Decree 59/2018/ND-CP amend Decree 08/2015/ND-CP detailing Customs Law regarding customs procedures and inspection

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015, detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 23, 2014 Customs Law;

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

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance,

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015, detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015, detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control

1. To add the following Clauses 6 and 7 to Article 3:

“6. Specialized inspection means that a specialized inspection agency, based on plant quarantine or animal quarantine regulations, national standards, and national technical regulations on goods quality promulgated by state management agencies or international standards or relevant laws, inspects and determines whether goods are qualified for import or export in accordance with relevant laws.

Imported and exported goods subject to culture-related specialized inspection must comply with the specialized law on cultural management.

7. Vietnam National Single Window portal means an integrated information system for performance of customs procedures and administrative procedures of state management agencies concerning goods imported, exported or in transit and persons and vehicles on entry or exit or in transit.”

2. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 3, Article 4 as follows:

 “1. Places of customs clearance must comply with Article 22 of the Customs Law.

Letters and parcels and packages of imported and exported goods consigned via postal services; imported and exported goods consigned via express delivery services, including goods on the list of imported goods subject to customs clearance at border gates of importation issued by the Prime Minister under Clause 2 of this Article, may undergo customs procedures at Customs Branches managing the places where goods consigned via postal services or express delivery services are gathered for centralized inspection and supervision.

For in-transit goods consigned via postal services or express delivery services, the places of customs clearance must comply with Article 43 of this Decree.

For goods temporarily imported for re-export which are consigned via postal services or express delivery services, the places of customs clearance must comply with relevant laws.

3. On the basis of the master plan on and the announcement of the system of seaports, inland waterway ports, international airports, land border gates, inland container depots (ICD), international railway stations and public postal networks providing international services, the Minister of Finance shall decide on the organizational structures and arrange forces to carry out customs procedures; the General Director of Customs shall recognize warehouses, storing yards and places within seaports, inland waterway ports, international airports, and international railway stations qualified for gathering and conducting centralized inspection and supervision of goods before permitting the gathering of imported and exported goods for customs clearance. The conditions and order for recognition, extension, narrowing, relocation, transfer of ownership, and suspension and termination of operation of places for goods gathering and centralized inspection and supervision of imported and exported goods must comply with Section 2, Chapter III of the Government’s Decree No. 68/2016/ND-CP of July 1, 2016, providing conditions for trading in duty-free goods, places of customs clearance and places for goods gathering and customs inspection and supervision.”

3. To amend and supplement Clauses 3 and 4, Article 5 as follows:

 “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; or goods imported for implementation of tax-exempt investment projects.

4. Providers of goods transit or transshipment services.”

4. To amend and supplement Article 6 as follows:

“Article 6. Objects subject to customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision

1. Objects subject to customs procedures:

a/ Imported, exported and in-transit goods; 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; and other exported, imported or in-transit articles within customs operation areas;

b/ Road vehicles, railway vehicles, aircraft, sea, inland waterway and river craft on entry or exit or in transit.

2. Objects subject to customs inspection:

a/ The objects specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b/ Objects on board vehicles on entry or exit or in transit;

c/ Customs dossiers and documents relating to the objects specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Objects subject to customs supervision:

a/ The objects specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b/ Objects on board vehicles on entry or exit or in transit;

c/ Goods and vehicles within customs operation areas; machinery, equipment, raw materials and supplies imported for export processing and  production which are stored at production establishments of organizations and individuals;

d/ Goods subject to specialized inspection which are being stored pending customs clearance;

dd/ En-route goods subject to customs supervision.”

5. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 3, Article 7 as follows:

“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 imported, exported and in-transit goods and persons and vehicles on entry or exit or in transit through the Vietnam National Single Window portal. The time for declaration of information and submission of electronic documents must comply with the Customs Law, specialized management laws and their guiding documents.

3. Customs declarants shall receive processing results from state agencies through the Vietnam National Single Window portal so as to carry out customs procedures and administrative procedures required by state agencies in relation to imported, exported and in-transit goods and persons and vehicles on entry or exit or in transit. Customs declarants are not required to submit or produce paper versions of documents already received and processed through the Vietnam National Single Window portal, except those which shall be submitted in paper as prescribed by law.”

6. To add the following Clause 4 to Article 9:

“4. To be exempt from post-customs clearance inspection at customs offices, except the cases prescribed in Clause 1, Article 78 of the Customs Law.”

7. To add the following Clause 5 to Article 11:

“5. Places of dossier submission: General Department of Customs.”

8. To amend Clause 1 of, add the following Clause 1a to, and amend Clause 2 of, Article 20:

“1. For exported goods, the customs value is the selling price of such goods at the border gate of exportation, exclusive of international insurance premium and freight, which shall be determined by the following methods in a row:

a/ The selling price of goods at the border gate of exportation is the price stated in the goods purchase and sale contract or commercial invoice, plus expenses related to exported goods in conformity with relevant documents, if the selling price is exclusive of these expenses;

 b/ The selling price of identical or similar exported goods available on the customs value database, after being converted into the selling price of goods at the border gate of exportation at the time nearest to the time of registration of the export declaration of the goods lot being valuated;

c/ The selling price of identical or similar exported goods in the Vietnamese market after being converted into the selling price of goods at the border gate of exportation at the time nearest to the time of registration of the export declaration of the goods lot being valuated;

d/ The selling price of exported goods collected, summed up and classified by customs offices under Clause 1, Article 22 of this Decree after being converted into the selling price of goods at the border gate of exportation.

1a. The border gate of exportation shall be determined as follows:

a/ For sea or air transportation, the border gate of exportation is the port of loading or the place where goods are loaded onto vehicles stated in the customs declaration.

b/ For railway transportation, the border gate of exportation is the place of loading at the railway international station stated in the customs declaration.

c/ For road or inland waterway transportation, the border gate of exportation is the border gate through which goods are exported out of Vietnam’s territory as stated in the goods purchase and sale contract or other relevant documents.  

2. For imported goods, 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 which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signed. The first border gate of importation shall be identified as follows:

a/ For sea and air transportation, it is the port of unloading stated in the bill of lading;

b/ For railway transportation, it is the international railway station stated in the customs declaration;

c/ For road and inland waterway transportation, it is the border gate through which goods are imported into Vietnam’s territory as stated in the customs declaration.”

9. To amend and supplement Article 21 as follows:

“Article 21. Customs inspection and valuation

1. Customs inspection and valuation shall be based on customs dossiers, relevant evidence and documents and actual conditions of goods.

2. In case a customs office has sufficient grounds for rejecting the declared customs value, it shall notify and request the concerned customs declarant to make supplementary declaration within 5 working days after receiving the notice and allow goods release according to regulations. If the customs declarant makes supplementary declaration within the above-said time limit, the customs office shall allow customs clearance according to regulations. Past the above-said time limit, if the customs declarant still fails to make supplementary declaration, the customs office shall valuate the goods and assess tax in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration for customs clearance according to regulations.

3. In case a customs office has a doubt about the declared value, it shall notify the grounds for its doubt and the value and valuation method it intends to apply and then release goods according to regulations and the customs declarant shall consult the customs office so as to clarify the accuracy of the declared value.

a/ In case the customs declarant agrees with the value and valuation method the customs office intends to apply, he/she shall make supplementary declaration within 5 working days from the date he/she comes to the customs office for consultation, then the customs office shall allow customs clearance according to regulations. In case the customs declarant fails to make supplementary declaration within the above-said time limit, the customs office shall valuate the goods and assess tax in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration for customs clearance according to regulations.

b/ In case the customs office rejects the declared value, it shall request the customs declarant to make supplementary declaration within 5 working days after the consultation ends. If the customs declarant makes supplementary declaration within the above-said time limit, the customs office shall allow customs clearance according to regulations. Past the above-said time limit, if the customs declarant still fails to make supplementary declaration, the customs office shall valuate the goods and assess tax in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration for customs clearance according to regulations.

c/ In case the customs office does not have sufficient grounds to reject the declared value, it shall allow customs clearance on the basis of the declared value.

4. In cases other than those prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article, customs offices shall accept the declared value for customs clearance according to regulations.

5. The exchange rate between Vietnam dong and a foreign currency used for determination of dutiable prices 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 determining the dutiable prices 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 announced, the exchange rates of such foreign currencies shall be determined according to the principle of calculating the cross rate between the exchange rates between US dollar and Vietnam dong and between US dollar and such foreign currency 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.

6. The Ministry of Finance shall detail this Article.”

10. To add the following Article 22a:

“Article 22a. Customs value used for making statistics of imported and exported goods

1. The customs value used for making statistics of imported and exported goods shall be formulated by customs offices on the basis of information from customs declaration and other related sources.

