Joint Circular No. 110/2016/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated June 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology on cooperation in quality inspection and customs clearance of imports

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guiding coordination in quality inspection and customs clearance for imported goods[1]

Pursuant to June 23, 2014 Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13;

Pursuant to November 21, 2007 Law No. 05/2007/QH12 on Product and Goods Quality;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP of December 31, 2008, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Product and Goods Quality;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 80/2013/ND-CP of July 19, 2013, on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of standards, metrology and product and goods quality;

Pursuant to 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;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 187/2013/ND-CP of November 20, 2013, detailing the Commercial Law regarding international goods sale and purchase and goods sale, purchase, processing and transit agency activities with foreign countries;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 20/2013/ND-CP of February 26, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP of December 23, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 36/2010/QD-TTg of April 15, 2010, promulgating the Regulation on coordination in quality inspection of products and goods;

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Science and Technology promulgate the Joint Circular guiding coordination in quality inspection and customs clearance for imported goods.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

1. This Circular guides the contents of coordination in quality inspection and customs clearance for imported goods subject to state quality inspection in accordance with law.

2. This Circular does not apply to the following imported goods:

a/ Luggage of persons on entry; personal effects of organizations and individuals within duty-free allowances;

b/ Goods of diplomatic organizations and diplomats, and international organizations within duty-free allowances;

c/ Goods samples for advertisement not for use; sample goods for scientific and production research;

d/ Temporarily imported goods for display and introduction at trade fairs and exhibitions;

dd/ Goods being gifts within duty-free allowances;

e/ Goods traded by border residents within duty-free allowances;

g/ Goods, supplies, equipment and machinery temporarily imported for re-export without being consumed in Vietnam;

h/ Goods in transit or border-gate transfer or transshipped goods;

i/ Goods taken from abroad into bonded warehouses (other than goods brought from bonded warehouses into the country for consumption);

k/ Materials, supplies, sample goods to be processed for foreign traders and export production;

l/ Duty-free goods sold to passengers on exit (managed under the regime of temporary import for re-export);

m/ Re-imported goods for repair or reprocessing at the request of foreign partners;

m/ Imported goods to meet emergency demands;

o/ Imported goods exclusively used for national defense and security purposes;

p/ Goods prescribed by the Ministry of Science and Technology and line ministries to be exempted from quality inspection or eligible for reduced quality inspection on a case-by-case basis.

3. Imported goods being radioactive substances and products under the Law on Atomic Energy and guiding documents.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Circular applies to:

1. Customs declarants defined in Clause 14, Article 4 of the Customs Law and Article 5 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;

2. Imported goods quality inspection agencies, including state inspection agencies under line ministries; and organizations with the function of state inspection of quality of imported goods designated by line ministries (below collectively referred to as quality inspection agencies);

3.  Organizations assessing the conformity of imported goods quality;

4. Customs offices; customs officers;

5. Other state agencies in jointly implementing provisions of this Joint Circular.

Article 3. Principles of coordination

1. Quality inspection agencies and conformity assessment organizations shall inspect and assess goods quality and notify inspection and assessment results under the 2007 Law on Product and Goods Quality, the Government’s Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP of December 31, 2008, detailing of a number of articles of the Law on Product and Goods Quality and guiding circulars of line ministries.

2. Customs offices shall carry out customs procedures and procedures for goods to be stored, and conduct customs inspection and supervision for goods to be stored in accordance with the Customs Law, the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control, and the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC of March 25, 2015, on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; export duty, import duty and tax administration for imported goods and exported goods.

3. In addition to observing the above provisions, quality inspection agencies, conformity assessment organizations and customs offices shall implement this Joint Circular.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 4. Coordination in taking samples and inspection and conformity assessment of imported goods

1. The process and written records of taking samples serving conformity assessment of imported goods must comply with guiding documents on certification of standard conformity and certification of technical regulation conformity issued by line ministries in charge of quality management.

2. Taking samples of goods at customs clearance and customs inspection places:

a/ The quality inspection agency, conformity assessment organization and customs office shall agree on the time for goods inspection and sampling to ensure that one shipment be subject to inspection and sampling only once (unless otherwise prescribed by law) so as to create conditions for customs declarants in producing their goods;

b/ A customs declarant shall notify the customs unit to supervise the shipment under regulations when  the quality inspection agency and conformity assessment organization take samples.

