Decree 167/2025/ND-CP amend Decree 08/2015/ND-CP detailing Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control

DECREE

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

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated February 18, 2025;

Pursuant to the Law on Customs dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to the Commercial Law dated June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty dated April 06, 2016;

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

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration dated June 13, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on E-Transactions dated June 22, 2023;

Pursuant to the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property dated June 25, 2025;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

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

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

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

a) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

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

Letters, packages, and parcels of exports and imports sent via postal services; exports and imports sent via express delivery services, including goods on the list of imports for which customs procedures shall be carried out at border gates of importation as prescribed by the Prime Minister under Clause 2 of this Article, shall have customs procedures carried out at the regional Customs Branch managing the centralized location for gathering, inspection, and supervision of postal and express delivery goods.

For goods in transit sent via postal and express delivery services, the place of customs procedure completion shall comply with Article 43 of this Decree.

For goods temporarily imported for re-export sent via postal and express delivery services, the place of customs procedure completion shall comply with relevant laws.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Based on the master plan and announcement of the system of seaports, inland waterway ports, international airports, land border gates, inland container depots (ICDs), international intermodal railway stations, public postal networks providing international services, and other areas within the customs operation area, the Minister of Finance shall decide on the organization of the apparatus and the deployment of personnel to carry out customs procedures; the customs office shall recognize warehouses, yards, and locations within seaports, inland waterway ports, international airports, and international intermodal railway stations that satisfy the conditions for goods gathering, inspection, and customs supervision in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 68/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016, prescribing conditions on trading of duty-free goods, operation of warehouses, storing yards, and places for customs clearance, goods gathering and customs inspection and supervision, as amended and supplemented under the Government’s Decree No. 67/2020/ND-CP dated June 15, 2020.”

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

a) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Persons authorized by goods owners with respect to the following categories of goods:

a) Personal gifts and presents;

b) Personal belongings in transit of individuals;

c) Goods of individuals entitled to diplomatic immunities and privileges;

d) Luggage of persons on entry or exit shipped before or after their trips;

dd) Goods temporarily imported for re-export for the purpose of replacement or repair of foreign seagoing ships or aircraft;

e) Goods imported for the implementation of tax-exempt investment projects.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. Persons providing services of goods in transit and transshipment.”

3. To amend and supplement Article 6 as follows:

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

1. Objects subject to customs procedures:

a) Imported, exported and in-transit goods; imported and exported foreign-currency cash, Vietnam-dong cash, negotiable instruments, gold, precious metals, gems, cultural products, relics, antiques, national treasures, postal matters and parcels; luggage of persons on entry or exit; other exported, imported or in-transit articles within the customs operation areas;

b) Road vehicles, railway vehicles, aircraft, sea and inland waterway vessel on entry or exit or in transit.

2. Objects subject to customs inspection:

a) Objects specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Articles on means of transport on exit or entry or in transit;

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

3. Objects subject to customs supervision:

a) Objects specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Articles on means of transport on exit or entry or in transit;

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

d) Goods subject to specialized inspection being stored pending customs clearance;

dd) Transported goods subject to customs supervision.”

4. To add the Clause 4, Article 9 as follows:

“4. To be exempted from post-customs clearance inspection at customs offices, except for the case specified in Clause 1, Article 78 of the Customs Law.”

5. To amend and supplement Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and add Clause 7 to Article 10 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Observance of the customs and tax laws:

An enterprise must not violate the provisions of the customs law and tax law to the extent of being sanctioned for the following acts:

a) Acts of tax evasion; smuggling; manufacturing or trading in prohibited goods, or illegally transporting goods or currency across borders;

b) Administrative violations committed in a form and subject to a fine level beyond the competence of heads of Customs Teams and holders of equivalent titles.

In case an enterprise applies for the application of the priority regime: The period for assessing this condition is 02 consecutive years (24 months) up to the date on which the enterprise submits a written request for the application of the priority regime.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Observance of the accounting and audit laws:

a) Applying the accounting standards set by the Minister of Finance;

b) Annual financial statements are audited by auditing companies that meet the conditions for providing auditing services under the law on independent audit. An audit opinion about a financial statement expressed in the audit report must be an unqualified opinion in accordance with Vietnam’s Auditing Standards.

