Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC identification of origin of imports and exports

CIRCULAR

On the determination of origin of exported and imported goods^[1]

Pursuant to the June 23, 2014 Customs Law;

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

Pursuant to the June 12, 2017 Law on Foreign Trade Management;

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 (below referred to as Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP); and the Government’s Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP of April 20, 2018, 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 (below referred to as Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP); 

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 31/2018/ND-CP of March 8, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding origin of goods;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP of April 14, 2017, on goods labels; and the Government’s Decree No. 111/2021/ND-CP of December 9, 2021, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP of April 14, 2017, on goods labels;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP of January 15, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding trade remedies;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 14/2023/ND-CP of April 20, 2023, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the General Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs,

The Minister of Finance promulgates the Circular on the determination of origin of exported and imported goods.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular provides for dossiers and inspection for advance ruling on origin; declaration and submission of proofs of origin of exported and imported goods; and procedures and contents of inspection, determination and verification of origin of exported and imported goods.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Customs declarants.

2. Customs offices and customs officers.

3. Agencies/organizations issuing certificates of origin; and traders issuing proofs of self-certification of origin.

4. Other organizations and individuals with rights and obligations related to determination of origin of exported and imported goods.

Chapter II

ADVANCE RULING ON ORIGIN OF EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

Article 3. Dossiers of request for application of advance ruling on origin

Before carrying out customs procedures for an exported or imported shipment, an organization or individual that requests application of advance ruling on origin shall submit a dossier of request for application of advance ruling on origin, which must comprise:

1. A request for application of advance ruling on origin of exported/imported goods, made according to the form provided in Appendix I to this Circular: 1 original;

2. A list of production costs, made according to the form provided in Appendix II to this Circular, and the declaration of origin made by the domestic producer/supplier of materials and supplies according to the form provided in Appendix III to this Circular in case such materials and supplies are used for a subsequent stage to produce another good: 1 photocopy;

3. The production process or certificate of component analysis (if any): 1 photocopy.

4. The catalogue or images of goods: 1 photocopy.

Article 4. Receipt and checking of dossiers of request for application of advance ruling on origin

1. Organizations/individuals shall submit a dossier of request for application of advance ruling on origin specified in Article 3 of this Circular to the General Department of Vietnam Customs within the time limit specified in Clause 11, Article 1 of Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP.

2. The General Department of Vietnam Customs shall receive and check dossiers and carry out procedures for application of advance ruling on origin of exported and imported goods under Article 28 of the Customs Law and Clause 11, Article 1 of Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP.

Chapter III

DECLARATION, SUBMISSION, INSPECTION, DETERMINATION AND VERIFICATION OF ORIGIN OF EXPORTED GOODS

Article 5. Declaration and submission of proofs of origin of exported goods

1. When carrying out customs procedures, a customs declarant shall declare information on origin of exported goods in the “Description” box of the e-customs declaration form, made according to Form No. 02 provided in Appendix I to the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC of April 20, 2018, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Ministry 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 exported and imported goods, specifically as follows:

a/ In case the exported goods qualify as originating in Vietnam under the Government’s Decree No. 31/2018/ND-CP of March 8, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding goods origin, and documents providing guidance on goods origin: To make declarations according to the structure “description of goods #&VN”;

b/ In case the exported goods originate in other countries: To make declarations according to the structure “description of goods#& (code of the country of origin of the goods)”;

c/ In case the exported goods are produced from different sources of materials originating in different countries and it is impossible to determine the origin of the goods or the goods are used to only perform some simple stages of working, assembly or processing in Vietnam and fail to meet the conditions specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article: To make declarations according to the structure “description#&KXD”;

In case of making customs declarations on paper customs declaration forms: To declare information on origin of exported goods in the “origin” box of the paper customs declaration form, made according to Form HQ/2015/XK provided in Appendix IV to Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

2. In case the advance ruling on origin of exported goods has been applied under a notice of results of advance ruling on origin issued by the General Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the customs declarant shall declare information on serial number, date of issuance and validity period of the notice in the “license” box of the e-customs declaration form, made according to Form No. 02 provided in Appendix II, or of the paper customs declaration form, made according to Form HQ/2015/XK provided in Appendix IV, to Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

3. When carrying out customs procedures for exported goods, a customs declarant is not required to submit proofs of origin to the customs office. In case the customs declarant wishes to submit a proof of origin or a notice of results of advance ruling on origin, the customs office shall receive and check such proof of origin or notice under Articles 6, 7, 8 and 9 of this Circular.

Article 6. Inspection and determination of origin of exported goods during customs clearance

1. The Customs Branch where a customs declaration form is registered shall inspect and determine the origin of exported goods on the basis of checking declaration contents made by the customs declarant, the notice of results of advance ruling on origin of exported goods (if any), documents as components of the customs dossier, and results of the physical inspection of goods (if any), and proceed with the following steps:

a/ In case inspection results are consistent with declaration contents made by the customs declarant in the customs declaration form, the Customs Branch shall accept the origin of the goods;

b/ In case the Customs Branch has sufficient grounds to believe that the origin of goods is inconsistent with declaration contents made by the customs declarant in the customs declaration form, it shall handle the violation under regulations and request the customs declarant to make additional declarations under Clause 9, Article 1 of Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC;

c/ In case the Customs Branch where the customs declaration form is registered has grounds to suspect the origin of the exported goods or receives warning information about origin fraud or illegal transshipment, it shall:

- Carry out physical inspection of the goods by the method and at the level decided by its Director;

- Request the customs declarant to submit within 10 days 1 photocopy of one of the following documents to prove the origin of the exported goods:

