1.5 times the evaded tax.

3. Provisions of this Article do not apply to the cases specified in Article 14 of this Decree.”

11. To amend Article 14 as follows:

“Article 14. Violations against policies on management of exports, imports and goods in transit; vehicles entering and leaving Vietnam, vehicles in transit

1. Penalties for exporting, importing goods of people entering or leaving Vietnam, border residents against policies on management of exports, imports and goods in transit:

a) A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is under VND 30,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is from VND 30,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000;

c) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

d) A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the value is 100,000,000 VND or above but does not constitute a criminal offence.

2. For the same violation specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the fine shall be doubled if the customs dossier is submitted after 30 days from the day on which the shipment arrives at the border checkpoint.

3. Penalties for exporting, importing goods that are humanitarian aid, gifts, samples, belongings against policies on management of exports and imports:

a) A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is under VND 30,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is from VND 30,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000;

c) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

d) A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the value is 100,000,000 VND or above but does not constitute a criminal offence.

4. A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Transiting goods; exporting, importing or transiting vehicles against the license issued by competent authorities;

b) Exporting or importing goods against the license;

c) Temporarily importing or temporarily exporting goods without a license though a license is compulsory, except for the cases specified in Clause 10 of this Article.

5. A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for transiting goods without a license though a license is compulsory.

6. A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed for repurposing raw materials, supplies, components, processing machinery or equipment on the list of goods requiring licensing without a license issued by a competent authority as prescribed by law.

7. Penalties for export or import of goods on the list of goods requiring a license without a license; export or import of goods that do not satisfy conditions, technical regulations and standards; export or import of goods without labels as prescribed by law:

a) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is under VND 30,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is from VND 30,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000;

c) A fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

d) A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the value is 100,000,000 VND or above but does not constitute a criminal offence.

8. For the same violation specified in Clause 7 of this Article, the fine shall be doubled if the customs dossier is submitted after 30 days from the day on which the shipment arrives at the border checkpoint.

9. Penalties for violations against regulations on management temporarily imported goods:

a) A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed for temporarily importing and re-exporting exporting goods without a license though a license is compulsory;

b) A fine of from VND 60,000,000 to VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed for temporarily importing and re-exporting goods on the list of goods banned or suspended from temporary import.

10. Penalties for exporting, importing, or bringing to Vietnam goods on the list of goods banned or suspended from export or import:

a) A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is under VND 30,000,000;

b) A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is from VND 30,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000;

c) A fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the value of illegal goods is from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

d) A fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed if the value is 100,000,000 VND or above but does not constitute a criminal offence.

11. Additional penalties:

a) Illegal goods on the list of goods banned from export or import shall be confiscated in case of the violation specified in Clause 1, 2, or 3 of this Article, unless a competent authority requests that they be removed or re-exported from Vietnam;

b) Illegal goods shall be confiscated in case of the violation specified in Clause 6 or Clause 10 of this Article, unless a competent authority requests that they be removed or re-exported from Vietnam.

12. Remedial measures:

a) The violator shall have to destroy or remove from Vietnam the illegal goods that fail to meet conditions, technical regulations and standards or fail to have a license though a license is compulsory within 30 days from the day on which the decision on penalty imposition is received in case of the violation specified in Clause 1, 2 or 3 of this Article.

Goods may be imported if permitted by a competent authority within the period specified in Clause 2 Article 22 of this Decree.

b) The violator shall have to re-export or remove goods from Vietnam within 30 days from the day on which the decision on penalty imposition is received in case of the violation specified in Clause 4, 5, 6, 8 or 9 of this Article, except for exports.

Goods may be imported if permitted by a competent authority within the period specified in Clause 2 Article 22 of this Decree.

c) In case of the violation specified in Clause 6, 7, 8, or 10 of this Article, the violator shall have to pay an amount of money equal to the value of illegal goods if they no longer exist.”

12. To amend Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15. Violations against regulations on management of bonded warehouses, tax-suspension warehouses and container freight stations

1. A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Taking goods, machinery and equipment from the domestic market into a bonded warehouse serving packaging, classification or maintenance without notifying the customs;

b) Providing strengthening, division, packaging services; consolidation, classification, preservation, sampling of goods in the bonded warehouse without notifying the customs;

c) Transferring the ownership of goods in the bonded warehouse without notifying the customs.