2. The customs value used for statistical purposes shall be formulated according to the principles and methods prescribed in Article 20 of this Decree, except the cases prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. In the following cases, the customs value used for statistical purposes shall be based on declaration of customs declarants on the following principles:

a/ For goods processed overseas and imported into Vietnam: The customs value is the value of goods at the first border gate of importation (under CIF or equivalent shipping terms). In case of impossibility to determine the value under CIF or equivalent shipping terms, the customs value is the whole constituent value of the products, covering the value of raw materials and supplies constituting the products, processing charge and other expenses (if any);

b/ For exported goods, which are products processed for foreign partners: The customs value is the value of goods at the border gate of exportation (under FOB or equivalent shipping terms). In case of impossibility to determine the value under FOB or equivalent shipping terms, the customs value is the whole constituent value of the products, covering the value of raw materials and supplies constituting the products, processing charge and other expenses (if any);   

c/ For goods under financial leasing contracts: The customs value is the whole value of the goods, exclusive of charges of services provided together with the financial leasing contracts.

4. The Ministry of Finance shall specify the collection, processing, use and archive of information on customs value used for statistical purposes.”

11. To amend and supplement Clauses 2, 3 and 7, Article 24 as follows:

“2. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals requesting pre-identification of code, origin and customs value:

a/ To submit sufficient dossiers of request for pre-identification of code, origin and customs value to the General Department of Customs at least 60 days before importing or exporting the goods lot;

b/ To engage in dialogues with the customs office in order to clarify the request for 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 the goods for which it/he/she requests 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 pre-identification of code, origin and customs value to the requesting organization or individual in case the conditions or the dossier for the pre-identification of code, origin or customs value are insufficient or is incomplete; the goods stated in the request for pre-identification of code, origin or customs value is awaiting processing results of state management agencies; or state management agencies have issued documents guiding the code of the goods stated in the request for pre-identification of code;

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 updated to the database of the customs office and posted on the website of the General Department of Customs.

7. The Ministry of Finance shall provide dossiers for pre-identification of code, origin and customs value and cases awaiting processing results of state management agencies.”

12. To amend and supplement Clauses 2, 3, 5 and 10, Article 25 as follows:

“2. Customs declarants may opt to make declaration by electronic mode or using paper customs declaration forms in the following cases:

a/ Goods imported and exported by border residents;

b/ Goods imported and exported in excess of duty-free limits applicable to persons on entry or exit;

c/ Goods used for emergency relief and humanitarian aid; and goods imported or exported for security or national defense;

d/ Gifts, donations and movable assets of individuals;

dd/ Rotationally-used containers of goods by 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/ Failure to perform electronic transactions between the electronic customs data processing system and an electronic customs declaration system due to breakdown of either or both of them or any other reasons.

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;

In case the electronic declaration system of a customs declarant fails to carry out electronic customs procedures, the customs declarant shall notify such in writing to the Customs Branch where he/she intends to carry out customs procedures, clearly stating the incident and its cause, expected time for remedying the incident, and method of carrying out customs procedures while the customs declarant’s electronic declaration system breaks down, under the guidance of the Minister of Finance.

h/ Other goods as prescribed by the Ministry 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.

For imported and exported goods requiring permits of specialized management agencies, customs declarants must obtain such permits before registering customs declarations and declare information in such permits in customs declarations under guidance of the Ministry of Finance.

When examining a dossier, if the customs office has sufficient grounds to determine that goods are subject to permit but at the time of registering the declaration, such permit remains unavailable, the customs declarant shall be handled in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations and the registered customs declaration will be invalid for carrying out customs procedures.

5. For imported or exported goods which are not liable to or are exempted from import duty or export duty, excise tax, value-added tax or environmental protection tax, or are subject to tax rates or specific tax rates based on tariff quotas, and have been released or cleared from customs procedures but then there are changes in the types of goods not liable to such duties or taxes or in the purposes for which goods are exempted from duty or tax; in the application of tax rates or specific tax rates based on tariff quotas; for imported goods which are raw materials and supplies used for export processing and production and goods temporarily imported for re-export which have been released or cleared from customs procedures but then their use purposes are changed or they are used for domestic sale, new customs declaration forms shall be filled in. Such goods 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.

10. The Ministry of Finance shall stipulate in detail the making of supplementary declaration, 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 used for domestic sale, and the handling of cases in which the electronic customs data processing system or the electronic customs declaration system breaks down.”

13. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 26 as follows:

“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 in customs declarations and permitting customs clearance;

b/ Examining related documents in the customs dossiers submitted or produced by customs declarants, or other documents stored on the Vietnam National Single Window portal in order to decide on customs clearance or physical inspection of goods before permitting customs clearance.

The Ministry of Finance shall stipulate in detail the time of announcement of customs inspection in the electronic customs data processing system.”

14. To amend and supplement Clause 5, Article 29 as follows:

“5. If, by using technical equipment and devices available at Customs Branches or customs inspection places, customs officers conducting the physical inspection of goods fail to obtain sufficient grounds to verify the accuracy of the information declared by customs declarants about goods name, code, type, quality, quantity, volume and weight, the customs officers may request customs inspection agencies 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.”

15. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 32 as follows:

“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 needs to be conducted to identify goods code, quantity, weight and volume of imported or exported goods, and customs declarants have already paid taxes or have the tax amounts guaranteed by credit institutions on the basis of tax declaration and assessment by customs declarants;

b/ Official prices of imported and exported goods remain unavailable at the time customs declarations are registered and customs declarants have paid taxes or have the tax amounts guaranteed by credit institutions on the basis of the temporarily calculated prices;

c/ Imported or exported goods are defined at Clause 2 or 3, Article 21 of this Decree and the customs declarants have already paid taxes or have the tax amounts guaranteed by credit institutions on the basis of tax declaration and calculation by customs declarants;

d/ If customs declarants do not have sufficient information and documents to determine the customs value of imported or exported goods, goods shall be released provided that there is a credit institution providing guarantee for the tax amounts calculated based on customs value determined by customs offices.”

16. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 33 as follows:

“1. Imported, exported and in-transit goods, and vehicles on entry, exit or in transit that are subject to quarantine must undergo 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 imported, exported and in-transit goods and vehicles on entry or exit or in transit that are subject to quality inspection or food safety inspection, customs offices shall base themselves on conditions and national standards or technical regulations promulgated by state management agencies to carry out inspection in accordance with law or customs offices shall base themselves on conclusions of specialized management agencies or specialized inspection-conducting agencies or organizations or other documents in accordance with the law on specialized management and inspection to decide on customs clearance in accordance with the law on specialized inspection.

Specialized management agencies and specialized inspection-conducting agencies and organizations shall coordinate with one another in concurrently inspecting imported, exported 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 regulate, customs inspection of imported, exported and in-transit goods and vehicles on entry or exit or in transit which is conducted by specialized management agencies and specialized inspection-conducting agencies and organizations at border gates. Coordination between specialized management agencies and specialized inspection-conducting agencies and organizations at border gates must comply with the Prime Minister-issued regulations on specialized inspection at border gates.

2. Coordination in conducting sampling and specialized inspection:

a/ The sampling of imported and exported goods subject to specialized inspection must comply with the law on specialized inspection.

b/ Specialized inspection-conducting agencies shall directly conduct the sampling of imported and exported goods at the places notified by customs declarants; in case the sampling is conducted in the customs operation areas, customs offices shall supervise the sampling on the basis of risk management;

c/ Before taking samples, customs declarants shall notify customs offices and specialized inspection-conducting agencies of the time and places of sampling.

The notification shall be conducted via the Vietnam National Single Window portal before registering for specialized inspection or via the electronic customs data processing system.

Customs declarants shall produce goods for specialized inspection-conducting agencies or organizations or customs offices to take samples;

d/ The sampling shall be witnessed by representatives of customs declarants. Samples shall be sealed and a record of the sampling shall be made with the certification of customs declarants and specialized inspection-conducting agencies or organizations;

dd/ Within 10 days after specialized inspection registration papers are granted or from the date of taking samples for the purpose of specialized inspection, unless otherwise prescribed by the law on specialized inspection, specialized management agencies and specialized inspection-conducting organizations or individuals shall make and send inspection conclusions to customs offices in accordance with Article 35 of the Customs Law or to the Vietnam National Single Window portal, in case such inspection agencies have their information technology systems connected with this portal, for customs offices to decide on customs clearance. Past the prescribed time limit, if the specialized management agencies or specialized inspection-conducting organizations or individuals cannot give specialized inspection conclusions, they shall issue a written explanation clearly stating the reason and the date on which the inspection conclusion will be available and sent to the customs office.”

17. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 3, Article 39 as follows:

“1. Cases subject to inspection:

a/ Organizations or individuals import goods for export processing or production for the first time;

b/ There are signs to determine that organizations or individuals have made changes to information on their address, business lines, or production scope and capacity but not notified such to customs offices;

c/ Organizations and individuals import goods for processing for foreign traders but outsource the whole processing contracts to other organizations or individuals;

d/ There are signs to determine that organizations or individuals store imported raw materials, supplies and components and exported products at places other than those notified to customs offices;

dd/ Other cases subject to inspection on the basis of risk management.