+ Proof of origin (if any); in case of applying the “Ad valorem percentage” criterion, the customs declarant shall submit invoices and documents proving purchase/sale of materials and supplies;

+ Production process; list of production costs made according to the form provided in Appendix II, and declaration of origin made by the domestic producer/supplier of materials and supplies made according to the form provided in Appendix III, to this Circular in case such materials and supplies are used for a subsequent stage to produce another good.

d/ In case the Customs Branch where the customs declaration form is registered has grounds to suspect the authenticity of the proof of origin or the accuracy of origin-related information stated in the proof of origin or suspect that the customs declarant has dispersed dossiers, documents and data related to the inspection and determination of origin of exported goods, it shall report thereon to, and propose, the provincial-level Customs Department to carry out verification at the agency/organization that has issued the proof of origin under Article 7 of this Circular or carry out inspection at the export production establishment under Article 8 of this Circular;

e/ In case the customs declarant carries out self-certification of origin of exported goods or cannot submit the proof of origin of exported goods or submits the proof of origin beyond the time limit specified at Point c.2 of this Clause or the provided documents are insufficient to determine the origin of exported goods, the Customs Branch where the customs declaration form is registered shall report thereon to, and propose, the provincial-level Customs Department to carry out inspection at the export production establishment under Article 8 of this Circular;

g/ Pending notification of results of the inspection and verification of origin, customs and customs clearance procedures may be carried out for the exported goods under regulations.

2. The inspection of origin of exported goods must adhere to the principle of risk assessment and be based on results of division of customs inspection channels of customs offices.

Article 7. Verification at agencies/organizations that have issued proofs of origin of exported goods

1. The provincial-level Customs Department where a customs declaration form is registered shall send a request for verification of origin of exported goods together with origin-related suspicious information to the agency/organization that has issued the proof of origin of exported goods.

2. If receiving verification results within 60 days after sending the request for verification, the provincial-level Customs Department shall, within 3 working days, notify such results to the Customs Branch where the customs declaration form is registered for processing under regulations and subsequent notification to the customs declarant.

3. If receiving no verification results within 60 days after sending the request for verification, the provincial-level Customs Department where the customs declaration form is registered shall carry out inspection at the export production establishment under Article 8 of this Circular.

Article 8. Inspection at export production establishments

1. Issuance of inspection decisions

a/ Directors of provincial-level Customs Departments shall issue decisions on inspection of origin of goods at export production establishments, made according to the form provided in Appendix IV to this Circular;

b/ An inspection decision shall be sent by registered mail or by fax directly to the producer at least 5 working days before the projected date of inspection;

At least 3 working days before the inspection date stated in the inspection decision, if receiving the producer’s request for change of the inspection time, the inspection decision issuer may consider deciding on the change once. The inspection date is the date stated in the decision to change the inspection time;

c/ In case the export production establishment is based outside the locality managed by the provincial-level Customs Department where the customs declaration form is registered, the provincial-level Customs Department where the customs declaration form is registered shall send to the provincial-level Customs Department managing the export production establishment a request for inspection at the export production establishment under regulations. In such a request, the provincial-level Customs Department where the customs declaration form is registered must clearly state inspection contents and suspicious signs that need to be inspected. The provincial-level Customs Department managing the export production establishment shall issue an inspection decision and carry out procedures for inspection at the export production establishment under this Article and handle inspection results under Article 9 of this Circular;

d/ The exporter other than the producer shall coordinate with the producer in complying with the customs office’s requests concerning inspection at the export production establishment according to inspection procedures specified in this Article and handle inspection results under Article 9 of this Circular.

2. The period of inspection at a production establishment must not exceed 10 working days from the inspection date stated in the inspection decision. In complicated cases, the inspection decision issuer may extend the inspection period once for no more than 10 working days.

In case the producer fails to comply with the inspection decision or fails to make explanations or provide dossiers, documents and data at the request of the customs office, the customs office shall handle the case under Clause 2, Article 9 of this Circular.

3. Inspection contents

a/ Checking of the following documents:

- Documents as components of a customs dossier;

- Purchase and sale contract or working contract (if the working is performed for foreign traders) or value-added invoice for purchase and sale of domestic materials and supplies (if materials and supplies are purchased domestically);

- Detailed list of exported goods meeting the preferential origin criterion or non-preferential origin criterion, made according to the form provided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

- Production process;

- List of production costs, made according to the form provided in Appendix II to this Circular, and declaration of origin of domestic manufacturer/supplier of materials and supplies, made according to the form provided in Appendix III to this Circular in case such materials and supplies are used for a subsequent stage to produce another good;

- Other relevant documents and data.

For documents as components of a customs dossier, paper documents are not required to be produced.

b/ Inspection of the goods production process:

- Number of lines, machinery and equipment;

- Capacity of machinery and equipment;

- Number of workers engaged in the production process;

- Capacity and scale of production and working, production and working stages to be carried out (tons/product.../year; and total capacity and scale of machinery and equipment, workers, etc.).

4. Making of inspection records

The entire inspection process and contents shall be written in an inspection record between the producer’s legal representative and the inspection team.

5. Inspection results

a/ The customs office shall send inspection results to the producer within 5 working days after the inspection is completed for the latter to give explanations;

b/ The producer shall send explanations within 5 working days after receiving inspection results. Past this time limit, if receiving no explanation, the customs office shall base itself on existing documents to handle the case under regulations;

c/ In case inspection documents and contents are complicated and insufficient for making conclusions, the customs office may collect opinions of authorities. Within 15 days after receiving written opinions of authorities, the customs office shall issue an inspection conclusion;

d/ For the cases specified at Points c and d, Clause 1 of this Article, after completing the inspection at the export production establishment, the provincial-level Customs Department managing the export production establishment shall notify in writing inspection and processing results to the provincial-level Customs Department where the customs declaration form is registered for information and coordinated monitoring.