In case an enterprise applies for the application of the priority regime: The period for assessing this condition is 02 consecutive years (24 months) up to the date on which the enterprise submits a written request for the application of the priority regime.

For enterprises specified in Clause 2, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Customs Law; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, that have not operated for a sufficient period to prepare audited annual financial statements, this condition shall be assessed according to Point a, Clause 2 of this Article from the date of initial issuance of the enterprise registration certificate to the date the enterprise submits a written request for the application of the priority regime.”

c) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Internal control system:

a) An enterprise shall establish, implement and maintain an internal control system to supervise and manage the actual operation of the enterprise, including the following contents:

a.1) Archiving dossiers, documents, files, and data relating to exports and imports as prescribed, and ensuring provision thereof to the customs office upon request;

a.2) Internal monitoring within the enterprise: Self-assessment and review of the operation of departments and implementation of improvement measures; having internal training procedures concerning security assurance under Point b of this Clause and response measures in the event of security issues;

a.3) Management and prevention of irregularities relating to the security of exports and imports; implementation of corrective measures in case of irregularities; rectification of errors and violations after recommendations or conclusions by state agencies;

a.4) Control of financial capability to fulfill tax obligations to state management agencies in case of eligibility for tax deferral under the priority regime.

At the time of assessment, the enterprise must not have outstanding tax debts as prescribed.

b) The enterprise shall establish, implement and maintain an internal control system ensuring the security and safety of the supply chain of exports and imports, including the following contents:

b.1) Goods security: Having measures to ensure the intactness of goods and control access to goods in accordance with the enterprise’s operations;

b.2) Transport security: Having measures to ensure the security of the goods supply chain;

b.3) Security at the enterprise’s working areas: Having measures to divide and separate working areas in a manner appropriate to the specific characteristics of the business sector and the requirements for goods security; authorizing and restricting access to goods; having measures to prevent illegal intrusion into the enterprise’s working areas; installing a camera surveillance system that can monitor the positions at the gates/entry and exit points and the goods storage locations at all times during the day (24/24 hours, including weekends and public holidays), with camera data stored at the enterprise for a minimum period of 03 months;

b.4) Security control of information technology systems: Having measures to ensure the proper use, storage, retrieval, and confidentiality of the enterprise’s information and data;

b.5) Personnel security: Having measures to ensure that personnel working in critical positions (general director, director, chief accountant, heads of departments in charge of exports, imports, warehouse, security) have not been subject to criminal sanctions or have had their criminal records expunged in accordance with the law; implementing regular background checks on basic information of personnel in the above positions; implementing identification measures for employees and preventing former employees from accessing the enterprise’s information systems and infrastructure;

b.6) Trade partner security: Contracts with trade partners (trading partners, domestic and international transporters, customs procedure agents, and other service providers relating to exports and imports) must contain security-related provisions appropriate to the form, scale, nature, and commodities involved, to ensure the accuracy of information and intactness of goods and services.”

d) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. Import or export values:

a) Import or export enterprises shall record a minimum value of USD 100 million per year;

b) Enterprises that export made-in-Vietnam products shall record a minimum value of USD 40 million per year;

c) Enterprises that export agricultural and aquatic products produced or cultivated in Vietnam shall record a minimum value of USD 30 million per year;

The import or export value mentioned at Points a, b and c of this Clause must be the average value recorded over 2 consecutive years (24 months) up to the date an enterprise files a written request for the application of the priority regime or during the assessment period for extension, exclusive of the value from entrusted import or export.”

dd) To amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

“5. Other conditions shall be implemented in accordance with Points c and d, Clause 1, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property.”

e) To add Clause 7 as follows:

“7. For enterprises referred to in Clause 1, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, that apply for the priority regime: The customs office shall assess the fulfillment of the conditions for application of the priority regime in accordance with Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

For enterprises referred to in Clause 2, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, that apply for the priority regime: The customs office shall assess the fulfillment of the conditions for application of the priority regime in accordance with Clauses 2, 3, and 5 of this Article.