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 fully pay 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 be fined for violation according to regulations 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 belonging to conditional business investment lines prescribed by law but the organization or individual cannot produce permits or business eligibility certificates, or imports  materials, supplies, machinery and equipment unconformable with the production sectors it/he/she has notified to the customs office, the organization or individual may give explanation; in case the organization or individual cannot give any explanation or gives unreasonable explanation, it/he/she shall be handled according to regulations and post-customs clearance inspection or specialized inspection shall be conducted under regulations.”

18. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 40 as follows:

“1. Cases subject to inspection:

a/ Organizations or individuals identified as risky subjects have imported machinery, equipment, materials and supplies but have no product for export upon the expiration of the production cycle;

b/ There are signs 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 signs to determine that organizations or individuals sell materials, supplies, machinery, equipment or products into the inland without making customs declaration;

d/ Organizations or individuals are detected to have improperly and untruthfully declared their export products;

For the cases prescribed at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article, organizations and individuals shall make written explanation at the request of customs offices. Inspection shall only be conducted if organizations or individuals fail to make explanation or customs offices have grounds to believe that organizations’ or individuals’ explanation is unreasonable.”

19. To amend and supplement Article 43 as follows:

“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 the customs offices of the first border-gate of importation and the last border-gate of exportation, except cases in which in-transit goods are loaded together with imported or exported goods in a container or freight wagon or packed together with imported or exported goods consigned via postal services or express delivery services prescribed in Clause 9
of this Article.

Goods in transit under multilateral agreements on goods transit which Vietnam has signed or acceded to must comply with separate regulations of the Government.

2. A customs dossier must comprise:

a/ A transportation declaration or its substitute, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

b/ A manifest of goods in transit, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

c/ One copy of the bill of lading, in case in-transit goods are transported by sea, air or railway or in-transit goods are transported by road and packed together with imported and exported goods;

d/ One original of the transit license prescribed by law or the notice of specialized inspection results as prescribed by relevant laws.

3. Responsibilities of customs declarants:

a/ To comply with Clause 4, Article 25 of this Decree;

b/ 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;

c/ To ensure the intactness of goods, customs seals and carriers’ seals;

d/ In case in-transit goods are transferred to other carriages, consigned to warehouses, shipments of in-transit goods are divided, mode of transport or carrying vehicles of in-transit goods changes, or in-transit goods are loaded together with other goods in a container, to send to the Customs Branch managing the place where the  transshipment, consignment to warehouses, division of shipments, change of mode of transport or carrying vehicles or container loading, one original of the request therefor made according to the form provided in the Appendix to this Decree. If obtaining the customs office’s acceptance, to make customs declaration in a transportation declaration or bill of lading for each route and each mode of transport;

dd/ To provide goods for physical inspection at the request of customs offices.

4. Responsibilities of Customs Branches of border gates of importation:

a/ To receive and process customs dossiers under Clause 2 of this Article;

b/ To seal  in-transit goods containers, in case such goods are transported by road;

c/ To place customs seals on goods transported by sea, inland waterway, air or railway in case carriers’ seals have been broken.

In case goods are transported by inland waterway into Vietnam but it is impossible to check the carriers’ seals and place customs seals, to assign customs declarants to take responsibility for the intactness of goods.

d/ For in-transit goods which are transported by road or inland waterway, in addition to complying with Points b and c of this Clause, to supervise goods by technical devices under Point a, Clause 7 of this Article;

dd/ To appoint customs officers to directly supervise in-transit goods in the case prescribed at Point c, Clause 7 of this Article;

g/ To conduct physical inspection of goods showing signs of violation.

5. Responsibilities of Customs Branches managing the places where the carriage transfer, consignment to warehouses, division of shipments, change of mode of transport or carrying vehicles or container loading is conducted

a/ To receive requests prescribed at Point d, Clause 3 of this Article and check the conditions prescribed in Clause 9 of this Article. In case these conditions are not fully met, to issue a notice of non-acceptance clearly stating the reason;

In case these conditions are fully met, to approve the requests and for each request, return 1 original to the customs declarant and archive 1 copy;

b/ To check customs seals and carriers’ seals;

c/ To supervise the carriage transfer, consignment to warehouses, division of shipments, change of mode of transport or carrying vehicles or container loading, and place customs seals;

d/ To carry out customs procedures for goods transported by each mode.

6. Responsibilities of Customs Branches of border gates of exportation:    

a/ To check information in transportation declarations or their substitutes in the electronic customs data processing system;

b/ To check the state of seals or intactness of goods.

In case in-transit goods are transported abroad by inland waterway, Customs Branches of border gates of exportation shall base themselves on information on routes, time of transportation and warnings (if any) to decide to check the state of customs seals or carriers’ seals;

c/ To conduct physical inspection goods showing signs of violation.

7. Customs supervision

a/ In-transit goods must bear customs seals or carriers’ seals. Goods which cannot be sealed shall be handed to customs declarants for preservation of their original state.

For in-transit goods transported by inland waterway or road, in addition to customs seals or carriers’ seals or for in-transit goods which cannot be sealed, customs offices shall use other technical devices to supervise goods during transportation on the basis of risk analysis and assessment results;

b/ In-transit goods banned from trading, banned from export, suspended from export, banned from import or suspended from import; goods to be imported or exported under permits; and goods liable to excise tax shall be supervised with technical devices;

c/ Weapons, ammunitions or explosive materials and highly dangerous goods in transit shall be supervised by technical devices or directly by customs officers.

8. In force majeure circumstances where the goods’ intactness or customs seals or carriers’ seals cannot be kept 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.

9. The carriage transfer, consignment to warehouses, change of  the mode of transportation or carrying vehicles of in-transit goods; division of shipments of in-transit goods or loading of in-transit goods onto the same containers or freight wagons together with to-be-imported goods or with exported goods already cleared from customs procedures or other in-transit goods for export, or the packaging of in-transit goods with imported or exported goods consigned via postal services or express delivery services shall be conducted at border gates of importation, border gates of exportation, bonded warehouses, container freight stations (CFS), places of customs clearance at ports of importation or exportation in ICDs, places where goods consigned by postal services are gathered for centralized customs inspection and supervision, and places where goods consigned by express delivery services are gathered for centralized customs inspection and supervision, respectively.

The location of bonded warehouses, CFS, ICDs, places where goods consigned by postal services are gathered for centralized inspection and supervision, and places where goods consigned by express delivery services are gathered for centralized inspection and supervision specified in this Clause must conform to the transit routes prescribed by the Ministry of Transport.

10. In-transit goods loaded onto the same containers or freight wagons together with exported goods already cleared from customs procedures, to-be-imported goods, or in-transit goods packed together with imported or exported goods consigned via postal services or express delivery services must meet the following conditions:

a/ Goods shall be packed separately (in separate bales, cartons, packs, etc.) so that they can be distinguished from imported or exported goods;

b/ In-transit goods are not subject to transit permits in accordance with law or are not liquor, beer or cigarettes; 

c/ To-be-imported goods which are loaded onto the same containers or freight wagons with in-transit goods after shipments of in-transit goods are divided at the places (other than border gates of importation) prescribed in Clause 9 of this Article are outside the list of imported goods for which import procedures must be carried out at border gates of importation under the Prime Minister’s regulations;

d/ Exported goods which are loaded onto the same containers or freight wagons with in-transit goods or exported goods consigned via postal services or express delivery services which are packed together with in-transit goods shall be exported via the same border gates with in-transit goods; border gates of exportation must be international border gates according to current regulations;

e/ Containers, freight wagons and containers of goods consigned via postal services or express delivery services must meet requirements for customs sealing.

The Ministry of Finance shall stipulate in detail this Article.”

20. To amend and supplement Article 44 as follows:

“Article 44. Customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision of goods transshipped at seaports

1. Transshipped goods shall be transported by sea from abroad into transshipment areas at seaports and then brought abroad directly from these transshipment areas or brought to transshipment areas at other wharves or seaports and then brought abroad. Transshipped goods which are brought from/to seaports shall be transported by inland waterway or sea. Transshipped goods may be brought abroad in part or in whole of their shipments.

2. Transshipment of goods prescribed in this Article includes also loading and unloading, transportation and preservation of goods at the request of carriers in transshipment areas of border gates of importation or border gates of exportation.

Transshipped goods shall be retained for no more than 30 days from the date of completion of customs procedures at border gates of importation.

If transshipped goods are damaged during the time they are retained at Vietnam’s seaports and therefor need time to be remedied, the duration of transshipment may be extended correspondingly to the time required for performance of such jobs, and the extension shall be approved by the customs office that carries out transshipment procedures; in case transshipped goods are transshipped under permits of a competent agency, the extension shall be approved in writing by such agency.

3. Transshipment areas where transshipped goods are retained shall be separated from other cargo retention goods of seaports, equipped with camera systems and subject to customs supervision. Goods brought into or out of transshipment areas shall be monitored and managed by software connected with customs offices.

4. Goods transshipment areas at Vietnam’s seaports are type-IA seaports under the Prime Minister’s decisions or Ho Chi Minh City seaports and have sufficient technical infrastructure facilities as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

5. At least 5 days before commencing to provide goods transshipment services, a seaport operation enterprise shall send a notice of the location of the transshipment area to the Customs Branch managing the transshipment area for supervision. If there is any change in location or area of the transshipment area, the seaport operation enterprise shall send a notice thereon before bringing transshipped goods into such areas for retention.

