Joint Circular No. 64/2015/TTLT-BTC-BCT-BCA-BQP dated May 08, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of National Defense prescribing invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market

JOINT CIRCULAR

Prescribinginvoicesand documents requiredfor imports circulated in the market⁽[1]⁾

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration, the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Tax Administration, and guiding documents;

Pursuant to the Customs Law and guiding documents;

Pursuant to the Commercial Law and guiding documents;

Pursuant to the Accounting Law and guiding documents;

Pursuant to the Law on Value-Added Tax and the Laws Amending and Supplementing the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Excise Tax and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Excise Tax; the Law on Enterprise Income Tax and the Laws Amending and Supplementing the Law on Enterprise Income Tax; the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty, and guiding documents;

Pursuant to the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and guiding documents;

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

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 95/2012/ND-CP of November 12, 2012, defining the functions, duties, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 106/2014/ND-CP of November 17, 2014, defining the functions, duties, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 35/2013/ND-CP of April 22, 2013, defining the functions, duties, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of National Defense;

The Minister of Finance; the Minister of Industry and Trade; the Minister of Public Security; and the Minister of National Defense promulgate the Joint Circular prescribing invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

This Joint Circular prescribes invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market, including: imports in the course of transportation, on display for sale or in preservation at warehouses, ports, storing yards, establishments engaged in production or trading of imports or other places (below collectively referred to as imports circulated in the market); handling of violations of regulations on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market; and rights, obligations and responsibilities of involved agencies, organizations and individuals.

Article 2.Subjects of application

1. Organizations and individuals that directly import goods or trade in, sell, buy, transport or forward imports, or produce or process exports permitted for sale in Vietnam (below collectively referred to as traders).

2. Tax agencies, customs offices, market control agencies, public security agencies, border guards, marine police, and units and persons competent to inspect and handle violations committed by traders.

3. Other organizations and individuals related to invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market.

Article 3.Time limits for production of invoices and documents

1. For imports in the course of transportation, on display for sale or in preservation at warehouses, ports, storing yards or other loading places (other than those specified in Clause 2 of this Article), traders or persons having related rights and obligations shall produce all invoices and documents to prove the lawfulness of their imports right at the time of inspection in accordance with law and this Circular.

2. For imports which are on display for sale or in preservation at warehouses or storing yards owned or used by traders (with operation registration with competent agencies), invoices and documents shall be produced as follows:

a/ At the time of inspection, traders or persons having related rights and obligations shall produce copies of invoices or documents bearing traders’ seals as a ground for determining that imports are of lawful origin;

b/ Within 24 hours from the time of inspection, traders shall produce all original invoices and documents to prove the lawfulness of their imports in accordance with law and this Circular. In case the last hour of the 24-hour time limit falls on a weekend or public holiday under regulations, dossiers shall be produced on the first working day following the weekend or public holiday and inspection agencies shall clearly write the requested time and place of dossier production on records;

c/ At the time of inspection, if traders fail to produce invoices and documents to prove the lawfulness of their imports, inspection agencies shall temporarily seize these goods in accordance with law to verify their lawfulness.

3. In case inspection agencies have grounds to believe that goods are of unlawful origin though traders have produced adequate dossiers to prove their lawfulness, they shall temporarily seize these goods, compare dossiers and verify their origin before handling them in accordance with law and take responsibility before law if causing any losses to the traders.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 4.Invoices and documents required for imports transported from border gates of importation into the inland

1. For goods imported directly by a trader and transported from border gates of importation into the inland, the following invoices and documents are required:

a/ The import declaration containing a customs office’s certification of customs clearance or goods release, for imports for which customs procedures have been completed;

b/ The import declaration containing a customs office’s approval under regulations, for imports for which customs procedures have not yet been completed, including imports transported for preservation or those transported to  places for carrying out customs procedures outside border gates of importation. The trader shall strictly comply with contents of the customs office’s approval.

c/ A copy of the import customs declaration as prescribed for the cases prescribed at Points a and b of this Clause and an internal transfer order issued by the trader and clearly stating the quantity and category of goods transported under the import customs declaration (showing the serial number and date of issue of the declaration), places of departure and destination, the vehicle carrying goods and its number plate, if the trader is eligible for one-off registration of customs declarations or imports must be transported in many shipments or by different means of transport.

2. Imports being luggage in excess of the duty-free luggage limits of persons on entry shall be subject to customs declaration and must comply with the tax laws and import management policies. When transporting these goods into the inland, original customs declarations containing certification of completion of customs procedures and original receipts of import duty payment (if any) are required.