3. Taking samples of goods at the customs declarant’s storage place:

a/ When allowing the transportation of goods for storage, the customs office shall clearly write on the customs declarant’s written request the date and time of the shipment to be transported to the inland storage place; the customs declarant shall notify the inspection agency and conformity assessment organization of the shipment’s arrival at the storage place for inspection and taking samples;

b/ When taking samples, if a conformity assessment organization detects that imported goods’ quantity and types do not conform with the registration dossier; goods are not preserved as required such as there are broken packings and seals (for goods with manufacturers’ packings and seals), it shall make a written record of taking samples, fully describing abnormal characteristics detected in the course of taking samples, and concurrently make a written report within 24 working hours to the competent quality management agency and customs office for handling in accordance with Article 7 of this Joint Circular;

c/ A conformity assessment organization that detects violations but fails to report them shall take responsibility and be handled in accordance with the law on product and goods quality.

4. A conformity assessment organization shall conduct conformity assessment and issue the result to the customs declarant within 7 days after the inspection or taking samples. In case the time limit for conformity assessment is to be prolonged for a technical reason or an objective reason, the organization shall immediately notify the importer of the reason and the deadline for the issuance of the conformity assessment result for the latter to report it to the inspection agency and customs office for prolonging the time limit and monitoring.

5. A conformity assessment organization shall conduct conformity assessment and send the result (via fax or image file) to the inspection agency within 4 working hours after obtaining the result.

Article 5. Coordination in notifying state quality inspection results

1. A quality inspection agency shall inspect and issue a notice of quality inspection result within 3 days after receiving the conformity assessment result of the shipment with a complete and valid dossier.

2. The inspection agency shall send the inspection result to the customs office via the Vietnam National Single Window (in case of being connected) under Article 35 of the Customs Law for clearing customs procedures for goods.

If having not yet been connected to the Vietnam National Single Window, the inspection agency shall send the notice of the inspection result via fax or image file to the customs office for customs clearance.

If unable to send the notice of the inspection result to the customs office, the inspection agency shall send it to the customs declarant for submission to the customs office for customs clearance.

3. In case the time limit for inspection, conformity assessment, inspection results or handling results is to be prolonged due to a technical reason or an objective reason, the inspection agency shall notify in writing the reason and the deadline for issuing the inspection and handling results to the customs declarant and customs office.

4. The form of the notice of the imported goods quality inspection result, issued by line ministries in charge of state inspection of quality, must clearly state the conclusion as to whether the shipment meets or fail to meet import quality requirements and remedies to be taken (for goods that fail to meet quality requirements).

Article 6. Coordination in information provision

1. Agencies and organizations that need to share information with one another include:

a/ Customs offices;

b/ Quality inspection agencies;

c/ Conformity assessment organizations.

2. To-be-provided information:

a/ In the course of carrying out customs procedures, if the customs office detects that the imported shipment subject to quality inspection fails to meet quality requirements,  it shall notify such to the quality inspection agency for further notice in the course of inspection or propose the quality inspection agency to inspect the shipment at the customs clearance place;

b/ The management agency, quality inspection agency and conformity assessment organization that have information on the to-be-imported shipment with possible quality violations, or determine that the shipment is of the same type of goods currently under inspection that fail to meet quality requirements shall tighten inspection at the border gate of importation and concurrently notify the customs office for coordination in the supervision of the goods until the inspection results show that the goods satisfy quality requirements for customs clearance;

c/ In the course of inspection and taking samples of a shipment to be stored, if the quality inspection agency and conformity assessment organization detect that the imported goods’ quantity and type do not conform with the registration dossier, or part or all of the goods of the shipment has or have been dispersed, they shall handle these cases according to Article 7 of this Joint Circular or notify such to the customs office for coordination in the handling.

3. Means of communication

a/ Means of communication: telephone; facsimile; Internet; postal service; express delivery; direct meeting;

b/ Related agencies and organizations shall provide their telephone and facsimile numbers, email addresses and addresses to other related agencies and organizations in provinces, cities and inter-provincial regions (customs management regions) to send and receive information under regulations.

4. Forms of communication: telephone calls, sending facsimile, sending emails (among related agencies and organizations); sending official letters (to superior  agencies); writing on the second page of the quality inspection registration paper (for customs offices, inspection agencies and conformity assessment organizations); writing or appending seals on the second page of the written request for transportation of goods for storage (for customs offices).