6. Transshipped goods shall be subject to customs supervision from the time of arrival to Vietnam’s seaports, throughout the process of retention at seaports and during transportation until they are brought out of Vietnam’s territory. Physical inspection of transshipped goods shall be conducted only in case of detecting signs of violation.

7. A customs dossier for transshipped goods must comprise:

a/ Transportation declaration or its substitute, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

b/ A manifest of goods brought into the transshipment area, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

c/ One copy of the bill of lading;

d/ One original of a competent agency’s permission or notice of specialized inspection results in accordance with law.

8. Responsibilities of customs declarants

a/ To comply with Clause 4, Article 25 of this Decree;

b/ To ensure intactness of goods, customs seals or carriers’ seals throughout the process of transportation or retention at ports;

c/ To provide goods for physical inspection at the request of customs offices;

d/ To bring all transshipped goods abroad within the time limit prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

9. Responsibilities of Customs Branches of border gates of importation:

a/ To receive and process customs dossiers under Clause 7 of this Article;

b/ To supervise transshipped goods;

c/ To place customs seals on goods containers in case transshipped goods are transported between wharves of a seaport or in case carriers’ seals on goods containers have been broken;

d/ To conduct physical inspection of goods showing signs of violation.

10. Responsibilities of Customs Branches of border gates of exportation:

a/ To check information in transportation declarations or substitutes in the electronic customs data processing system;

b/ To check the state of customs seals or carriers’ seals or intactness of goods in case goods cannot be sealed;

c/ To supervise the loading of transshipped goods onto vehicles for export abroad;

d/ To conduct physical inspection of goods showing signs of violation.

The Ministry of Finance shall stipulate in detail this Article.”

21. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 4, Article 48 as follows:

“1. Forms of re-export of imported goods for which customs procedures have been completed include:

a/ Re-export for return to customers;

b/ Re-export to a third country or into a non-tariff zone.

4. Goods (except narcotics, weapons, reactionary documents, and schedule-I toxic chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention) for which import procedures have not yet been carried out or for which customs declarations have been registered but customs procedures have not yet been completed and which are retained in customs supervision areas since they are mistakenly consigned or strayed or remain unclaimed or are abandoned by their owners, if their carriers or owners make written requests for permission for their re-export (clearly stating the reason for the goods’ being mistakenly consigned, being strayed or abandoned), or goods which are subject to re-export under decisions of competent agencies, shall be supervised until they are actually exported out of Vietnam’s territory right at the border gates of importation as decided by heads of Customs Branches of the place where they are retained.”

22. To amend and supplement Article 49 as follows:

“1. Imported or exported goods containers used on a rotational basis by the mode of temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import include:

a/ Empty containers with or without hangers;

b/ Flexi-tank containers for liquid cargoes;

c/ Gas or liquid tanks having stable, firm and durable structures which are used to contain and transport gas, have number signs printed on their outer shells and are transported by special-use cars;

d/ Other containers used rotationally to contain imported or exported goods.

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 or temporary export, before the expiration of the registered 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 or temporary export, traders that fail to re-export or re-import goods shall be handled in accordance with law.

3. A customs dossier must comprise:

a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance, for rotational-use containers prescribed at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article;

b/ A list of goods temporarily imported or exported, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance, for rotational-use containers prescribed at Points a, b and c, Clause 1 of this Article;

c/ One copy of the bill of lading, for temporarily imported goods transported by sea, air or railway;

d/ One original of the import permit or export permit; or notice of specialized inspection results in accordance with relevant laws.

4. Customs procedures

a/ For rotational-use containers prescribed at Points a, b and c, Clause 1 of this Article:

When importing or exporting goods, customs declarants shall make a declaration of the list of temporarily imported or exported goods and submit the papers prescribed at Points c and d, Clause 3 of this Article.

Customs Branches where procedures for temporary import or export are carried out shall monitor, compare and certify the quantity of temporarily imported or exported containers; and conduct physical inspection when having doubts.

b/ Customs procedures for rotational-use containers prescribed at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.

5. Places of customs clearance:

a/ For rotational-use containers specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 1 of this Article: Customs procedures shall be carried out at border-gate Customs Branches;

b/ For other rotational-use containers basis specified at Point d, 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 are carried out.

6. Within the time limit for temporary import for re-export registered with customs offices, rotational-use 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 list of temporarily imported goods is registered and temporary import procedures are carried out a document clearly explaining the reason for change of the use purpose of rotational-use containers;

b/ The head of the Customs Branch where the list of temporarily imported goods 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 more than one border gate, he/she may choose the Customs Branch at one among such border gates to carry out import customs procedures.”

23. To amend and supplement Article 50 as follows:

“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 or installation 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 must comprise:          

a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form issued 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 specialized inspection results as prescribed by the relevant law.

2. A customs dossier for construction equipment, machinery and vehicles, molds and models temporarily exported for re-import must comprise:          

a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

b/ One original of the export permit and notice of specialized inspection results prescribed by the relevant law.

3. Places of customs clearance: Customs procedures shall be carried out at border-gate Customs Branches, Customs Branches of the places where express delivery service providers’ establishments are located or Customs Branches of localities where production establishments or projects are located. For construction machinery, equipment, tools and vehicles temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import to serve processing contracts, export processing or operation of export processing enterprises, customs procedures shall be carried out at Customs Branches convenient for businesses.

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 or installation, project implementation or testing as agreed with partners, customs declarants shall notify such in writing to Customs Branches where temporary import or temporary export procedures are carried out.

Past the time limit for temporary import or temporary export, customs declarants that fail to re-export or re-import goods shall be handled in accordance with law.

6. In case enterprises engaged in temporary import or temporary 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 or installation, project implementation or testing, they shall carry out customs procedures under Section 5 of this Chapter.”

24. To amend and supplement the title and Clause 3 of Article 51 as follows:

“Article 51. Customs procedures for seagoing ships and aircraft temporarily imported for re-export for repair or maintenance

3. The time limit for temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import must comply with contracts on provision of seagoing ship or aircraft repair or maintenance services and shall be registered with border-gate Customs Branches.”

25. To amend and supplement Article 52 as follows:

“Article 52. Customs procedures for machinery, equipment, components, spare parts and articles temporarily imported for replacement and repair of foreign seagoing ships and aircraft or temporarily exported for replacement and repair of overseas Vietnamese seagoing ships and aircraft

1. For temporarily imported or exported machinery, equipment, components, spare parts and articles carried on board aircraft or seagoing ships upon their entry or exit or consigned before or after the entry or exit 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 must comprise:

a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

b/ One copy of the bill of lading, for goods carried by sea, air or railway (except goods carried on board a ship on entry);

c/ One original of the import or export permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.

3. Places of customs clearance: Border-gate Customs Branches or Customs Branches of the places where express delivery service providers’ establishments are located.

4. For machinery, equipment, components and spare parts temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for repair or use for operation of seagoing ships or aircraft under contracts on provision of seagoing ship or aircraft repair, maintenance or replacement services signed with foreign partners, customs procedures may be carried out at the most convenient Customs Branch and are the same as those for processing as guided by the Ministry of Finance.”

26. To amend and supplement Article 53 as follows:

“Article 53. Customs procedures for goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for organization of or participation in trade fairs, exhibitions or product displays

1. A customs dossier for goods temporarily imported for re-export must comprise:

a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

b/ One copy of the bill of lading, for goods carried by sea, air or railway;

c/ One copy of the document on the organization of or participation in a trade fair or an exhibition, bearing certification of a competent agency (except goods temporarily imported 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 must comprise:

a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

b/ One copy of the document on the organization of or participation in a trade fair or an exhibition, bearing certification of a competent agency (except goods temporarily exported for re-import for product display);

c/ One original of the export permit and notice of results of specialized inspection prescribed by the relevant law.

3. Places of customs clearance: border-gate Customs Branches of the places where trade fairs, exhibitions or product displays are organized, or border-gate Custom Branches, Customs Branches of the places where express delivery service providers’ establishments are located, or Customs Branches managing export-processing enterprises, in case export-processing enterprises bring goods into the inland or abroad for organization of or participation in trade fairs, exhibitions or product displays.

4. Time limit for re-export or re-import:

a/ Goods temporarily imported for organization of or participation in a trade fair, an exhibition or a product display in Vietnam shall be re-exported within 30 days after the end of such trade fair, exhibition or product display as registered with the customs office;

b/ The time limit for temporary export of goods for participation in an overseas trade fair, exhibition or product display is one year after such goods are temporarily exported. Past the above time limit, if such goods are not re-imported, they shall be subject to duties and other financial obligations prescribed by Vietnam’s law.”

27. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 4, Article 54 as follows:

“1. Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import to serve working purposes in a certain period include goods for conferences, seminars, scientific research, education, sports competitions, cultural and artistic events or other events, medical examination and treatment, or product research and development; and machinery, equipment and tools to serve working purposes in a certain period.     