3. For goods purchased by a trader from border residents and transported into the inland of Vietnam, the following invoices and documents are required:

a/ The original list of goods purchased from or exchanged with border residents with certification by a customs office or border guard office (for localities where there are no customs or quarantine offices); and the original receipt of  duty paid on imports in excess of the duty-free quotas or imports not on the list of goods exchanged with border residents (if any) to prove the lawful import origin of purchased goods, in case the trader directly purchases goods and transports them into the inland for sale. The list of goods purchased from or exchanged with border residents shall be made according to the Ministry of Finance-guided form;

b/ A goods sale invoice, in case goods are purchased by another trader from border residents and then sold to the trader for transportation into the mainland. In this case, the purchasing trader shall issue a goods sale invoice according to regulations and be held responsible for the origin of goods. The purchasing trader shall also keep the original list of goods purchased from or exchanged with border residents containing the certification by a customs office or border guard office (for localities where there are no customs or quarantine offices); and the original receipt of duty paid on imports in excess of duty-free quotas or imports not on the list of goods exchanged with border residents (if any) to prove the lawful import origin of goods.

4. For imports brought into border markets, border-gate markets or markets in border-gate economic zones, import declarations containing a customs office’s customs clearance certification are required.

5. For goods temporarily imported for re-export, depending on each specific case, the following documents are required:

a/ The declaration of temporary import containing a customs office’s certification of customs clearance and the written record of handover of goods temporarily imported for re-export, for goods temporarily imported for re-export which are transported and kept at prescribed places in the inland;

b/ The re-export declaration containing a customs office’s certification of customs clearance, in case the re-export declaration is registered at the customs branch of the border gate of temporary importation but goods are re-exported via another border gate. In this case, goods must be kept intact throughout the course of transportation from the border gate of temporary importation to the border gate of re-exportation, and transported along the route, within the time limit and through the border gate of exportation already registered. For cases of changing the registered border gate of exportation, Clause 10, Article 31 of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 128/2013/TT-BTC of September 10, 2013 must be complied with.

6. In addition to invoices and documents required for each specific case, imports must be stuck with import stamps if so prescribed by the State.

7. In addition to invoices and documents required for imports, imports on the list of those subject to conditional import must be accompanied with papers prescribed by competent agencies. In case originals of these papers have been submitted to customs offices, their true copies containing traders’ certification are required.

Article 5.Invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the domestic market

1. For goods displayed for sale at stores or preserved at warehouses, which were imported directly by a trader, delivery-cum-internal transportation bills (for dependent cost-accounting stores which are located in the same province or city as the trader), delivery-cum-internal transportation bills or invoices (for independent cost-accounting stores or dependent cost-accounting stores in provinces or cities other than the locality where the trader is based) or warehouse receipts (for goods preserved in warehouses) are required.

2. For goods transported, displayed for sale at stores or preserved at warehouses, which were not imported directly by traders, there must be invoices and documents issued by sellers under the Government’s Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP of May 14, 2010, providing for goods sale and service provision invoices (below referred to as Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP).

3. For goods transferred by a trader to its dependent costs-accounting establishments such as branches, shops and stores in provinces or centrally run cities other than the locality where the trader is based; goods transferred among branches or subsidiaries of a trader; goods returned by a subsidiary back to the  trader; or goods delivered for offer for sale or display at trade fairs or exhibitions, invoices or delivery-cum-internal transportation bills  and internal transfer orders are required.

4. For completely processed products imported on the spot; raw materials and auxiliary materials which are imported for the performance of processing contracts with foreign traders or contracts on import of raw materials for export production but later permitted for sale in the Vietnamese market, the following invoices and documents are required:

a/ A copy of the import customs declaration and a delivery-cum-internal transportation bill, for goods transported, preserved at warehouses or displayed for sale at dependent cost-accounting stores of an export producer or processor, which are located in the same province or city as the producer or processor;

b/ A copy of the import customs declaration and a delivery-cum-internal transportation bill or invoice according to regulations, for goods transported, preserved at warehouses or displayed for sale at dependent cost-accounting stores of an export producer or processor, which are located in provinces or centrally run cities other than the locality where the producer or processor is based, or independent cost-accounting stores located in the same province or centrally run city as the producer or processor;

c/ Invoices made according to regulations, for goods sold by export producers or processors to other producers or traders. A customs declaration with certification of customs clearance according to law, for raw materials and supplies imported for performance of processing contracts, and processed products sold into the inland as designated by the processing-ordering party.

5.  For semi-finished products, raw materials and fuels transported by an export producer or processor to another processing establishment for re-processing, a re-processing contract together with a delivery-cum-internal transportation bill and a transfer order are required.

6. For imports purchased from an agency with the function of selling confiscated goods, a sale invoice indicating the quantity, category and value of each goods item, issued by such agency, is required.

7. For imports purchased from the national reserves agency, a sale invoice issued by such agency is required.

8. For goods being duty-free gifts or presents; duty-free goods sold in border-gate economic zones which are circulated in the market as their use purposes have been changed or they have been sold domestically, traders shall produce documents to prove that such goods have been declared and the original import duty receipt.

Article 6.Guidance on handling of administrative violations

1. Imports of traders shall be regarded as smuggled goods when:

a/ They are in the course of transportation; displayed for sale; preserved at warehouses or storing yards but traders fail to produce invoices and documents to prove their lawfulness within the time limit prescribed in Article 3 of this Circular;

b/ They are circulated in the market with invoices or documents which, after being investigated and verified by competent agencies, are determined to be invalid or used illegally. Invalid invoices and illegal use of invoices are prescribed in Clauses 8 and 9, Article 3, Chapter I of Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP;

c/ They have been purchased from or exchanged with border residents by traders with sale invoices made out for domestic transportation by other traders, and do not have adequate documents specified in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular when having their origin verified by functional agencies.