5. Deadline for providing information to related agencies and organizations: Within 4 working hours or within 2 working days after receiving information referred to in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 7. Coordination in handling administrative violations

1. All administrative violations in the state management of customs detected by customs offices or other related agencies shall be recorded and handled according to the competence prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 127/2013/ND-CP of October 15, 2013, on sanctioning of administrative violations and enforcement of administrative decisions in the field of customs.

2. All administrative violations in the state management of product and goods quality detected by the quality inspection agencies or other related agencies shall be recorded and handled according to the competence prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 80/2013/ND-CP of July 19, 2013.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES OF RELATED AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Article 8. Responsibilities of a customs declarant

1. To carry out customs and quality inspection procedures in accordance with current laws.

2. To select conformity assessment organizations designated by line ministries to assess and inspect the quality of imported goods.

3. To submit the results of conformity assessment of the shipments to the inspection agency and the quality inspection results to the customs office for customs clearance in accordance with law.

4. In case inspection results show that imported goods fail to meet quality requirements, to propose the state quality inspection agency (in writing) the selected  remedy: reprocessing, destruction, re-export or changing use purposes, for competent agencies to consider and approve in accordance with law.

In case a customs declarant selects the measure of reprocessing the goods, he/she/it shall clearly state in the written proposal the reprocessing plan, address and the person in charge of goods reprocessing.

5. To comply with the competent state agency’s handling decision, bear all remediation costs in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations.

Article 9. Responsibilities of a conformity assessment organization

1. To assess the quality of imported goods within the scope designated by the line ministries; to issue imported goods quality certificates to customs declarants in accordance with law.

2. To coordinate with customs offices in providing relevant information referred to in Article 6 of this Joint Circular and in monitoring and supervising customs declarants in handling goods that fail to meet quality requirements.

3. To collect goods quality assessment charges under current regulations.

Article 10. Responsibilities of a quality inspection agency

1. To receive customs declarants’ dossiers of registration for quality inspection, conformity assessment organizations’ notices of quality assessment results in the form of facsimile or image file, examine dossiers and conduct physical inspection of goods (when necessary) and issue notices of quality inspection results within the time limit prescribed by law and this Joint Circular.

2. To coordinate with customs offices in providing relevant information  referred to in Article 6 of this Joint Circular and supervise customs declarants in handling goods that fail to meet quality requirements.

3. In case violations are detected in the course of physical inspection of shipments, to make a written record and report such to the immediate management agency to refer the dossier to the specialized inspection agency or a competent agency for handling the violations in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations and Article 7 of this Joint Circular.

Article 11. Responsibilities of a customs office

1. To carry out customs procedures, procedures to transport goods for storage and clear customs procedures for goods subject to quality inspection in accordance with current law and this Joint Circular.

2. To coordinate with quality inspection agencies and conformity assessment organizations in inspecting and taking goods samples under the customs law and the law on product and goods quality; to supervise goods that are subject to reprocessing, destruction, re-export or change of use purpose; to provide relevant information referred to in Article 6 of this Joint Circular.

To coordinate with inspection agencies in applying measures to tighten quality inspection of imported goods as prescribed in Article 9 of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012.

3. To receive notices of quality inspection results: electronic files (via the Vietnam National Single Window), or facsimile/image file (from inspection agencies) or the original (from customs declarants) for clearing customs procedures for goods.

4. To detect violations, make written records of violations, and issue decisions on handling administrative violations in accordance with law and this Joint Circular.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 12. Effect

1. This Joint Circular takes effect on September 1, 2016.

2. Joint Circular No. 37/2001/TTLT-BKHCNMT-TCHQ of June 28, 2001, of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the General Department of Customs, guiding the customs procedures for and quality inspection of imported goods subject to the state inspection of quality is annulled.

Article 13. Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science and Technology and ministries with the function of the state management of imported and exported goods prescribed in Clause 2, Article 70 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Joint Circular.

2. Any problems arising in the state management of customs should be reported to the Ministry of Finance (the General Department of Customs) for settlement; any problems arising in the state management of product and goods quality should be reported to the Ministry of Science and Technology and relevant line ministries for consideration and settlement according to their legally established competence.-