4. Places of customs clearance: border-gate Customs Branches or Customs Branches of the places where express delivery service providers’ establishments are located.”

28. To amend and supplement the title and Clause 3 of Article 55 as follows:

“Article 55. Customs procedures for goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for warranty, repair or replacement

3. Places of customs clearance: border-gate Customs Branches, Customs Branches of the places where express delivery service providers’ establishments are located, or Customs Branches of the places where the production establishments or projects are located. For goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import of export-processing enterprises processing and producing exports for warranty, repair or replacement, customs procedures may be carried out at the most convenient Customs Branch.”

29. To add the following Article 55a:

“Article 55a. Customs procedures for other goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import

1. A customs dossier for goods temporarily imported for re-export must comprise:

 a/ Customs declaration, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

b/ One copy of the bill of lading (if any), for goods carried 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 issued 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 clearance: border-gate Customs Branches or Customs Branches of the places where production establishments or projects are located.

4. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.

5. The time limit for temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import shall be agreed upon by the trader and partner and registered with the customs office. If wishing to extend the time limit for temporary import for re-export, the customs declarant shall send a written notice to the Customs Branch of the place where procedures for temporary import for re-export are carried out. Past this time limit, if the customs declarant has not re-exported or re-imported the goods, he/she/it shall be handled in accordance with law.”

30. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 59 as follows:

“2. Persons on exit or entry are not required to make customs declaration if having no luggage in excess of the duty-free quota prescribed by the tax laws or no luggage consigned before or after their trips.

Persons on exit or entry who carry goods in excess of the duty-free quota through a customs inspection area without making customs declaration shall be regarded as illegally exporting or importing goods and shall be handled in accordance with law.

When making customs declaration, a customs declarant may not aggregate the duty-free quotas of many persons on entry in order to make duty-free declaration for one person on entry, except luggage of members of a family carried on the same trip. The declaration of duty-free quotas shall be made upon each entry.”

31. To add the following Clauses 5, 6 and 7 to Article 60:

“5. No import permit or notice of results of specialized inspection is required when carrying out import procedures for luggage of persons on entry with a total customs value exceeding the duty-free quota prescribed at Point d, Clause 1, Article 6 of the Government’s Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP of September 1, 2016, detailing a number of articles of and measures to implement the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty, and on the list of goods requiring import permit or subject to specialized inspection as prescribed by law, and having a total customs value not exceeding VND 20 million, or for luggage being articles in complete units with a total customs value exceeding VND 20 million.

6. At the time of carrying out import procedures, persons on entry must produce the import permit or notice of results of specialized inspection for their luggage which is on the list of goods requiring import permit or subject to specialized inspection as prescribed by law and has a total value exceeding the level specified in Clause 5 of this Article. Cases of failing to produce such permit or notice shall be handled by the customs office in accordance with regulations.

7. When carrying out import procedures for the luggage as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, if persons on entry cannot produce the customs declaration applicable to persons on exit or entry specified at Point c, Clause 2 of this Article, they will not be entitled to the duty-free quota for their luggage as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6 of the Government’s Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP of September 1, 2016, detailing a number of articles of and measures to implement the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty, and shall comply with the policy on management of imported goods prescribed in Clause 5 of this Article.”

32. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 61 as follows:

“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 bill of lading: master bill of lading, or house bill of lading, in case the aircraft carries imported goods;

c/ Passenger list, in case the aircraft carries passengers;

d/ List of crewmembers and attendants on board the aircraft;

dd/ Manifest of consigned luggage, in case the aircraft carries passengers;

e/ Information on passenger name records (PNR);

g/ Information on the flight, including flight route, code of the flight, name of the airline, airport of arrival, number of passengers, and time of entry.

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/ Passenger list, in case the aircraft carries passengers;

c/ List of crewmembers and attendants on board the aircraft;

d/ Manifest of consigned luggage, in case the aircraft carries passengers;

dd/ Information on PNR;

e/ Information on the flight, including flight route, code of the flight, name of the airline, airport of departure, number of passengers, and time of exit.”

33. To amend and supplement Article 62 as follows:

“Article 62. Deadlines for provision of information in customs dossiers

1. For an aircraft on entry:

a/ At least 3 hours before the entry of the aircraft at the first Vietnamese airport, for flights of over 3 hours;

b/ At least 30 minutes before the entry of the aircraft at the first Vietnamese airport, for flights of under 3 hours;

c/ The time for provision of information on PNR is at least 24 hours before the expected time of entry of the aircraft.

2. For an aircraft on exit:

a/ Right after the carrier completes procedures for exported goods or passengers on exit to before the time of exit of the aircraft; particularly, the declaration of exported goods and master bill of lading shall be submitted within 1 hour after the exit of the aircraft;

b/ The time for provision of information on PNR is at least 24 hours before the expected time of exit of the aircraft.

3. For an aircraft in transit:

Upon its entry, procedures shall be carried out under Clause 1 of this Article; upon its exit, if customs declaration is required, it must comply with Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Time limits for submission of paper dossiers

a/ For an aircraft on entry, the customs declarant shall submit such dossiers to the customs office within 30 minutes after the aircraft parks at the designated position;

b/ For an aircraft on exit, the customs declarant shall submit such dossiers to the customs office within 30 minutes after the carrier completes procedures for exported goods or passengers on exit;

c/ For an aircraft in transit, the customs declarant shall submit dossiers under Point a or b of this Clause.

5. The customs declarant shall submit dossiers prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 61 of this Decree in electronic form to the customs office via the Vietnam National Single Window portal; information details in the above documents must comply with regulations of the Ministry of Finance; in case the customs declarant has insufficient information on the house bill of lading, the house bill of lading issuer shall send additional information on this bill via the Vietnam National Single Window portal within the time limits specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

In case the system encounters an incident that interrupts e-transactions, the customs declarant shall submit paper documents to the customs office, made according to the forms issued by the Ministry of Finance; right after the system resumes operation, the customs declarant shall create and send electronic information to the Vietnam National Single Window portal.

6. If there is any modification in information and customs dossiers for aircraft on exit or entry or in transit, the customs declarant shall send the modified information via the Vietnam National Single Window portal within the time limits below:

a/ Before or right after the aircraft on entry parks at the designated position, for the documents specified in Clause 1, Article 61 of this Decree, except the information specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 61 of this Decree which shall be submitted before or after the aircraft’s entry, and information specified at Point e, Clause 1, Article 61 of this Decree which shall be submitted at least 8 hours before the aircraft’s entry;

The customs declarant shall submit to the customs office the documents proving the modification of the documents specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 61 of this Decree;

b/ Before the time of the aircraft’s exit, for the documents specified in Clause 2, Article 61 of this Decree, except the information specified at Point a, Clause 2, Article 61 of this Decree which shall be submitted within 24 hours after the aircraft’s exit, and information specified at Point dd, Clause 2, Article 61 of this Decree which shall be submitted at least 8 hours before the aircraft’s exit;

The customs declarant shall submit to the customs office the documents proving the modification of the documents specified at Point a, Clause 2, Article 61 of this Decree;

c/ For an aircraft in transit, the customs declarant shall comply with Point a of this Clause upon the aircraft’s entry and with Point b of this Clause upon the aircraft’s exit.

7. Processing of modified information in dossiers for aircraft on exit or entry or in transit

a/ The Vietnam National Single Window portal shall receive the modified information and automatically reply to the customs declarant, for the documents specified in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 61 of this Decree;

c/ The customs office of the place where procedures for the aircraft are carried out shall use the modified information in the Vietnam National Single Window portal in order to take measures to manage, supervise and inspect vehicles and goods under regulations and provide information to related units and agencies for performing relevant operations.”

34. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 63 as follows:

“1. Receipt and processing of dossiers for an aircraft on exit or entry or in transit

a/ The Vietnam National Single Window portal shall receive the declared information and automatically give a notice of acceptance of the declared information if such information is sufficient, or request the customs declarant to supplement the dossier if the declared information is insufficient.

In case the customs declarant fails to supplement the dossier as required, the head of the airport-managing Customs Branch shall handle the case under Point b of this Clause;

b/ The airport-managing Customs Branch shall use customs information on the Vietnam National Single Window portal or information from paper dossiers and other information for inspection, synthesis and analysis.

In case the customs declarant fails to supplement the dossier as required or when there is a ground to believe that the aircraft on exit or entry carries smuggled goods or illegally transports goods, the head of the airport-managing Customs Branch shall decide on the form and measure of supervising the aircraft, to conduct physical inspection of the aircraft, and decide on the level of inspection of goods or luggage, or take other operational measures as prescribed by law;

c/ In case the airport authority, court, Public Security agency and other competent agencies issue a written request for suspension from carrying out customs procedures for an aircraft on exit or entry, the head of the airport-managing Customs Branch shall coordinate with related agencies in handling the case in accordance with law;

d/ The time limit for carrying out customs procedures for an aircraft on exit or entry or in transit is one hour after the customs declarant submits or produces a complete customs dossier as prescribed in Article 61 of this Decree.