Article 9. Processing of results of verification at agencies/organizations issuing proofs of origin of exported goods and results of inspection at export production establishments

Based on information, dossiers, documents, data and results of verification at agencies/organizations issuing proofs of origin and results of inspection at production establishments as well as explanations of customs declarants, customs offices shall proceed with the following:

1. If having sufficient grounds to determine that the customs declarant’s origin declaration contents are conformable with regulations, the customs office shall issue a notice of acceptance of such contents.

2. If having insufficient grounds to prove that the customs declarant’s origin declaration contents are conformable with regulations, the customs office shall, based on existing documents, handle the case under regulations and request the customs declarant to accurately make an additional declaration of origin based on the customs office’s results of inspection and verification and determination of origin and, at the same time, notify origin inspection and verification results to the authority competent to issue proofs of origin for information. The making of additional declaration must comply with Clause 9, Article 1 of Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC.

3. If having grounds to suspect that the customs declarant makes inaccurate declaration of origin for the purpose of illegal transshipment or circumvention of trade remedies, the concerned provincial-level Customs Department shall report thereon and propose the General Department of Vietnam Customs to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade or the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in handling the case under regulations.

Chapter IV

DECLARATION, SUBMISSION, INSPECTION, DETERMINATION AND VERIFICATION OF ORIGIN OF IMPORTED GOODS

Article 10. Submission of proofs of origin of imported goods

1. A customs declarant shall submit to the customs office a proof of origin in the following cases:

a/ The customs declarant wishes to enjoy a special preferential duty rate for imported goods originating in a country or a group of countries or territory that signs a preferential tariff arrangement in trade relations with Vietnam, and for goods imported from a non-tariff zone into the domestic market that qualify as originating in such country or group of countries or territory;

b/ The goods, as notified by the Vietnamese authority, are required to be accompanied by proofs of origin to prove their import from countries, groups of countries or territories not on the list of those subject to embargo under the Resolution of the United Nations Security Council;

c/ The goods on the List provided in Appendix V to this Circular or, as notified by related ministries and sectors, are required to be accompanied by proofs of origin to determine that they do not originate in countries likely to cause harms to social safety, community health or environmental sanitation that should be controlled;

d/ The goods on the List notified under a decision of the Minister of Industry and Trade are currently subject to anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty, safeguard measures, tariff-rate quota measures, circumvention of trade remedies or quantitative restrictions.

2. For goods exempt from submission of proofs of origin under treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party, customs offices will not request customs declarants to submit proofs of origin.

3. For goods not subject to submission of proofs of origin as specified in Clause 1 of this Article but customs declarants request wish to submit proofs of origin at the time of carrying out customs procedures, the declaration shall be made under Article 11 of this Circular.

4. Forms of proofs of origin

a/ For the goods specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article, customs declarants shall submit certificates of origin or proofs of self-certification of origin to customs offices in accordance with the relevant free trade agreements;

b/ For the goods specified at Points b, c and d, Clause 1 of this Article, customs declarants shall submit proofs of origin under Point a of this Clause or proofs of non-preferential origin issued by authorities of exporting countries which must have at least the information specified in Clause 3, Article 15 of this Circular.

Article 11. Declaration of proofs of origin of imported goods

1. In case of submitting a proof of origin at the time of carrying out customs procedures, a customs declarant shall declare information on the reference number and date of issuance of the certificate of origin or the number of the exporter fully authorized to issue proofs of self-certification of origin (registered exporter (REX) number under the EVFTA, economic operators registration and identification (EORI) number under the UKVFTA, or certified exporter (CE) number under the ATIGA or RCEP) in the “Notes” box of the e-customs declaration form, made according to Form No. 02 provided in Appendix II, or in the “Accompanying documents” box of the paper customs declaration, made according to Form HQ/2015/XK provided in Appendix IV, to Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC. In case the applicable free trade agreement does not provide for a reference number and/or there is no number of exporter fully authorized to issue proofs of self-certification of origin, the customs declarant shall declare information on the name, serial number and date of issuance of the proof of origin and the name of the organization/exporter issuing the proof of origin together with the name of the applicable free trade agreement.

2. In case the General Department of Vietnam Customs has issued a notice of results of advance ruling on origin of imported goods and such notice remains valid under Article 24 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, the customs declarant shall declare serial number and date of issuance of such notice in the “Notes” box of the e-customs declaration form or in the “Accompanying documents” box of the paper customs declaration form.

3. In case of applying reconciliation on a certificate of origin, the customs declarant shall declare the date of issuance and issuer of the reconciliation monitoring sheet in the “Notes” box of the e-customs declaration form or in the “Accompanying documents” box of the paper customs declaration form.

4. Customs declarants may declare additional information on proofs of origin in case they have not yet declared information or have incorrectly declared information in the proofs of origin at the time of carrying out customs procedures under Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article. The additional declaration shall be made under Clause 9, Article 1 of Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC.

Article 12. Time of submission of proofs of origin of imported goods

1. For the goods specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular:

a/ Customs declarants shall submit proofs of origin at the time of carrying out customs procedures;

b/ In case there is no proof of origin at the time of carrying out customs procedures:

- Imported goods will be subject to preferential import duty rates or normal duty rates and eligible for customs clearance under regulations. In case the tax amount difference is guaranteed by a credit institution, the goods will be eligible for special preferential duty rates and customs clearance under regulations;

- The customs declarant shall make declarations and submit a proof of origin within 1 (one) year from the date of registration of the customs declaration form.