2. A fine of from VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Moving goods from one bonded warehouse to another without a written permission from the Director of Customs Department in charge of the bonded warehouse;

b) Expanding, contracting, or moving the bonded warehouse or container freight station without permission from the customs authority;

c) Storing goods that are not conformable with the bonded warehouse lease contract or not appropriate for storage conditions of the warehouse;

d) Providing banned services in the bonded warehouse or container freight station;

dd) Failure to punctually submit reports on the bonded warehouse, tax-suspension warehouse or container freight station;

3. A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for failure to declare or to provide correct information about the names, categories, quantity, quality, or value of goods sent to a bonded warehouse or tax-suspension warehouse, goods sent to abroad from a bonded warehouse or tax-suspension warehouse.

4. A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Sending goods that, by law, must not be stored in bonded warehouses to a bonded warehouse;

b) Liquidating goods in a bonded warehouse or tax-suspension warehouse;

c) Destroying goods in a bonded warehouse or tax-suspension warehouse against the law.

5. Additional penalties:

a) Illegal goods shall be confiscated in case of the violation specified in Point b Clause 4 of this Article;

b) Illegal goods that are banned or suspended from export or import shall be confiscated in case of the violation specified in Point a Clause 4.

6. Remedial measures:

a) In case of the violation specified in Point b Clause 4 of this Article, the violator shall have to pay an amount of money equal to the value of illegal goods if they no longer exist;

b) The violator shall have to remove the goods from Vietnam within 30 days from the day on which the decision on penalty imposition or goods destruction is received in case of the violation specified in Clause 3 or Point a Clause 4 of this Article, unless illegal goods are confiscated as specified in Point b Clause 5 of this Article;

c) The violator shall have to remove illegal elements of goods bearing counterfeit brand names or Vietnamese origins before they are removed from Vietnam in case of the violation specified in Point a Clause 4 of this Article.”

13. To add Article 16a after Article 16 as follows:

 “Article 16a. Violations against policies on management of exports and imports in storage (except for violations specified in Article 15 hereof)

1. A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Failure to punctually notify the inventory of goods the port, warehouse or depot within customs-controlled areas;

b) Failure to arrange goods in the port, warehouse or depot at the request of the customs authority.

2. A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Failure to adhere to regulations on management, statistics, document retention, data about goods entering and leaving the port, warehouse or depot as prescribed by law and provide them for the customs authority on request;

b) Failure to provide information and cooperate with the customs authority in monitoring, supervising goods being taken in, out and stored in the port, warehouse or depot.

3. A fine of from VND 40,000,000 ND to VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed for allowing goods to be removed from a port, warehouse or depot without documents issued by the customs authority”.

14. To amend Clause 8 of Article 19 as follows:

“8. Presidents of the People’s Committees are entitled to impose penalties specified in Clause 3 Article 38 of the Law on Actions against administrative violations for administrative violations specified in this Decree”.

15. To add Article 19a as follows:

 “Article 19a. The power of the border guard to impose penalties

1. The border guard soldiers on duty are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines of up to VND 500,000 upon an individual; up to VND 1,000,000 upon an organization.

2. Captains of the persons specified in Clause 1 of this Article are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines of up to VND 2,500,000 upon an individual; up to VND 5,000,000 upon an organization.

3. Captains of border guard stations, captains of coastguard squads, commanders of border guard complexes are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose a fine of up to 25,000,000 VND on a person; impose a fine of up to 50,000,000 VND on an organization.

c) Confiscate illegal goods and vehicles, the value of which does not exceed the fine specified in Point b of this Clause;

d) Enforce the remedial measures specified in Point d Clause 4 Article 4 of this Decree.

4. Commanders of provincial border guard bases, commanders of coastguard fleets are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines up to the maximum levels specified in this Decree;

c) Confiscate illegal goods and vehicles;

d) Enforce the remedial measures specified in Points d and e Clause 4 Article 4 of this Decree.”

16. To add Article 19n as follows:

 “Article 19n. The power of the Coastguard to impose penalties

1. Coastguard officers on duty are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines of up to VND 1,500,000 upon an individual; up to VND 3,000,000 upon an organization.

2. Captains of coastguard teams are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines of up to VND 5,000,000 upon an individual; up to VND 10,000,000 upon an organization.

3. Captains of coastguard teams, captains of coastguard stations are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines of up to VND 10,000,000 upon an individual; up to 20,000,000 VND upon an organization;

c) Enforce the remedial measures specified in Point d Clause 4 Article 4 of this Decree.