2. Customs supervision of an aircraft on exit or entry or in transit

a/ Based on the information provided by the airport operation enterprise under Article 64 of this Decree, the customs office shall supervise the aircraft on exit or entry or in transit throughout the period of its parking at the airport;

b/ During supervision, if detecting a sign of goods smuggling or illegal transportation, the customs office shall take measures to inspect, prevent or seize the goods in accordance with law.”

35. To amend Clause 1 of, and add Clauses 3 and 4 to, Article 64 as follows:

“1. At least 24 hours for regular flights or one hour for unscheduled flights before an aircraft’s entry and before the carrier completes aviation procedures for passengers on exit and exported goods, the airport operation enterprise shall provide the airport-managing Customs Branch with 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/ Times for loading and unloading cargo onto and from the aircraft.

2. At least one hour before an aircraft’s exit or entry, the airport operation enterprise shall notify the customs office of any change in the information specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. The airport operation enterprise shall share camera-recorded data with the customs office to serve customs supervision of aircraft on exit or entry or in transit and exported, imported or transited goods.

4. Responsibilities of airlines or their authorized persons:

a/ To fully, accurately and clearly declare customs dossiers for aircraft on exit or entry or in transit within the prescribed time limit;

b/ To take responsibility before law for the authenticity of the information declared and documents submitted, produced or sent to the Vietnam National Single Window portal, and for the consistency of information in the dossiers kept at the enterprise and at the customs office.”

36. To amend and supplement Article 65 as follows:

“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/ Cargo declaration, in case the ship carries the goods;

c/ Information on bill of lading: master bill of lading, or house bill of lading, in case the ship carries the goods;

d/ Crew list;

dd/ Declaration of luggage of crewmembers and attendants working on board the ship;

e/ The ship’s stores declaration;

g/ Passenger list, in case the ship carries passengers;

h/ Dangerous goods manifest, in case the ship carries dangerous goods.

2. A customs dossier for a seagoing ship on exit must comprise:

a/ General declaration;

b/ Cargo declaration, in case the ship carries cargo;

c/ Crew list;

d/ Declaration of luggage of crewmembers and attendants working on board the ship;

dd/ The ship’s stores declaration;

e/ Passenger list, in case the ship carries passengers;

g/ Dangerous goods manifest, in case the ship carries dangerous goods.

Upon the ship’s exit, if there is no change compared to the contents declared upon its entry, the customs declarant may 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, the 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 upon entry, the customs declarant shall submit a customs dossier comprising such documents.

4. Dossier for a ship in port transfer

The customs declarant shall send via the Vietnam National Single Window portal the dossiers and documents prescribed in Articles 95 and 97 of the Government’s Decree No. 58/2017/ND-CP of May 10, 2017, detailing a number of articles of the Maritime Code of Vietnam.”

37. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 4, Article 66 as follows:

“1. For a seagoing ship on entry:

a/ For declaration of goods and information on bill of lading: at least 12 hours before the expected time of arrival, for seagoing ships on a voyage of under 5 days; or at least 24 hours before the expected time of arrival, for seagoing ships on longer voyages;

b/ For the documents specified at Points a, d, dd, e, g and h, Clause 1, Article 65 of this Decree: at least 8 hours before the expected time of arrival.

4. The customs declarant shall submit the documents specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 65 of this Decree via the Vietnam National Single Window portal with information details required by the Ministry of Finance. If the customs declarant has insufficient information on the house bill of lading, the house bill of lading issuer shall send additional information on this bill via the Vietnam National Single Window portal within the time limit specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

In case the system encounters an incident that interrupts e-transactions, and in case of submitting paper dossiers, the customs declarant shall submit to the customs office the paper documents specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 65 of this Decree under regulations of the Ministry of Finance within 2 hours after the ship anchors at the wharf or within 4 hours after the ships anchors at another place within the port waters under the shifting order.

Right after the system resumes operation, the customs declarant shall create and send e-information to the Vietnam National Single Window portal.”

38. To amend and supplement Article 67 as follows:

“Article 67. Receipt and processing of customs dossiers  

1. Receipt and processing of customs dossiers for seagoing ships on entry or exit or in transit

a/ The customs office of the place where procedures for entry or exit of seagoing ships are carried out shall receive and exploit customs information on the Vietnam National Single Window portal 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

If the information is fully declared as prescribed, the customs office shall send a notice of acceptance of the declared information via the Vietnam National Single Window portal.

If the declared information is insufficient, the customs office shall notify the reason for its refusal to receive the information and request the customs declarant to supplement it via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

b/ If having a ground to believe that the seagoing ship carries smuggled goods or illegally transports goods, the head of the Customs Branch concerned shall decide on physical inspection of the ship or take other operational measures in accordance with law;

c/ In case the customs declarant submits a paper dossier: The customs office shall receive the dossier and check the documents therein as prescribed in Article 65 of this Decree, and notify it to the maritime administration concerned for carrying out procedures for the ship on entry or exit. If the dossier is incomplete, the customs office shall request the customs declarant to supplement it under regulations;

d/ In case of receiving a written request for suspension from customs clearance from another competent agency such as the maritime administration, court, Public Security agency, border guard, or quarantine agency, the customs office of the place where procedures for entry or exit of seagoing ships are carried out shall coordinate with such competent agency in handling the case under regulations.

2. Receipt and processing of customs dossiers for seagoing ships in transit or port transfer

a/ At the place of the ship’s entry, the customs office shall perform the jobs specified in Clause 1 of this Article; and check in the Vietnam National Single Window portal for information on the ship’s arrival and departure.

In case a seagoing ship is scheduled to be shifted to another seaport in Vietnam, the Customs Branch of the place where entry procedures are carried out or the Customs Branch of the place of departure of the ship shall receive information on its port transfer sent by the maritime administration, ship firm or ship firm agent, make a slip of handover of the dossier of the ship’s port transfer with details required by the Ministry of Finance, and send it to the Customs Branch of the expected place of the ship’s arrival.

b/ At the place of the ship’s arrival or place of the ship’s exit:

The customs office shall receive the slip of handover of the dossier of the ship’s port transfer, give feedback to the Customs Branch making such slip, and carry out customs procedures for the ship on exit as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

c/ In case the ship is scheduled to be further shifted to another port in Vietnam, the provisions of Point a of this Clause shall apply.

d/ In case the system encounters an incident that interrupts e-transactions, and in case the customs declarant submits a paper dossier:

The customs office of the place of the ship’s entry or place of the ship’s departure shall make a slip of handover of the dossier of the ship’s port transfer according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance; put it in a sealed dossier as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 65 of this Decree, and hand it to the customs declarant for forwarding it to the customs office of the place of arrival or place of exit of the ship.

The customs office of the place of exit or place of arrival of the ship shall receive from the customs declarant the sealed dossier forwarded by the customs office of the place of entry/departure of the ship, give feedback to the customs office that makes the slip of dossier handover, and carry out customs procedures for the ship on exit under regulations.

3. Responsibilities of a customs declarant:

To declare information in accordance with Clauses 1 and 2, Article 65, and Article 66, of this Decree upon the ship’s entry or exit.

Upon the ship’s port transfer, to submit via the Vietnam National Single Window portal to the customs office the documents with information details as prescribed in Articles 95 and 97 of the Government’s Decree No. 58/2017/ND-CP of May 10, 2017, detailing a number of articles of the Maritime Code of Vietnam.

4. The customs declarant shall send the modified customs information or dossiers, if any, for a seagoing ship on exit or entry or in transit via the Vietnam National Single Window portal within the time limits below:

a/ Before or right after the ship enters at the anchoring place, for the information specified in Clause 1, Article 65 of this Decree, except the information specified at Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 65, which shall be sent before or after the ship’s entry, and submit the papers supporting the modification to the customs office.

b/ Before the ship’s exit, for the information specified in Clause 2, Article 65 of this Decree, except the information specified at Point b, Clause 2, Article 65, which shall be sent within 24 hours after the ship’s exit, and submit to the customs office the papers supporting the modification.

c/ For a seagoing ship in transit or port transfer, such time limit must comply with Point a of this Clause upon its entry or with Point b of this Clause upon its exit.

d/ If the customs declarant modifies the paper dossier already submitted to the customs office, the time limit for declaring the modification must comply with Point a, b or c of this Clause.

5. Processing of information modified against customs dossiers for seagoing ship on exit or entry or in transit or port transfer

The customs office of the place where entry, exit or transit procedures are carried out or the place of arrival or departure of a ship shall, based on the modification-supporting papers submitted by the customs declarant, check the modified information, and shall:

a/ Update the modified information in the system, or state the reason for its refusal to accept such information;

b/ Apply management and supervision measures under regulations and provide information to competent units and agencies for performing relevant operations.

6. The customs office shall carry out customs procedures for a seagoing ship on exit or entry or in transit or port transfer within one hour after the customs declarant submits or produces a complete customs dossier prescribed in Article 65 of this Decree.”