For imported goods accompanied by proofs of origin under the EVFTA or UKVFTA, the customs declarant shall additionally submit a proof of origin within 2 (two) years from the date of registration of the customs declaration form;

- When proofs of origin are additionally submitted within the time limit specified at Point b.2 of this Clause, imported goods will be eligible for special preferential duty rates and the customs office shall handle the overpaid tax amount under regulations in case the paid tax amount is larger than the payable tax amount. In case a credit institution provides guarantee for the difference between the amount calculated at the special preferential duty rate and the amount calculated at the preferential import duty rate or normal duty rate, the customs office shall update information processing results on the system and notify such to the credit institution.

c/ Proofs of origin submitted to customs offices must remain valid, including also proofs of origin issued as replacements, corrected, issued later, issued as back-to-back proofs of origin or certified copies in accordance with the relevant free trade agreements.

2. For the goods specified at Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular, customs declarants shall submit proofs of origin at the time of carrying out customs procedures. If no such proof of origin is available, the goods will not be eligible for customs clearance and be handled in accordance with law.

3. For the goods specified at Point d, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular:

a/ Customs declarants shall submit proofs of origin at the time of carrying out customs procedures;

b/ In case there is no proof of origin at the time of carrying out customs procedures:

- Imported goods will be subject to duty rates according to measures decided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In case the payable tax amount is guaranteed by a credit institution, the goods will be eligible for the duty rate declared by the customs declarant and for customs clearance under regulations;

- The customs declarant shall make declarations and submit proofs of origin within 30 days from the date of registration of the customs declaration form in order to apply the duty rate according to measures decided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and may handle the overpaid tax amount under regulations in case the paid tax amount is larger than the payable tax amount. In case the payable tax amount is guaranteed by a credit institution, the customs office shall update information processing results on the system and notify thereof to the credit institution.

4. Proofs of origin shall be submitted to customs offices in the form of e-data or e-documents converted from paper documents (scanned copies bearing digital signatures for certification) via the e-customs data processing system under Clause 7, Article 1 of Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC. In case certificates of origin are issued on the Vietnam National Single Window, the ASEAN Single Window or on the website notified by authorities of exporting countries, customs declarants are not required to submit certificates of origin but shall make declaration under Clause 1, Article 11 of this Circular.

In case of making declarations on a paper customs declaration form, a customs declarant shall submit 1 (one) photocopy of proofs of origin certified by himself/herself.

5. Customs declarants shall retain primary-source documents and originals of proofs of origin and produce them to customs offices during post-clearance inspection, specialized inspection or customs inspection or when customs offices suspect the validity of proofs of origin during the performance of customs procedures.

In case a customs declarant is unable to produce proofs of origin, the customs office shall carry out verification and handle the case under Article 19 of this Circular.

6. In case of guarantee under Clauses 1 and 3 of this Article, the guarantee must comply with Article 43 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC and Clause 24, Article 1 of Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC.

Article 13. Additional submission of proofs of origin of imported goods in special cases

1. By the time of registration of a customs declaration form, if having not yet submitted a proof of origin, a customs declarant may submit such proof of origin in order to be considered for application of a special preferential duty rate in the following cases:

a/ Cases of repurposed goods which mean imported goods not subject to import duty or eligible for import duty exemption or import duty exemption consideration or subject to a tariff quota-based duty rate that has been released or eligible for customs clearance but later there is a change in non-taxable objects or purposes eligible for duty exemption or duty exemption consideration; or subject to a tariff quota-based duty rate; goods that are materials and supplies imported for working and production of goods for export, and goods temporarily imported for re-export that have been released or eligible for customs clearance but are later repurposed or used for domestic consumption;

b/ Cases of change of goods headings/sub-headings which means that, through post-clearance inspection, specialized inspection or other professional operations, the customs office re-determines goods headings/sub-headings or the customs declarant himself/herself detects a change in the goods headings/sub-headings, leading to a change in import duty compared to that applied at the time of carrying out customs procedures. In case the change of goods headings/sub-headings affects the origin criterion stated in the proof of origin, the case shall be handled under Article 16 of this Circular;

c/ Cases in which goods eligible for investment incentives become those ineligible for such incentives which means that, through post-clearance inspection, specialized inspection or customs inspection, the customs office determines that the goods are ineligible for investment incentives or the customs declarant himself/herself detects that the goods are ineligible for investment incentives, thus resulting in a change in import duty.

2. For the repurposed goods specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article, if, at the time of registration of a new customs declaration form, imported goods on the List notified under a decision of the Minister of Industry and Trade are currently subject to application of trade remedies, the customs declarant shall declare and pay additional duty amounts for the goods corresponding to the applied trade remedies.

3. Time of additional submission of proofs of origin:

a/ For the goods specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article, the time of additional submission of proofs of origin is the time when the customs declarant carries out procedures for the goods repurposing. The additionally submitted proofs of origin must remain valid at the initial time of performance of customs procedures, unless otherwise provided in a free trade agreement to which Vietnam is a contracting party;

b/ For the goods specified at Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article, the time limit for additional submission of proofs of origin is 5 working days after the customs office issues the post-clearance inspection, specialized inspection or customs inspection conclusion or when the customs declarant himself/herself detects that the imported goods are ineligible for investment incentives or there are errors in goods headings/sub-headings as compared to those applied at the time of performance of import procedures. The additionally submitted proofs of origin must remain valid at the time of performance of import customs procedures, unless otherwise provided in a free trade agreement to which Vietnam is a contracting party.