Enterprises recognized under Clause 1, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, must maintain and fulfill the conditions specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article from the date of recognition for the application of the priority regime.

Enterprises recognized under Clause 2, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, must maintain the status of being publicly announced by the Ministry of Science and Technology as belonging to the group of enterprises under Clause 2, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, and must maintain and fulfill the conditions specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this Article from the date of recognition for the application of the priority regime.”

6. To amend and supplement Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Recognition, extension, suspension and cessation of application of the priority regime

1. An application dossier for the priority regime must comprise:

a) A written request, made according to a form issued by the Minister of Finance: 01 original;

b) A report on the enterprise’s import or export operations and statistics in the last 2 years: 01 original;

c) The report on observance of the customs, tax and accounting laws in the last 2 years: 01 original;

d) The audited financial statements of the last 2 years: 01 copy;

dd) The audit report made in the last 2 years (if any): 01 copy;

e) The inspection and examination conclusion report made in the last 2 years (if any): 01 copy;

g) A description of the enterprise’s internal control system (with explanatory documents): 01 original, including:

g.1) A description of procedures, measures, software, or systems for: Archiving of records, vouchers, documents, and data related to exports and imports; internal monitoring of the enterprise; management and prevention of irregularities relating to the security of exports and imports; rectification of errors and violations after recommendations or conclusions of competent state agencies; control of financial capability to fulfill tax obligations to state management agencies in case of eligibility for tax deferral under the priority regime;

g.2) A description of procedures, measures, software, or systems to ensure: Goods security; transport security; security at the enterprise’s working areas; information technology system security control; personnel security; trade partner security.

In case the dossier submitted by the enterprise fails to meet the requirements or is incomplete as prescribed, within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Customs Department shall notify the enterprise for dossier completion and resubmission within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice. Upon expiration of the time limit, if the enterprise fails to resubmit the dossier, the dossier shall be considered as not meeting the requirements.

The enterprise may request consultation with the customs office regarding the regulations on the priority regime before submitting the application dossier.

2. An application dossier for the priority regime applicable to enterprises referred to in Clause 2, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, must comprise:

a) A written request, made according to a form issued by the Minister of Finance: 01 original;

b) The audited financial statements of the last 2 years (if any): 01 copy;

c) The audit report made in the last 2 years (if any): 01 copy;

d) The inspection and examination conclusion report made in the last 2 years (if any): 01 copy;

dd) A description of the enterprise’s internal control system (with explanatory documents): 01 original, including:

dd.1) A description of procedures, measures, software, or systems for: Archiving of records, vouchers, documents, and data related to exports and imports; internal monitoring of the enterprise; management and prevention of irregularities relating to the security of exports and imports; rectification of errors and violations after recommendations or conclusions of competent state agencies; control of financial capability to fulfill tax obligations to state management agencies in case of eligibility for tax deferral under the priority regime;

dd.2) A description of procedures, measures, software, or systems for: Goods security; transport security; security at the enterprise’s working areas; information technology system security control; personnel security; trade partner security.

e) An announcement by the Ministry of Science and Technology on enterprises specified in Clause 2, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property: 01 copy;

3. Agency receiving application dossiers for the priority regime: The Customs Department.

4. Recognition of enterprises eligible for the priority regime:

a) Appraisal:

The Customs Department shall conduct appraisal and assessment of the application of the priority regime for the enterprise from the date of receipt of the complete dossier as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, specifically:

a.1) Dossier appraisal: Based on the enterprise’s dossier, the customs office shall assess and compare the information provided by the enterprise and the information collected about the enterprise against the conditions for application of the priority regime as prescribed in Article 10 of this Decree. The appraisal period shall not exceed 05 working days from the date of receipt of the complete dossier.

In case the enterprise fails to meet the conditions for application of the priority regime, within 15 days from the conclusion of the dossier appraisal, the Customs Department shall issue a written reply to the enterprise, clearly stating the reasons for non-eligibility.