39. To amend and supplement Article 68 as follows:

“Article 68. Responsibilities of maritime administrations, seaport operation enterprises, shipmasters, and ship firms or persons authorized by ship firms

1. Responsibilities of maritime administrations

a/ Right after receiving a confirmation of the time of arrival of a ship at the seaport or expected time of departure from the seaport, the maritime administration shall immediately notify such to the customs office and other management agencies based at the seaport for coordination;

b/ Upon receiving the decision (if any) on shifting a ship on exit from, entry into or in transit via the seaport, or on changing the place where the ship is anchored, the maritime administration shall notify the customs office and other management agencies based at the seaport of the designated time and place for the ship to anchor at the seaport;

c/ The maritime administration of the seaport where procedures for a ship’s arrival or departure are carried out shall send the port clearance permit or shifting order to the customs office at such seaport via the Vietnam National Single Window portal. In case the maritime administration has not been connected to this portal yet, upon granting a port clearance permit or issuing a shifting order, the maritime administration shall send one copy of this permit or order to the customs office.

2. Responsibilities of a seaport operation enterprise:

a/ To share camera-recorded information with the customs office to serve customs supervision of seagoing ships and exported and imported goods stored at the seaport;

b/ Before unloading cargo onto the seaport, to notify the customs office of the warehouse or storing yard where imported goods will be stored;

c/ To coordinate in customs monitoring, inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods brought into, stored in and brought out of the seaport area in accordance with the Customs Law and the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.

3. Responsibilities of the shipmaster:

a/ To operate the ship on entry from the time it enters the Vietnamese territory to the time it arrives at the customs operation area or operate the ship on exit from the customs operation area to the time it leaves the Vietnamese territory according to the designated route and positions of anchorage;

b/ To transship or carry alongside another ship the goods and articles on board the ship when it is approved by the customs office only at the designated position of anchorage.

4. Responsibilities of the ship firm or person authorized by the ship firm

a/ To fully, accurately and clearly declare customs information for a ship on exit or entry or in transit or port transfer within the prescribed time limit;

b/ To take responsibility before law for the authenticity of the declared information and documents submitted or produced or sent to the Vietnam National Single Window portal, and for the consistency of information stated in the dossiers kept at the enterprise and stored at the customs office.”

40. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 70 as follows:

“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 station;

b/ One copy of the bill of lading (if any);

c/ One original of the excerpt of the manifest of goods at the station, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

d/ One original of the passenger list, 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/ The documents specified at Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article;

b/ One original of the document on train-station interface for cargo;

c/ One copy of the bill of lading (if any);

d/ One original of the written confirmation of the order of train formation;

dd/ One original of the passenger list, for passenger trains, and passengers who check in at the station (if any).”

41. To add the following Clause 4 to Article 71:

“4. The head of the railway station or head of the train or his/her lawful representative shall submit the documents specified in Articles 69 and 70 of this Decree, made according to the forms issued by the Ministry of Finance.”

42. To add the following Point e to Clause 1, Article 72:

“e/ If detecting a sign of transporting goods in violation of the customs law, the head of the Customs Branch concerned shall decide on physical inspection of the vehicle or take other operational measures as prescribed by law.”

43. To amend and supplement Article 74 as follows:

“Article 74. Customs dossiers for automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds on entry

1. For an automobile, a motorcycle or a moped on entry (temporarily imported foreign automobile, motorcycle or moped, or re-imported Vietnamese automobile, motorcycle or moped), the customs declarant shall submit or produce:

a/ The original of the transshipment permit granted by a competent agency;

b/ The original of the vehicle registration certificate, for temporarily imported foreign automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds;

c/ One original of the passenger list, for passenger automobiles;

d/ One original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance; or the original of the declaration of road vehicles temporarily exported for re-import bearing temporary export certification by the border-gate Customs Branch that has carried out temporary export procedures;

dd/ For automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds upon entry of organizations and individuals of third countries not regulated by the treaties which the Vietnamese Government has signed, in addition to the documents specified at Points a, b, c and d of this Clause, a written permission or approval by a competent Vietnamese agency is required.

2. For automobiles on entry under the Greater Mekong Sub-region Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (GMS Agreement), procedures must comply with this Agreement and guiding documents.

3. For foreign right-hand-drive automobiles prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 80/2009/ND-CP of October 1, 2009, providing foreign right-hand-drive automobiles registered in foreign countries and running on roads in Vietnam, and motor vehicles brought into Vietnam by foreign tourists prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 152/2013/ND-CP of November 4, 2013, on management of motor vehicles bought into Vietnam by foreign tourists, the customs declarant shall:

a/ Produce the original of the written approval of the Ministry of Transport;

b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration certificate;

c/ Submit one original of the declaration of the road vehicle temporarily imported for re-export.”

44. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 3, Article 75 as follows:

“1. For an automobile, a motorcycle or a moped on exit (temporarily exported Vietnamese automobile, motorcycle or moped or re-exported foreign automobile, motorcycle or moped), the customs declarant shall submit or produce:

a/ The original of transshipment permit or written permission granted by a competent agency;

b/ The original of vehicle registration certificate, for temporarily exported Vietnamese automobiles, motorcycles or mopeds;

c/ One original of the passenger list, for passenger automobiles;

d/ One original of the declaration of the road vehicle temporarily exported for re-import, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance; or the original of the declaration of the road vehicle temporarily imported for re-export bearing temporary import certification by the border-gate Customs Branch that has carried out temporary import procedures.

3. For foreign right-hand-drive automobiles prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 80/2009/ND-CP of October 1, 2009, providing foreign right-hand-drive automobiles registered in foreign countries and running on roads in Vietnam, and motor vehicles brought into Vietnam by foreign tourists prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 152/2013/ND-CP of November 4, 2013, on management of motor vehicles bought into Vietnam by foreign tourists, the customs declarant shall:

a/ Produce the original of the written approval of the Ministry of Transport;

b/ Produce the original of the vehicle registration certificate;

c/ Submit one original of the declaration of the road vehicle temporarily imported for re-export bearing temporary import certification by the border-gate Customs Branch that has carried out temporary import procedures.”

45. To amend and supplement Article 76 as follows:

“Article 76. Time limits for submission of customs dossiers

1. For automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds on entry: Upon arrival of an automobile, a motorcycle or a moped 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, motorcycles and mopeds on exit: Upon arrival of an automobile, a motorcycle or a moped 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.”

46. To amend and supplement Article 77 as follows:

“Article 77. Customs procedures, inspection and supervision of automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds on exit or entry

1. Responsibilities of the customs declarant:

a/ Fill in and sign a declaration of the road vehicle temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance; to submit and produce the customs dossier prescribed in Articles 74, 75 and 76 of this Decree; to bring the vehicle into the place of inspection at the request of the customs office;

b/ In case of re-export or re-import in which the customs declarant cannot produce a declaration of temporary import for re-export or a declaration of temporary export for re-import bearing certification of the border-gate Customs Branch, he/she shall give explanation and fill in a declaration of temporary import for re-export or a declaration of temporary export for re-import.

2. Responsibilities of the customs office:

a/ To receive the customs dossier submitted or produced by the customs declarant, and input information into the software for management of road vehicles;

b/ To check the customs dossier and contents of the documents in the dossier under Articles 74 and 75 of this Decree and the Government’s regulations on management of foreign motor vehicles brought into Vietnam;

c/ If the dossier is incomplete or invalid, to reject it and state the reason for rejection and contents to be modified to the customs declarant;

d/ If the dossier is complete and invalid, to print the declaration of temporary import for re-export or the declaration of temporary export for re-import from the system, append the customs officer’s seal for the dossier receipt, and “VIETNAM CUSTOMS” mark according to the forms issued by the General Director of Customs, in the declaration, and hand it to the customs declarant for carrying out  re-import or re-export procedures; to store such declaration submitted by the customs declarant when carrying out re-import or re-export procedures;

dd/ If the software for management of road vehicles does not work, to provide a declaration of the vehicle to the customs declarant free of charge, and guide him/her to fill in this declaration;

e/ To perform risk management to check dossiers, conduct physical inspection, and certify the temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import for automobiles, motorcycles or mopeds on entry or exit.

3. Customs inspection of vehicles on exit or entry

On the basis of performing risk management, or when having grounds to believe that the vehicle carries smuggled goods or illegally carries goods, the head of the Customs Branch concerned shall decide on physical inspection of the vehicle or take other operational measures in accordance with law.

4. Customs supervision of automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds on exit or entry

a/ Within a customs operation area, the customs office shall assume the prime responsibility and use technical devices for supervising automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds on exit or entry;

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 automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds on exit or entry.

5. In case of one-stop single-window inspection, the regulations on customs procedures for one-stop single-window inspection or the national single-window mechanism shall be complied with.”

47. To add the following Article 77a:

“Article 77a. Customs procedures in specific cases

1. For passenger vehicles running along fixed routes that frequently exit or enter Vietnam via the same border gate under the transshipment permit, their operators may make customs declaration only once within 30 days. Information on subsequent exits or entries shall be updated and monitored by the customs office in written or electronic form and the declaration shall be liquidated upon the last exit or entry.