Article 14. Rejection of proofs of origin of imported goods

Customs offices shall reject proofs of origin in the following cases:

1. Customs declarants additionally submit proofs of origin beyond the time limit specified in Article 12 of this Circular.

2. It is notified by authorities competent to issue proofs of origin of exporting countries that imported goods are subject to cancellation of proofs of origin or fail to meet origin criteria specified by such exporting countries.

Article 15. Checking of proofs of origin of imported goods

1. For goods imported from countries or groups of countries or territories that have signed special preferential import-tariff agreements in trade relations with Vietnam, customs offices shall base themselves on rules of origin under each free trade agreement specified in the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s guiding circulars to carry out checking and collation with the information declared in certificates of origin and documents in customs dossiers and results of physical inspection of goods (if any) for determining the validity of certificates of origin.

In case proofs of origin are granted on the Vietnam National Single Window or ASEAN Single Window or websites announced by authorities of exporting countries, customs offices shall check the validity of such proofs to determine preferential duty rates under regulations and update reference information and checking results on customs declaration forms.

2. For proofs of self-certification of origin

In case customs declarants submit proofs of self-certification of origin in accordance with provisions of free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a contracting party, customs offices shall base themselves on the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s guiding circulars to carry out checking and collation with declared information in such proofs, documents in customs dossiers and results of physical inspection of goods (if any) for determining the validity of such proofs. Particularly, proofs of self-certification of origin under the CPTPP must have all the minimum information specified in the Appendix VI to this Circular.

For proofs of self-certification of origin for which free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a contracting party have their own websites to help checking and collation, customs offices shall check identification numbers of exporters fully authorized to issue proofs of self-certification of origin against such websites for determining the validity of such proofs and update reference information and checking results on customs declaration forms.       

3. For goods imported from countries, groups of countries or territories that have no special preferential import-tariff agreements in trade relations with Vietnam, a certificate of origin must have at least the following information:

a/ The exporter;

b/ The importer;

c/ Means of transport;

d/ Description and codes of goods;

dd/ Quantity, weight or volume of goods;

e/ Country, group of countries or territory of origin;

g/ Date of issuance of the certificate of origin;

h/ Signature of the competent person, and authority competent to issue the certificate of origin.

For certificates of origin that are issued electronically, customs offices shall check their validity on websites or by another method as shown on such certificates of origin.

4. Rejection of proofs of origin:

a/ In the course of checking proofs of origin under Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, if customs offices have sufficient grounds for identifying such proofs of origin as invalid or if exporters or manufacturers fail to cooperate in verifying the origin under Point c, Clause 1, Article 21 of this Circular, they shall reject such proofs of origin, and handle the goods as follows:

- For the goods specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular: They will be subject to preferential import duty rates or normal duty rates and entitled to customs clearance under regulations;

- For the goods specified at Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular: They will not be entitled to customs clearance and shall be handled in accordance with law.

- For the goods specified at Point d, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular: They will be subject to duty rates according to remedies decided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and entitled to customs clearance under regulations.

Particularly, the rejection of proofs of origin under the CPTPP must comply with Point c of this Clause.

b/ Customs offices shall notify on the e-customs data processing system or in writing customs declarants of the rejection of proofs of origin or notify such directly by writing down the reasons for the rejection on such proofs of origin and return them to customs declarants for the latter to contact agencies, organizations, manufacturers or exporters that have issued such proofs of origin;

c/ For proofs of origin under the CPTPP, before issuing decisions on rejection of such proofs of origin of imported goods, the General Department of Vietnam Customs shall notify verification results to importers, exporters or manufacturers or authorities competent to issue such proofs of origin that have provided information for verification. Exporters or manufacturers or authorities of exporting countries shall provide or additionally provide information relevant to the origin of goods within 90 days after being notified by the General Department of Vietnam Customs;

d/ Within 5 working days after receiving a notice of rejection from the customs office, a customs declarant shall additionally declare the duty amount under the guidance of the customs office. Past that time limit, if the customs declarant fails to additionally declare the duty amount, the customs office shall access the duty amount or handle the case in accordance with law.

5. In case a customs declarant submits proofs of origin issued for the whole goods shipment but imports only part of such goods shipment, the customs office shall accept proofs of origin for the actually imported goods. For the remaining part of the goods shipment, if the customs declarant additionally imports the goods with a volume consistent with that stated in proofs of origin, it shall be accepted by the customs office.

6. In case the actual quantity, weight or volume of imported goods exceeds that stated in proofs of origin but does not affect the validity of such proofs of origin, the customs office shall permit the customs declarant to enjoy a preferential duty rate for the part of goods in the quantity, weight or volume consistent with that stated in such proofs of origin. For the excessive part of goods, if the customs declarant submits additional proofs of origin within their validity duration and the actual goods quantity, weight or volume is consistent with that stated in such proofs of origin, the customs declarant shall be permitted to enjoy a preferential duty rate.

7. Customs offices shall accept proofs of origin for application of special preferential duty rates in case commercial invoices are issued by the third party. Customs offices shall check and collate information on names, countries, groups of countries or territories of the invoice issuers being third parties on proofs of origin and commercial invoices for determining their validity and compliance with free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a contracting party.