In case the enterprise meets the conditions for application of the priority regime according to the dossier appraisal results, the Customs Department shall conduct an on-site appraisal;

a.2) On-site appraisal:

The customs office shall conduct post-customs clearance inspection at the premises of the customs declarant in accordance with Clause 3, Article 78 of the Customs Law. The duration of the post-customs clearance inspection shall comply with the provisions of Article 80 of the Customs Law.

In case the enterprise has undergone post-customs clearance inspection under Clause 3, Article 78 of the Customs Law within the last 02 consecutive years (24 months) up to the time of submitting a written request for application of the priority regime, the customs office shall rely on the results of such inspection and conduct an on-site appraisal at the enterprise to assess the declared dossier information against the enterprise’s actual operations and evaluate its compliance with the conditions for application of the priority regime. The duration of on-site appraisal shall not exceed 10 days from the first working day at the premises of the customs declarant.

For enterprises specified in Clause 2, Article 42 of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Customs Law; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, where the duration from the date of initial issuance of the enterprise registration certificate to the date of submission of the written request for application of the priority regime is less than 02 years, the customs office shall not conduct post-customs clearance inspection under Clause 3, Article 78 of the Customs Law for recognition assessment. The customs office shall conduct on-site appraisal at the enterprise. The duration of on-site appraisal shall not exceed 10 days from the first working day at the premises of the customs declarant.

b) Handling of appraisal results:

Within 15 days from the conclusion of the on-site appraisal or the conclusion of the post-customs clearance inspection results:

If the enterprise satisfies the conditions for application of the priority regime, the Director of the Customs Department shall issue a decision on the application of the priority regime according to the form issued by the Minister of Finance. This decision shall be valid for a period of 03 years from the date of issuance.

In case the enterprise fails to meet the conditions for application of the priority regime as prescribed, the Customs Department shall issue a written reply to the enterprise, clearly stating the reasons for non-eligibility.

In complicated cases that require consultation with specialized agencies, this time limit may be extended but shall not exceed 30 days.

5. Extension of the application of the priority regime:

a) An enterprise shall be eligible for an extension of the application of the priority regime when it continues to meet the conditions for application of the priority regime as prescribed in Article 10 of this Decree.

Within 03 months prior to the expiration of the period of application of the priority regime, the Customs Department shall, based on collected information and management results, organize an assessment for extension of the priority regime for the enterprise;

b) Assessment for extension of the application of the priority regime:

b.1) The Customs Department shall conduct a self-assessment of the enterprise’s continued fulfillment of the conditions for application of the priority regime as prescribed in Article 10 of this Decree;

b.2) Where there is insufficient information to self-assess the enterprise’s continued fulfillment of such conditions, the Customs Department shall carry out an on-site appraisal or post-customs clearance inspection at the premises of the customs declarant in accordance with Clause 3, Article 78 of the Customs Law.

Where on-site appraisal at the customs declarant’s premises cannot be conducted due to force majeure circumstances in accordance with law, the customs office shall carry out the assessment of the enterprise’s continued compliance with the conditions for application of the priority regime through online means, based on the information, data, and documents provided and shared by the enterprise.

The duration of on-site appraisal shall not exceed 10 days from the first working day. The duration of the post-customs clearance inspection shall comply with the provisions of Article 80 of the Customs Law.

c) If the enterprise continues to meet the prescribed conditions, the Director of the Customs Department shall issue a decision on the extension of the priority regime for a period of 03 years using the form issued by the Minister of Finance.

6. Suspension of application of the priority regime: If an enterprise fails to fulfill its responsibilities prescribed in Article 45 of the Customs Law after being notified by the customs office, the Director of the Customs Department shall issue a decision on suspension of the application of the priority regime (using the form issued by the Minister of Finance) to such enterprise for 90 days from the decision issuance. Where the enterprise performs its obligations under Article 45 of the Customs Law within the prescribed time limit, it shall notify the Customs Department for consideration and issuance of a decision to cancel the decision on suspension of the application of the priority regime using the form issued by the Minister of Finance.