2. Traders that violate regulations on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market in Chapter II of this Circular when purchasing, selling or transporting such imports shall be administratively sanctioned under the decrees on sanctioning of administrative violations in related fields if their violations are not serious enough for penal liability examination, as follows:

a/ Organizations and individuals trading, transporting, storing or forwarding smuggled goods shall be sanctioned under the Government’s Decree No. 185/2013/ND-CP of November 15, 2013, on sanctioning of administrative violations in commercial activities, production and trading of counterfeit goods and banned goods, and protection of consumers’ rights;

b/ A trader that has no invoices or documents for imports circulated in the market as required in Chapter II of this Circular or has insufficient invoices and documents because these invoices and documents were burnt, lost or damaged but has made declaration under Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP and can prove the lawfulness of imports (by duplicating these invoices and documents from those archived at issuing agencies), shall be sanctioned under Decree No. 109/2013/ND-CP of September 24, 2013, on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of management of prices, charges, fees and invoices;

c/ Traders that violate regulations on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market, leading to incorrect declaration, underpayment of payable duty amounts or increase of refundable duty amounts, duty evasion or fraud, shall be subject to collection of duty arrears and sanctioned under the Law on Tax Administration;

d/ Traders that violate regulations on invoices and documents not in the cases prescribed at Points a, b and c of this Clause shall be sanctioned under the decrees on sanctioning of administrative violations in related fields.

Article 7.Competence to sanction administrative violations

1. The competence to impose administrative sanctions for violations of regulations on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market is provided in the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and the decrees on sanctioning of administrative violations in the fields of commerce, tax or customs.

Dossiers of cases falling beyond or outside the sanctioning competence of an agency shall be forwarded to its superior agency or a competent agency for handling. Dossier-forwarding agencies shall carry out prescribed procedures and hand over temporarily seized or confiscated exhibits and vehicles (if any) to competent agencies and at the same time notify such to violators. After issuing decisions to handle violations, competent agencies shall notify handling results to dossier-forwarding agencies.

2. In case functional agencies detect any administration violations involving imports currently under customs inspection and supervision, they shall consider and decide to sanction administrative violations or transfer the cases to competent agencies for handling in accordance with the law on sanctioning of administrative violations.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 8.Responsibilities of agencies in charge of inspecting and handling violations

1. Tax agencies, customs offices, market control agencies, public security agencies, border guards, marine police and other competent units, when inspecting or handling violations committed by traders, shall comply with this Circular and relevant regulations.

2. When inspecting goods circulated in the market, state agencies and competent persons on duty shall make written records clearly stating inspection contents, signs of violation to be verified and violations detected through inspection (if any); and make written records of administrative violations, if detecting violations.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall develop a database on e-declarations for imports and a database on e-invoices certified by tax agencies. In the course of inspection, agencies shall connect to these data sources to certify documents (customs declarations for imports, invoices).

4. Inspection forces shall comply with regulations on inspection and control of goods circulated in the market and take responsibility before law for their operations.

Article 9.Responsibilities and rights of import traders

1. Import traders shall properly comply with regulations on invoices and documents required for goods circulated in the market in this Circular and other relevant regulations.

2. Traders may file complaints or denunciations or initiate administrative lawsuits against decisions on handling of administrative violations. Individuals and organizations may denounce illegal acts committed by persons competent to handle violations. The order, procedures and competence to settle complaints and denunciations or to initiate administrative lawsuits shall comply with the law on complaints, denunciations and initiation of administrative cases.

Pending the settlement of their complaints and denunciations or issuance of judgments by courts, traders shall comply with decisions of competent agencies.

Article 11.Obligation of agencies, organizations and individuals to coordinate with one another

Agencies, organizations and individuals shall:

1. Provide information, dossiers and documents related to imports for agencies competent to inspect and handle violations in the import and trading of goods.

2. Collaborate with functional agencies and inspection forces in inspecting and handling violations in the import and trading of goods.

Article 12.Implementation provisions

1. This Joint Circular takes effect on July 1, 2015.

2. This Joint Circular replaces Joint Circular No. 60/2011/TTLT-BTC-BCT-BCA of May 12, 2011, of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Public Security, guiding invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market.

3. If relevant documents referred to in this Circular are amended, supplemented or replaced, new documents shall be complied with from their effective date.

4. Ministries, sectors, provincial-level People’s Committees and organizations and individuals should report any problems arising in the course of implementation to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense for consideration and appropriate revision.-

For the Minister of Industry and Trade

Deputy Minister

DO THANG HAI

For the Minister of Finance

Deputy Minister

DO HOANG ANH TUAN

For the Minister of National Defense

Deputy Minister

Senior Lieutenant General NGUYEN THANH CUNG

For the Minister of Public Security

Deputy Minister

Senior Lieutenant General LE QUY VUONG