8. Cases of minor errors or discrepancies that do not affect the validity of proofs of origin:        

Customs offices shall accept proofs of origin in case of minor errors or discrepancies between contents declared in such proofs of origin and other documents in customs dossiers if such errors or discrepancies conform to the actual state of imported goods; such minor errors or discrepancies include:

a/ Spelling or typewriting errors that do not alter the contents declared in the proofs of origin;

b/ Discrepancies in methods of marking in boxes in certificates of origin: marking by typewriting or manually, marking with symbol “x” or “√”;

c/ Minor discrepancies between the signature on proofs of origin and the specimen signature;

d/ Discrepancies in units of measurement used in proofs of origin and those used in other documents in customs dossiers (such as customs declaration forms, invoices and bills of lading);

dd/ Discrepancies in the size of certificates of origin submitted to customs offices and the template certificate of origin;

e/ Discrepancies in ink colors used for printing contents declared in proofs of origin;

g/ Discrepancies in codes of goods: consistency in 6-digit sub-headings but inconsistency in 8-digit sub-headings;

h/ Discrepancies in shipment names and numbers due to change of means of transport;

i/ Minor discrepancies in descriptions in proofs of origin and other documents;

k/ Other minor discrepancies as agreed upon in treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party and notified by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

9. In case customs declarants have declared and submitted notices of results of the advance ruling on origin of imported goods, customs offices shall check and collate information in such notices in the course of checking proofs of origin under Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article.

Article 16. Handling of discrepancies between codes of imported goods in proofs of origin and codes of imported goods in customs declaration forms in special cases

1. In case the origin criterion declared in proofs of origin indicates that the goods are wholly obtained (WO) and discrepancies in codes of such goods do not affect the validity of such proofs of origin, customs offices shall accept such proofs of origin if having no other doubts about the accuracy of information declared therein.

2. In case the origin criterion declared in proofs of origin indicates that the goods are produced entirely from originating materials or from materials satisfying regional value content criterion (PE or RVC100%), and discrepancies in codes of the goods do not affect the validity of such proofs of origin (except where the origin criterion applied according to codes of goods stated in customs declaration forms must be WO), customs offices shall accept such proofs of origin if having no other doubts about the accuracy of information declared therein.

In case the origin criterion declared in proofs of origin indicates that the goods are produced entirely from originating materials (satisfying PE or RVC100% criterion) while the origin criterion applied to the goods according to codes of goods stated in customs declaration forms is WO, the imported goods shall be considered failing to satisfy the origin criterion, and customs offices shall reject such proofs of origin under regulations. In case a free trade agreement provides that in any cases in which goods produced in the territory of a contracting party from originating materials in another/other contracting party(ies) are originating goods, the discrepancies in codes of goods will not affect the validity of proofs of origin, and customs offices shall accept such proofs of origin if having no other doubts about the accuracy of information declared therein.

3. In case the goods with codes stated in customs declaration forms have the origin criterion which is the same as that declared in their proofs of origin as a  specific process (SP), and discrepancies in codes of such goods do not affect the validity of such proofs of origin, customs offices shall accept such proofs of origin if having no other doubts about the accuracy of information declared therein. If the goods do not share the same specific process, customs offices shall verify the validity of proofs of origin under Article 19 of this Circular.

4. In case goods with codes stated in customs declaration forms have the origin criterion which is the same as that declared in their proofs of origin as a change in tariff classification (CTC) or RVC, customs declarants may provide documents proving that their goods satisfy the relevant CTC or RVC criterion or customs offices still have sufficient information to determine that the goods with codes stated in customs declaration forms still satisfy the CTC criterion, the discrepancies in codes of such goods will be considered not affecting the validity of such proofs of origin, and customs offices shall accept such proofs of origin if having no other doubts about the accuracy of information declared therein. Such proving documents include:       

a/ The document on the process of production of imported goods: 1 photocopy;

b/ The detail list of codes of input materials and supplies and output products, in case the CTC criterion is declared for the goods: 1 photocopy.

c/ The declaration of production costs proving that the goods satisfy the RVC criterion, in case the RVC criterion is declared for the goods: 1 photocopy.

Within 10 days after being requested by the customs office, if a customs declarant fails to provide proving documents or provides proving documents which, however, do not constitute sufficient grounds for the customs office to determine whether the goods with codes stated in customs declaration forms satisfy the relevant CTC or RVC criterion, the customs office shall carry out verification under Clause 4, Article 19 of this Circular.

5. In case goods with codes stated in customs declaration forms have an origin criterion different from that declared in their proofs of origin in the cases below, customs offices shall verify the validity of such proofs of origin under Article 19 of this Circular:

a/ The origin criterion stated in proofs of origin is RVC while the origin criterion based on codes of goods stated in customs declaration forms is CTC or vice versa.

b/ The origin criterion stated in proofs of origin is SP while the origin criterion based on codes of goods stated in customs declaration forms is RVC or CTC.

Article 17. Checking of back-to-back certificates of origin and certificates of non-manipulation

1. Customs offices shall accept back-to-back certificates of origin issued in case imported goods are shipped through one or more than one intermediary country to Vietnam or certificates of non-manipulation issued by authorities of countries that permit transit of goods.

For the case specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular, customs offices shall accept back-to-back certificates of origin on the condition that such certificates are issued by intermediary countries being contracting parties to free trade agreements.

2. Information on origin shall be fully shown in criteria in back-to-back certificates of origin. The checking of back-to-back certificates of origin shall be carried out as for proofs of origin specified in Article 15 of this Circular.

Article 18. Checking of direct shipping conditions

1. The following cases are regarded as direct shipping, unless otherwise provided under treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party:

a/ Goods are shipped directly from the territory of an exporting country or group of countries or territory to the territory of an importing country or group of countries or territory;

b/ For goods to be shipped through one or more than one country or group of countries or territory in the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the following conditions must be fully satisfied:

- Transit is necessary for geographical reasons or due to requirements directly related to shipping;

- The goods are neither put into commercial transactions nor sold in such country or group of countries or territory of transit;

- The goods have not undergone any stages other than unloading and reloading or necessary stages for keeping them in good conditions.