4. Commanders of coastguard squads are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines of up to VND 25,000,000 upon an individual; up to 50,000,000 VND upon an organization;

c) Confiscate illegal goods and vehicles, the value of which does not exceed the fine specified in Point b of this Clause;

d) Enforce the remedial measures specified in Point d Clause 4 Article 4 of this Decree.

5. Commanders of coastguard fleets are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines of up to VND 50,000,000 upon an individual; up to 100,000,000 VND upon an organization;

c) Confiscate illegal goods and vehicles, the value of which does not exceed the fine specified in Point b of this Clause;

d) Enforce the remedial measures specified in Points a, b and d Clause 4 Article 4 of this Decree.

6. Commanders of regional coastguard fleets are entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines of up to VND 100,000,000 upon an individual; up to 200,000,000 VND upon an organization;

c) Confiscate illegal goods and vehicles, the value of which does not exceed the fine specified in Point b of this Clause;

d) Enforce the remedial measures specified in Points a, b and d Clause 4 Article 4 of this Decree.

7. The commander of the coastguard headquarters is entitled to:

a) Give warnings;

b) Impose fines up to the maximum levels specified in this Decree;

c) Confiscate illegal goods and vehicles;

d) Enforce the remedial measures specified in Points a, b and d Clause 4 Article 4 of this Decree”.

17. To amend Article 20 as follows:

“Article 20. Delegation of the power to impose penalties

The persons entitled to impose penalties specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 Clause 8 Article 19, Clauses 2, 3, and 4 Article 19a, Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 Article 19b of this Decree may delegate their deputies to impose penalties.

The delegation of the power to impose penalties must comply with Article 54 of the Law against administrative violations”.

18. To amend Clause 4 of Article 21 as follows:

“4. If multiple administrative violations are committed by a single individual, the power to impose penalties shall be determined as follows:

a) If the penalties, fines, value of illegal goods or vehicles that are confiscated and remedial measures are within the competence of a competent person, such person shall impose penalties;

b) If the penalties, fines, value of illegal goods or vehicles that are confiscated and remedial measures are beyond the competence of a competent person, the case shall be transferred to a competent authority.

If the case is beyond the competence of the Director of the Customs Department, the President of the People’s Committee of the province where the violation is committed shall decide the penalties.

If the case is beyond the competence of the Director of Smuggling Investigation and Prevention Department or the Director of Post-clearance Inspection Department, the Director of the General Department of Customs shall decide the penalties.

c) If multiple persons in various fields are entitled to impose penalties for a violation, the President of the competent People’s Committee of the administrative division where the violation is committed shall impose the penalties.”

19. To amend Article 22 as follows:

“Article 22. Procedure for imposing penalties and implementing decisions on penalty imposition

1. The procedure for imposing penalties and implementing decisions on imposition of penalties for customs offences shall comply with Chapter III of the Law against administrative violations and Section 3 Chapter I of this Decree.

2. If goods are not re-exported or removed from Vietnam after 30 days from the day on which the decision on penalty imposition is received, the competent persons specified in Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 of Article 19; Clauses 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Article 19b of this Decree shall issue a decision to confiscate or destroy the illegal goods, unless legitimate explanation is provided.”

20. To amend Clause 3 of Article 29 as follows:

“3. Determination of the power to issue decisions on enforcement:

a) The competent persons specified in Clause 1 of this Article are entitled to issue decisions to enforce the administrative decisions they issue, or the administrative decisions their inferior issues but fails to enforce”.

21. To amend Clause 2 of Article 48 as follows:

“2. Subjects of enforcement:

The following violators shall have their assets confiscated and sold at auction if they fail to voluntarily implement the administrative decision or pay enforcement cost:

a) Freelance workers without having their salaries or incomes managed by any organization;

b) The violators that do not have deposit accounts or the account balance are not sufficient for deduction or transfer.”

Article 2.To annulArticle 23 of Decree No. 127/2013/ND-CP.

Article 3. Effect

This Decree takes effect on  August 01, 2016.

Article 4. Transitional clause

For customs offences committed before the effective date of this Decree and discovered or handled afterwards, provisions that are more advantageous to violators shall apply.

Article 5. Responsibility for providing instructions and implementation

1. The Ministry of Finance shall provide guidance, organize the implementation of this Decree, and cooperate with state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations in disseminating this Decree, encouraging the people to implement this Decree, and supervise the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial agencies, Heads of Governmental agencies, Presidents of the People’s Committees of provinces are responsible for the implementation of this Decree./.

For the Government

The Prime Minister

Nguyen Xuan Phuc