Joint Circular No. 01/2004/TTLT-BBCVT-BTC dated May 25, 2004 of the the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Finance guiding the coordination responsibilities and relationships in customs inspection and supervision of letters, postal matters and postal parcels exported and imported via postal service or mail dispatch service

JOINT CIRCULAR

ON GUIDING THE COORDINATION RESPONSIBILITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS IN CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF LETTERS, POSTAL MATTERS AND IMPORTED VIA POSTAL SERVICE OR MAIL DISPATCH SERVICE

Pursuant to the June 29, 2001 Customs Law;

Pursuant to the May 25, 2002 Ordinance on Post and Telecommunications;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 10/2001/ND-CP of December 31, 2001 detailing the implementation of the Custom Law regarding customs procedures as well as customs inspection and supervision regimes;

In order to ensure the State management work of each branch according to law provisions, the Ministry of Post and Telematics and the Ministry of Finance hereby jointly guide the customs inspection and supervision of letters, postal matters and postal parcels exported and imported via postal service or mail dispatch service as follows:

I.GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Postal matters (excluding letters) and postal parcels exported and imported via postal service must go through customs procedures as prescribed by law at the customs sub-department of the international post offices (foreign-service post office, border-gate post offices).

2. Letters exported and imported via postal service or mail dispatch service shall e subject to customs supervision in the form of customs sealing of their envelops.

Letters exported and imported via postal service or mail dispatch service must be supervised by competent State bodies through professional measures to ensure the observance of law provisions.

3. When directly carrying out customs procedures on behalf of goods owners for exported or imported postal matters (excluding letters) or postal parcels, the postal services providing enterprises (hereinafter called postal enterprises) shall have to fully pay taxes and fees according to law

4. Places for carrying customs procedures for exported, imported postal matters, postal parcels:

Foreign-service post office are the places for carrying out customs procedures for exported, imported postal matters, postal parcels and for exchanging bags of international postal matters, postal parcels.

Border-gate post office are the places located at the border-gates for carrying out customs procedures for exported, imported postal matters, postal parcels and for delivering, receiving and exchanging bags of international postal matters, postal parcels between Vietnam and the countries bordering on Vietnam.

5. The customs supervisions of letters exported, imported via mail dispatch service must be conducted immediately at the customs sub-department of the border gates through which the letters are exported or imported.

II. COORDINATION RESPONSIBILITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS

1. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Post and Telematics:

1.1 To decide to set up foreign-service post office, border-gate post offices after obtaining written agreement of the Ministry of Finance.

To direct, guide and examine postal enterprises regarding the conditions and procedures for setting up places for carrying out customs procedures for exported, imported postal matters, postal parcels.

2. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance:

2.1 To decide to set up places for carrying out customs procedures and corresponding customs organizations at the foreign-service post office and border gate post offices at the request of the Ministry of Post and Telematics.

2.2 To direct the General Department of Customs to base itself on the law provisions to guide the customs procedures for postal matters (excluding letters) and postal parcels exported, imported via postal service and to conduct customs supervision in the form of customs sealing of the envelops of letters exported, imported via postal service or mail dispatch service.

3. The Ministry of Post and Telematics and the Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with each other in directing the concerned attached units to modernize the customs management over exported, imported postal matters and postal parcels by:

3.1 Using international customs declaration forms (Cn22, CN23), which have been adopted by the International Postal Union (IPU) and the World Customs Organizations (WCO).

3.2 Using the computer networks connecting the postal enterprises with the international post offices’ customs sub-department.

3.3 Applying risk management methods.

3.4 Classifying postal matter and postal parcels for application of appropriate forms of customs declaration (joint declaration, verbal declaration, non-declaration) and customs inspection, which should satisfy the management requirements, create favorable conditions for, an reduce the cost of, business operations of the postal service.

4. Responsibilities of postal enterprise

4.1 To receive bags and packages of exported, imported postal matter, postal parcels under the customs supervisions; classify them according to specialized regulations of the postal service; deliver postal matters, postal parcels to competent State bodies and organized the dispatch of postal matters, postal parcels which have gone through customs clearance according regulations.

4.2 To transport exported, imported postal matters, postal parcels from one border gate to another along the right routes to the right places as specified in the customs dossier, which shall be subject to custom supervision in the form of customs sealing.

In the course of transportation postal matter, from one border gate to another they must ensure that postal matters, postal parcels as well as customs seals be kept intact.  Where accidents or force majeure event occur, they must immediately notify them to the nearest customs office or commune, ward or township People Committee’s for giving written certification thereof.

4.3 To ensure that an adequate system of storehouses for exported, imported postal matters (excluding letters), postal parcels for which:

Customs procedures have not yet been carried out;

Customs procedures are being carried out;

Customs procedures have been cleared but they are not yet actually exported or imported.