2. Cases requiring submission of proofs of direct shipping to customs branches where customs declaration forms are registered:

a/ The imported goods specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular are shipped through the territory of a country or group of countries or territory other than contracting parties to free trade agreements;

b/ The imported goods specified at Points b, c and d, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular are shipped through the territory of an intermediary country or group of countries or territory other than the exporting country or group of countries or territory and importing country or group of importing countries or territory.     

3. Proofs of direct shipping:

Unless otherwise provided in a free trade agreement to which Vietnam is a contracting party or in case goods are fully containerized with unbroken seals of the carrier, a customs declarant shall submit one of the documents below to the customs office to prove his/her satisfaction of direct shipping conditions:

a/ A document issued by the customs office of the transit country or group of countries or territory certifying that the goods are placed under supervision by the customs office of such country or group of countries or territory and for which procedures have not yet been carried out for their import into the inland of such country or group of countries or territory: 1 photocopy;

b/ A certification issued by the very agency or organization that has issued the bill of lading for the imported goods shipment that the transit is necessary for geographical reasons or due to requirements directly related to the shipping; that the goods are neither put into commercial transactions nor sold in such transit country or group of transit countries or territory; or that the goods have not undergone any stage other than unloading and reloading or necessary stages for keeping them in good conditions. For a certification issued by a subsidiary, branch or agent of a carrier or an organization that has issued the bill of lading for the shipment in Vietnam, a letter of authorization issued by the carrier is additionally required: 1 photocopy;

c/ A certification issued by the ship owner, operator, charterer or master that the transit is necessary for geographical reasons or due to requirements directly related to the shipping: 1 photocopy;

d/ In case the goods are fully containerized with container and sealing numbers remaining unchanged from the time of loading of such goods onto means of transport at a loading port of an exporting country or group of countries or territory to the time of import into Vietnam, the customs office shall consider accepting proofs of direct shipping being bills of lading and reference information on cargo manifests showing unchanged container and sealing numbers;

e/ In case goods are shipped by air via many routes, customs declarants shall fully provide master airway bills for each route, and house airway bills which show that the goods are shipped from loading locations of exporting countries to unloading locations of importing countries.

In case the e-customs data processing system is not responding or encounters an error, customs declarants shall submit hard copies of the aforementioned documents.

Customs offices shall check and collate the documents specified in this Clause provided by customs declarants with information declared in customs dossiers for determining the intactness of goods in the course of shipping.

Article 19. Verification of origin of imported goods      

1. In case information in proofs of origin is inconsistent with that declared by customs declarants, documents in customs dossiers and results of physical inspection (if any) of goods, customs branches where customs declaration forms are registered shall request customs declarants to make explanations and prove inconsistent information in such proofs of origin.

Within 5 working days after being requested by customs offices, if customs declarants fail to make explanations or their explanations do not constitute sufficient grounds to determine the validity of proofs of origin, the customs offices shall carry out verification under Clause 4 of this Article.

2. If having a doubt about the origin criterion in proofs of origin, the customs branch where the customs declaration form is registered shall request the customs declarant to submit 1 photocopy of each of the following documents for proving the origin:

a/ The process of production of the imported goods;

b/ The list of production costs, made according to the form provided in Appendix II to this Circular;

c/ In case of application of the “ad valorem percentage” criterion, material and supplies purchase and sale invoices and documents are required to be submitted;

d/ The detailed list of input materials and supplies and output products, in case of application of the CTC criterion.

Within 10 days after being requested by the customs office, if the customs declarant fails to submit proving documents or submits proving documents which, however, do not constitute sufficient grounds for the customs office to determine the validity of proofs of origin or the customs declarant sends a request to the customs office for verification, the customs office shall carry out verification under Clause 4 of this Article.

In case the e-customs data processing system is not responding or encounters an error, the customs office shall send requests and the customs declarant shall submit hard copies of the aforementioned documents.

3. If having a doubt about the validity of proofs of origin, customs offices shall carry out verification under Clause 4 of this Article.

4. For the cases requiring verification specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, within 5 working days, provincial-level Customs Departments shall send reports and proposals to the General Department of Vietnam Customs for the latter to send requests enclosed with information for verification of origin of goods to agencies or organizations that have issued certificates of origin of exporting countries or exporters, producers or customs authorities of exporting countries for verification of the authenticity of proofs of origin or the accuracy of origin-related information.

5. In case verification results from agencies or organizations that have issued certificates of origin or producers or exporters that have issued proofs of origin or customs authorities of exporting countries do not constitute sufficient grounds for determining the origin of imported goods, the General Department of Vietnam Customs shall carry out inspection at production establishments of producers of exporting countries or groups of countries or territories under Article 20 of this Circular.

6. The verification (covering also field inspection in exporting countries or groups of countries or territories and issuance of inspection conclusion notices) shall be carried out within one hundred and eighty (180) days after the General Department of Vietnam Customs sends requests for verification, unless a longer time limit for verification is provided in free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a contracting party.

Past this time limit, if receiving no verification results, customs offices shall reject proofs of origin under Clause 4, Article 15 of this Circular. After rejecting proofs of origin, if customs offices receive notices of verification results stating that such proofs of origin remain valid or agencies, organizations, producers or exporters that have issued such proofs of origin or customs authorities of exporting countries give detailed and sufficient explanations about issues raised by customs offices, the customs offices shall accept such proofs of origin.