7. Cessation of application of the priority regime

The Director of the Customs Department shall issue a decision on cessation of the application of the priority regime using the form issued by the Minister of Finance in the following cases:

a) It no longer fails to maintain compliance with any of the priority conditions prescribed in Article 10 of this Decree;

b) It still fails to comply with Article 45 of the Customs Law after the suspension period expires;

c) It requests suspension of cessation of the priority regime: The enterprise shall submit a written request to the Customs Department stating the reason for requesting cessation of the priority regime. Within 15 days from the date of receipt of the written request, the Director of the Customs Department shall issue a decision on cessation of the application of the priority regime to the enterprise.

8. The Minister of Finance shall provide detailed regulations on forms and dossiers relating to the implementation of the priority regime.”

7. To amend and supplement Article 12 as follows:

“Article 12. Management of enterprises eligible for the priority regime

1. Responsibilities of the customs office:

a) To monitor, collect and analyze information about enterprises’ operations in order to guide them in improving their law observance, early detecting shortcomings for timely correction and maintaining the conditions for enjoying the priority regime;

b) To coordinate with enterprises in dealing with any problems that may arise;

c) To coordinate with port and warehouse operators in carrying out goods delivery and receipt procedures and conducting inspection and supervision for prioritized enterprises first;

d) The Customs Department shall conduct on-site appraisals at the enterprise’s premises periodically for the purpose of extending the priority regime, or unexpectedly; apply supervision and assessment measures based on risk management principles to monitor the maintenance of eligibility conditions after recognition; conduct post-customs clearance inspection at the premises of the customs declarant no more than once every three consecutive years from the date of recognition or extension of the priority regime by the Director of the Customs Department (except in cases where there are signs of violations);

dd) The Director of the Customs Department shall decide on random inspections to assess compliance with the law in accordance with Clause 1, Article 43 of the Customs Law.

2. Responsibilities of the enterprise eligible for the priority regime:

a) To strictly comply with the customs, tax, accounting and audit laws;

b) To submit quarterly reports on export and import activities and the enterprise’s compliance with the customs, tax, and accounting laws (according to the form issued by the Minister of Finance) to the Customs Department via electronic means within the first 15 (fifteen) days of the subsequent quarter;

c) Within 90 days from the end of the fiscal year, to submit to the Customs Department the audited financial statements and audit report of the preceding year via electronic means;

d) To notify the Customs Department in writing of any decisions on tax and accounting violations issued by competent agencies against the enterprise within 30 days from the date of receipt of such decisions;

dd) To exchange information with customs offices in order to report any problems that may arise (if any) and issues related to the maintenance of the conditions for enjoying the priority regime;

e) To review, self-inspect, detect and correct any shortcomings and report thereon to customs offices;

g) Upon receipt of notification from the customs office regarding errors or issues requiring clarification in the course of enterprise management, the enterprise shall be responsible for reviewing and fully and promptly reporting on the matters notified by the customs office;

h) To notify the Customs Department of the list of customs procedure agents providing services for the enterprise;

i) To monitor, control, and manage exports and imports; to manage the use of imported raw materials, supplies, machinery, and equipment; and to manage exports and imports exempt from or not subject to tax; to maintain an information technology system connected to or capable of sharing information with the customs office managing the enterprise, ensuring the provision of dossiers, documents, data, historical data, and periodic data (for a period of 05 years from the date of customs declaration registration) relating to exports and imports as required by the customs office.

The enterprise shall be responsible for proving the completeness and accuracy of the data it has declared to the customs office.

3. Responsibilities of relevant agencies

Relevant state management agencies shall coordinate with the customs office in assessing compliance with the law within their respective areas of responsibility upon written request from the customs office.

Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the written request from the customs office, the relevant state management agencies shall provide a written response.”

8. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 20 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. For exports:

a) The customs value is the selling price of such goods at the border gate of exportation, exclusive of international insurance premium and freight, determined based on the actual value of the goods at the border gate of exportation, according to the following sequence of methods:

a.1) The selling price of the goods up to the border gate of exportation includes the selling price indicated in the goods purchase and sale contract or commercial invoice and related costs associated with the exports in accordance with the relevant documents if such costs are not yet included in the selling price of the goods;

a.2) The selling price of identical or similar exports based on the customs valuation database after conversion to the selling price of the goods up to the border gate of exportation at the nearest time compared to the date of registration of the export declaration of the shipment subject to valuation;

a.3) The selling price of identical or similar exports on the Vietnamese market after conversion to the selling price of the goods up to the border gate of exportation at the nearest time compared to the date of registration of the export declaration of the shipment subject to valuation;

a.4) The selling price of exports collected, compiled, and classified by the customs office in accordance with Clause 1, Article 22 of this Decree after conversion to the selling price of the goods up to the border gate of exportation.

b) The border gate of exportation shall be determined as follows:

b.1) For sea and air transport, the border gate of exportation is the port of loading where the exports are loaded onto the means of transport at the port as indicated on the customs declaration;

b.2) For railway transport, the border gate of exportation is the loading site where the exports are loaded onto the means of transport at the international intermodal railway station indicated on the customs declaration;

b.3) For road and inland waterway transport, the border gate of exportation is the border gate where the goods are exported out of the territory of Vietnam as indicated in the purchase and sale contract or other relevant documents.

In case of goods exported into a non-tariff zone, the border gate of exportation shall be the location separating the non-tariff zone from the other inland areas of Vietnam.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. For imports:

a) The customs value of imports is the actual amount payable up to the first border gate of importation, determined according to the following sequence of methods:

a.1) Method of transaction value of imports;

a.2) Method of transaction value of identical imports;

a.3) Method of transaction value of similar imports;

a.4) Deductive value method;

a.5) Computed value method;

a.6) Fall-back method.

Where the customs declarant submits a written request, the order of application between the deductive value method and the computed value method may be reversed.

b) The first border gate of importation shall be identified as follows:

b.1) For sea and air transportation, the first border gate of importation is the unloading port specified on the bill of lading;

b.2) For railway transportation, the first border gate of importation is the international intermodal railway station indicated on the customs declaration;

b.3) For land and inland waterway transportation, the first border gate of importation is the border gate through which the goods are imported into the territory of Vietnam as indicated on the customs declaration.

In case of goods imported from a non-tariff zone into the inland area of Vietnam, the first border gate of importation shall be the location separating the non-tariff zone from the other inland areas of Vietnam.”

9. To amend and supplement Article 21 as follows:

“Article 21. Customs inspection and valuation

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

2. Where there are sufficient grounds to reject the declared value, the customs office shall notify and request the customs declarant to make additional declaration within a maximum of 05 working days from the date of notification, and release the goods in accordance with regulations. If the customs declarant makes additional declaration within the above time limit, the customs office shall clear the goods in accordance with regulations. If the customs declarant fails to make additional declaration within the time limit, the customs office shall determine the customs value and impose tax in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration in order to clear the goods.

3. Where there is doubt concerning the declared value, the customs office shall notify the grounds for doubt, the price level, and the method expected to be used for value determination, and release the goods in accordance with regulations; the customs declarant shall consult with the customs office to clarify the accuracy of the declared value.

a) If the customs declarant agrees with the price level and method expected to be used by the customs office, he/she shall additionally declare within a maximum of 05 working days from the date of consultation with the customs office, and the customs office shall clear the goods in accordance with regulations. If the customs declarant fails to make additional declaration within the above time limit, the customs office shall determine the customs value and impose tax in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration in order to clear the goods;

b) If the declared value is rejected, the customs office shall request the customs declarant to make an additional declaration within a maximum of 05 working days from the date of conclusion of the consultation. If the customs declarant makes additional declaration within the above time limit, the customs office shall clear the goods in accordance with regulations. If the customs declarant fails to make additional declaration within the time limit, the customs office shall determine the customs value and impose tax in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration in order to clear the goods.

c) If there are insufficient grounds to reject the declared value, the customs office shall clear the goods based on the declared value.

4. For cases not falling under Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article, the customs office shall accept the declared value to clear the goods in accordance with regulations.

5. The exchange rate between Vietnam dong and a foreign currency used for customs valuation is the buying price of such foreign currency in the form of transfer announced at the head office of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam at the end of Thursday of the preceding week or of the workday preceding Thursday in case such Thursday is a holiday or day off. This exchange rate shall be used for duty calculation for customs declarations registered within a week.