2. For ambulances, fire engines, salvage and rescue vehicles, or vehicles for humanitarian relief or performance of emergency tasks without permit on exit or entry:

a/ Their operators shall fill in a declaration for the vehicle on exit or entry and produce papers related to the vehicle and their identification papers;

b/ The customs office shall receive the dossier submitted or produced by the customs declarant, conduct physical inspection of the vehicle, input information into the software for management of road vehicles, and notify such to related units and agencies for coordination, monitoring and handling.

3. For automobiles bearing private number plates of border-gate economic zones

a/ When running into the inland, they must undergo customs procedures for temporary import for re-export under regulations;

b/ If they have an international transshipment permit, they must undergo procedures for temporary export for re-import under regulations.

4. For automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds upon exit or entry of organizations and individuals of third countries not regulated by the treaties which the Vietnamese Government has signed, the written permission or approval of a competent Vietnamese agency is required for customs clearance.

5. Transited vehicles on exit or entry must undergo customs procedures according to Articles 74 thru 77 of this Decree.

6. Vehicles of organizations and individuals of a neighboring country that has signed with Vietnam a bilateral transport agreement must undergo procedures for temporary import into the Vietnamese territory and, when being re-exported to the territory of another neighboring country that has signed with Vietnam a bilateral transport agreement, the written permission of a competent Vietnamese agency is required.”

48. To amend and supplement Article 79 as follows:

“Article 79. Customs procedures for waterway craft on exit or entry via riverway border gates

1. For a customs dossier for a waterway craft on entry (temporarily imported foreign boat or canoe and re-imported Vietnamese boat or canoe), the customs declarant shall submit or produce:

a/ The original of the cross-border navigation permit issued by a competent agency;

b/ The original of the craft registration certificate, for temporarily imported foreign waterway craft;

c/ One original of the declaration for riverway craft temporarily imported for re-export, or one original of the declaration for riverway craft temporarily exported for re-import bearing temporary import certification by the Customs Branch of the border gate that carries out temporary export procedures;

d/ One original of the list of persons on board the craft;

dd/ One original of the list of materials and articles stored on board the craft;

e/ One original of luggage of crewmembers and persons working on board the craft;

g/ One original of the cargo declaration, in case the craft carries cargo;

h/ One original of the passenger list, in case the craft carries passengers.

2. For a customs dossier for a waterway craft on exit (re-exported foreign boat or canoe or temporarily exported Vietnamese boat or canoe), the customs declarant shall submit or produce:

a/ The original of the cross-border navigation permit issued by a competent agency;

b/ The original of the vehicle registration certificate, for a temporarily exported Vietnamese waterway craft;

c/ One original of the declaration of waterway craft temporarily exported for re-import, or one original of the declaration of waterway craft temporarily imported for re-export bearing temporary import certification by the Customs Branch of the border gate that carries out temporary import procedures;

d/ One original of the list of persons on board the craft (if any);

dd/ The original of the list of materials and articles stored on board the craft, made according to a form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

e/ One original of luggage of crewmembers and persons working on board the craft;

g/ One original of the cargo declaration, in case the craft carries cargo;

h/ One original of the passenger list, in case the craft carries passengers.

3. Responsibilities of the customs declarant: To fill in and sign a declaration for waterway craft temporarily imported for re-export or a declaration for waterway craft temporarily exported for re-import, using the form issued by the Ministry of Finance; to produce the dossier of the waterway craft (boat or canoe) on exit or entry according to Clause 1 or 2 of this Article; to take responsibility for the authenticity of the information provided to the customs office.

Upon re-export or re-import, if the customs declarant fails to produce a declaration of temporary import for re-export or a declaration of temporary export for re-import bearing certification by the border-gate Customs Branch, he/she shall give explanation and fill in a declaration of temporary import for re-export or the declaration of temporary export for re-import.

Once the information technology system enables electronic declaration, the customs declarant shall make declaration in such system under regulations.

4. Receipt and processing of dossiers

a/ The customs office shall receive the 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 for waterway craft on entry or exit.

If a dossier is incomplete or invalid, the customs office shall reject it and state the reason for rejection and notify contents to be modified to the customs declarant.

If a dossier is complete and invalid, the customs office shall print the declaration of waterway craft temporarily imported for re-export or the declaration of waterway craft temporarily exported for re-import from the system, append the customs officer’s seal for the dossier receipt, and “VIETNAM CUSTOMS” mark according to the forms issued by the General Director of Customs, in the declaration, and hand it to the customs declarant for carrying out  re-import or re-export procedures; and store such declaration submitted by the customs declarant when carrying out re-import or re-export procedures;

b/ During supervision, if detecting signs of smuggling or illegal transportation of goods, the customs office shall take measures to inspect, prevent, seize or search the goods in accordance with law.

5. For foreign vessels in transit via Vietnam to Cambodia and foreign vessels in transit via Vietnam from Cambodia to foreign countries; and Vietnamese and Cambodian vessels with IMO call numbers on exit or entry by Tien or Hau river must comply with Articles 65 thru 68 of this Decree.

6. Customs supervision of waterway craft

a/ Within a customs operation area, the customs office shall use technical devices 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.”

49. To amend and supplement Clauses 2, 3, 5 and 6, Article 81 as follows:

“2. Vehicles of persons and organizations entering border areas for goods delivery and receipt include:

a/ Foreign trucks that enter border gates or border places for goods inspection and supervision in border-gate economic zones for delivery of imported goods or receipt of exported goods;

b/ Vietnamese trucks that cross the border for delivery of exported goods or receipt of imported goods and then return to Vietnam;

c/ Foreign boats and canoes that enter border gates or border places for goods inspection and supervision in border-gate economic zones for delivery of imported goods or receipt of exported goods;

d/ Vietnamese boats and canoes that cross the border for delivery of exported goods or receipt of imported goods 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.

For the vehicles referred to in this Clause, their operators shall produce their identification papers (driver licenses or identity cards or passports or laissez-passers and dates of their issuance), and papers of the vehicles to the customs office for inspection and supervision under regulations.

3. Rudimentary vehicles mean human-powered vehicles (pulled or dragged vehicles). Rudimentary vehicles must operate within border gates and border areas. The customs declarant for a rudimentary vehicle transporting exported or imported goods shall submit to the customs office the export or import declaration (or papers proving that the goods are exported or imported).

The customs office shall supervise rudimentary vehicles during their operation within border gates.

5. Vehicles of persons, agencies and organizations in border areas that regularly cross the border to meet their daily-life needs shall be registered with the customs office (once a year) for inspection and supervision under regulations. After having made registration for their vehicles, these persons, agencies and organizations are not required to carry out customs procedures for the vehicles when crossing the border.

6. The vehicles referred to in this Article may only be temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import via the same border gate. The border-gate customs office shall supervise vehicles on exit or entry in accordance with law. If detecting signs of transporting smuggled goods or illegally transporting goods, the customs office shall conduct physical inspection of the vehicles and handle them according to regulations.”

50. To amend and supplement Clauses 3 and 6, Article 98 as follows:

“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 based in such provinces or cities or enterprises having tax identification numbers managed by such Customs Departments;

b/ The Director of the Post Clearance Audit Department shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection nationwide.

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 based on available documents.”

51. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 101 as follows:

“3. The Ministry of Finance shall guide the implementation of customs control measures and issue regulations on implementation of these measures specified in this Article.”

52. To add the following 104a:

“Article 104a. Equipping of vehicles for prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across the border

1. To perform the tasks of prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across the border on roads, seaways and inland waterways, customs offices shall be equipped with automobiles, motorcycles, high-speed craft, motorboats, canoes and other special-use vehicles installed with customs signals, banners or symbols and signal flares, loudspeakers and hooters.

2. On-duty vehicles of customs offices operating on roads shall be given priority when chasing, arresting or searching vehicles, or goods smuggled or illegally transported across the border, escorting persons who smuggle or illegally transport goods across the border, and performing other emergency tasks in accordance with law.

The licensing, management and use of signaling devices of on-duty vehicles of customs offices operating on roads must comply with regulations on signals of priority vehicles.”

53. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 106 as follows:

“1. Customs offices shall collect customs information, covering:

a/ Receiving and processing customs information through the provision, exchange, connection and sharing of customs-related information with state management agencies and organizations and individuals;

b/ Sending customs officers abroad to collect information serving the state management of customs under Clause 1, Article 6, and Article 96, of the Customs Law.

The Ministry of Finance shall prescribe in detail the collection of customs information mentioned at this Point.

c/ Taking other necessary operational measures to collect relevant information on goods, vehicles, organizations and individuals involved in export, import, exit, entry or transit activities.”

Article 2. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect on June 5, 2018.

2. To annul the phrase “post-customs clearance” in Clause 2, Article 40; Clause 4, Article 61; Clause 5, Article 66; and Articles 58, 78 and 80, of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP of January 21, 2015.

Article 3. Responsibilities for guidance and implementation

1. The Ministry of Finance shall guide and organize the implementation of this Decree.

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 XUAN PHUC

* The Appendix to this Decree is not translated.