7. Pending verification results, customs declarants shall pay duty at the rates specified at Point b.1, Clause 1, and Point b.1, Clause 3, Article 12 of this Circular. In case the verification of origin is carried out in the course of post-customs clearance inspection, specialized inspection or customs inspection, pending verification results, the goods are subject to application of import duty rates already applied at the time customs procedures are carried out.

8. In case customs offices have grounds to suspect the accuracy of documents and dossiers of request for certification of origin or have insufficient grounds for application of advance ruling on origin of imported goods, the General Department of Vietnam Customs may carry out inspection at production establishments of producers of exporting countries or groups of countries or territories under Article 20 of this Circular.

9. In case of being requested by customs authorities of foreign countries or it is required to carry out inspection under treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party, the General Department of Vietnam Customs may coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in carrying out inspection at production establishments of producers of exporting countries or groups of countries or territories under Article 20 of this Circular.

Article 20. Field inspection in exporting countries or groups of countries or territories

1. Before carrying out field inspection in exporting countries or groups of countries or territories, the General Department of Vietnam Customs shall:

a/ Send notices of plans on field inspection in exporting countries or groups of countries or territories to exporters or producers that have workshops subject to inspection; agencies or organizations that have issued certificates of origin of exporting countries or groups of countries or territories where inspection will be carried out; customs offices of member countries or groups of countries or territories where inspection will be carried out, and importers that have goods subject to inspection; and, at the same time, request related parties to provide dossiers and documents related to goods shipments subject to origin verification;

b/ Notify inspection plans, each must state the name and address of the exporter or producer that has workshops subject to inspection; name and address of the agency or organization that has issued the certificate of origin of the exporting country, group of countries or territory where inspection will be carried out; name and address of the customs authority of the member country or group of countries or territory where inspection will be carried out; name and address of the importer; projected date, scope and contents of inspection; and name and title of the inspection officer.

2. The General Department of Vietnam Customs shall carry out inspection after receiving the approval of exporters or producers that have workshops subject to inspection or agencies or organizations that have issued certificates of origin of exporting countries or groups of countries or territories or customs authorities of member countries or groups of countries or territories where inspection will be carried out.

3. Within 30 (thirty) days after sending notices of plans on inspection in exporting countries, if customs offices receive no approval of exporters or producers or authorities that have issued proofs of origin of exporting countries or groups of countries or territories or customs authorities of countries or groups of countries or territories, the customs offices shall reject proofs of origin under Clause 4, Article 15 of this Circular.

4. In case the participation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the verification of origin of imported goods is required, the General Department of Vietnam Customs shall report such to the Ministry of Finance for the latter to request in writing the Ministry of Industry and Trade to participate in the inspection and verification of origin in exporting countries.

Article 21. Handling of origin verification or inspection results

1. Customs offices shall base themselves on inspection or verification results and explanations of customs declarants, agencies or organizations that have issued certificates of origin or producers or exporters or on results of field inspection in exporting countries or groups of countries or territories to determine the authenticity of proofs of origin:

a/ In case customs declarants can explain or provide proofs of origin of imported goods, or the origin verification or inspection results, explanations and proving documents provided by agencies or organizations that have issued proofs of origin or by producers or exporters are detailed enough to explain the issues raised by customs offices, helping customs offices have sufficient grounds to determine that the origin of goods is valid, the customs offices shall accept such proofs of origin.

b/ In case results of the checking of proofs of origin of imported goods provided by customs declarants or results of the origin verification or inspection, explanations and proving documents provided by agencies or organizations that have issued proofs of origin or by producers or exporters are not detailed enough to explain the issues raised by customs offices, thus making customs offices not have sufficient grounds to determine the origin of goods, the customs offices shall reject proofs of origin under Clause 4, Article 15 of this Circular.

c/ In case exporters or producers fail to provide documents, data and proofs of origin or ban access to production workshops or processes or commit other obstructing acts making it impossible to carry out field verification, customs offices shall reject proofs of origin under Clause 4, Article 15 of this Circular.

2. Customs offices shall notify on the e-customs data processing system or in writing inspection and handling results to importers, exporters or producers or agencies or organizations that have issued proofs of origin or customs authorities of exporting countries.

Article 22. Reconciliation of certificates of origin

1. In case a goods shipment brought from a bonded warehouse into the inland for multiple imports or a goods shipment sharing the same commercial invoice is imported in multiple times or shipments, it is allowed to use its proofs of origin to make a reconciliation sheet according to the form provided in Appendix VII to this Circular for each importation.

2. The customs branch where the first customs declaration form is registered shall make a reconciliation sheet and hand it over to the customs declarant for production to the customs office for making reconciliation upon carrying out import procedures until the goods volume stated in the sheet and proofs of origin is fully imported.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 23. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on July 15, 2023, and replaces:

a/ The Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC of April 20, 2018, providing for the determination of origin of exported goods and imported goods;

b/ The Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 62/2019/TT-BTC of September 5, 2019, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC of April 20, 2018, providing for the determination of origin of exported goods and imported goods;

c/ The Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 47/2020/TT-BTC of May 27, 2020, providing for the point of time of submission of proofs of origin and form of proofs of origin for imported goods during the period of Covid-19 outbreak.

d/ The Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 07/2021/TT-BTC of January 25, 2021, providing for the point of time of submission of proofs of origin for imported goods under the Free Trade Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the European Union.

2. For imported goods subject to submission of proofs of origin as announced by line ministries before the effective date of this Circular, such announcements shall continue to be applied.

3. In the course of implementation of this Circular, if the relevant documents mentioned in this Circular are revised or replaced, the revising or replacing documents shall be complied with.-

For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
NGUYEN DUC CHI

* The Appendices to this Circular are not translated.