4.4 To coordinate with the international post offices’ customs sub departments in equipping and installing devices for checking postal matters and postal parcels and in applying information technologies in order to make customs procedures quick and convenient.

4.5 To closely coordinate with the international post offices’ customs sub-department in carrying out customs procedures for postal matters (excluding letters) and postal parcels to be smoothly and quickly exported or imported according to law provisions.

To register in advance the regular working timetable and irregular cases with the international post office’s customs sub-departments; to arrange working offices and necessary conditions for the international post offices’ customs sub-departments at the places for carrying out customs procedures.

5. Responsibilities of enterprises providing mail dispatch services (hereinafter called mail dispatch enterprises);

To closely coordinate with the custom sub-departments of the border gates where letter are exported or imported in conducting customs supervision of such letters in a convenient, quick and lawful manner.

6. Responsibilities of customs sub-departments:

6.1 To conduct customs supervision if exported and imported letters, postal matters and postal parcels and carry out customs procedure for exported and imported postal matters (excluding letters) according to the provisions of the Customs Law and relevant guiding documents.

6.2 To arrange adequate staff and wording time to ensure quick and convenient customs clearance suited to the business operation of postal enterprises or email dispatch enterprises in order to carry out customs procedures for exported and imported postal matters (excluding letters) and postal parcels; to conduct customs supervision in the form of customs sealing of packing of exported and imported letters of postal enterprises and mail dispatch enterprises, then draw up delivery bills for cases permitted for delivery from one border gate to another according to law provisions.

6.3 To conduct customs supervision when postal enterprises receive exported or imported postal matters and postal parcels for classification and after completing procedures for delivering postal mattes and postal parcels to the post office of third countries, foreign-service post offices and border-gate post offices.

6.4 To give certifications on the written records jointly made by the postal enterprises or mail dispatch enterprises and the carriers on mistakes occurring to exported or imported mailbags, postal mattes or postal parcels in the course of transportation (abandoned and missing mailbags, postal matters, postal parcels or broken or wet bags and parcels, and other unusual cases).

6.5 To take initiative in coordinating with the anti-smuggling control forces of the customs offices at all levels and the postal enterprises in detecting in time postal matters or parcels in violation of laws, prevent acts of smuggling, tax evasion and trade frauds, and handle violations according to law provisions.

6.6 To assign customs officers to work according to the working timetables which have been registered in advance by the postal enterprises to ensure the requirements on State management over customs on the basis of the regulations on coordination between the two

7. Tax refunding:

7.1  Exported imported postal matters (excluding letters), postal parcels shall be refunded all already paid taxes, including export tax, import tax, value added tax and special consumption tax (if any) in the following cases:

They cannot be delivered to the recipients and must be returned to the sending countries;

They contains goods of tax-free categories (such as processing, production for export, export processing, gifts and other cases), which were declared to be of tax liable categories by the postal enterprises when carrying out customs procedures;

They contain goods of categories permitted to be free from tax;

Excessive tax amounts paid due to wrong calculation made by the customs;

They have been determined as abandoned goods as prescribed by law.

7.2 The tax-refunding procedures and order shall comply with law provisions.  The refunded tax amounts shall be subtracted from the tax amounts payable by the postal enterprises for the subsequent periods.

8. Collection of tax arrears:

8.1 The subjects liable to pay tax arrears are owners of exported or exported postal matters (excluding letters) or postal parcels.

8.2 Postal enterprise shall have to coordinate with the international post offices’ customs sub-departments in collecting tax arrears according to law provisions.

III. IMPLEMETATION

1. The Ministry of Post and Telematics and the Ministry of Finance shall direct, guide and examine their attached units and concerned enterprises in seriously observing the two ministries’ guidance in this Circular, and at the same time uniformly direct the settlement of problems that arise as well as proposals put forth by the attached units and concerned enterprises in the course of implementation of the Circular.

2. The Ministry of Post and Telematics and the Ministry of Finance shall inform each other of the amendments and supplements to the regulations in the domains under their charge relating to exported and imported letters, postal matters,

3. Postal enterprises and international post offices’ customs sub-department shall have to formulate work coordination regulations, including the contents related to the working time outside the administrative working hours of the customs service; once every 12 months to jointly organize reviews and evaluate the coordination works between the two agencies, to take experiences, propose solutions for problems (if any) and report the same to the leadership of each branch.

4. This Circular takes implementation effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette and replaces Joint Circular No. 06/TTLT-TCBD-TCHQ of December 11, 1998 of the General Department of Post and Telematics and the General Department of Customs and other relevant guiding documents.