As for foreign currencies of which the exchange rates are not announced by the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, the exchange rates of these foreign currencies shall be determined according to the cross rates between Vietnam dong and several foreign currencies that the State Bank of Vietnam has announced on its website. For foreign currencies of which the cross rates are not published, the exchange rates of such foreign currencies shall be determined and announced based on the proposals of the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam.

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

10. To add Article 22a as follows:

“Article 22a. Customs value used for the purpose of statistics on exports and imports

1. The customs value used for statistical purposes shall be established based on the principles and methods stipulated in Article 20 of this Decree, except for the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. For the following cases, the customs value used for statistical purposes shall be based on the declaration of the customs declarant in accordance with the following principles:

a) Goods imported into Vietnam after being outsourced abroad: shall be the value of goods up to the first border gate of importation, including the total constituent value of the product, comprising the value of raw materials constituting the product, the processing cost of the product, and other costs (if any) related to the determination of the product's cost price;

b) Exported goods which are products processed for foreign countries: shall be the value of goods up to the border gate of exportation, including the total constituent value of the product, comprising the value of raw materials constituting the product, the processing cost of the product, and other costs (if any) related to the determination of the product's cost price;

c) Goods under financial lease contracts: shall be the total value of the goods, excluding services provided together with the financial lease contract.

3. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate in detail the collection, processing, use, and storage of information regarding the customs value used for statistical purposes.”

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

a) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

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

a) To submit sufficient dossiers of request for the pre-identification determination of codes, origin, and customs value to the Customs Department at least 60 days prior to the exportation or importation of the shipment;

b) To join dialogues with the customs office in order to clarify the request for the pre-identification of code, origin and customs value at the latter’s request;

c) To send a written notice to the Customs Department within 10 working days from the date when occurs any change to goods for which they request the pre-identification of code, origin and customs value, clearly stating the changed content, reason for such change and change-making date.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Responsibilities of the Customs Department:

a) Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the request, the Customs Department shall issue a written refusal of the pre-identification of code, origin and customs value to the requesting organization or individual if conditions and documents for the pre-identification are insufficient, or the goods specified in the request for pre-identification of code, origin, or customs value are pending results from a competent state management agency; or the goods specified in the request for pre-identification of code have already been subject to a written guideline on code classification by a competent state management agency;

b) The Director of Customs Department shall issue a notice of results of pre-identification of code, origin and customs value within 30 days after receiving a complete dossier (for normal cases), or within 60 days (for complicated cases requiring verification). The notice shall be sent to the requesting organization or individual and concurrently used for updating the database of the customs office and posted on the website of the Customs Department.”

c) To amend and supplement Clause 7 as follows:

“7. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate dossiers for pre-identification of code, origin and customs value and the cases pending results from competent state management agencies.”

12. To amend and supplement Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 Article 25 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. The customs declarant may choose to make declarations via electronic means or on a paper customs declaration form in the following cases:

a) Luggage exceeding the duty-free quota;

b) Goods exported, imported, temporarily exported, or re-imported for national defense and security purposes;

c) Goods of individuals entitled to diplomatic immunities and privileges;

d) The electronic customs data processing system or electronic customs declaration system fails to perform electronic transactions between them, which may be caused by the operational failure of either or both of the systems or due to any other reason.

In case the electronic customs data processing system fails to carry out electronic customs procedures, customs offices shall make an announcement on the customs website within 1 hour from the time such failure occurs.

Where the customs declarant's electronic customs declaration system is unable to perform electronic customs procedures, the customs declarant shall submit a written request to the Regional Customs Branch in the area where customs procedures are expected to be carried out, clearly stating the name and cause of the incident, the expected time for resolution of the incident, and the selected method for carrying out customs declaration procedures via a customs procedure agent or by using a paper customs declaration form during the period in which the customs declarant’s electronic system is malfunctioning;

dd) Other goods determined by the Minister of Finance.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Customs declarants shall fill sufficient, accurate and clear information in the customs declaration, self-assess duty amounts and other remittances to the state budget and take responsibility before law for their declared information.

In cases where exported or imported goods are subject to licensing by specialized management agencies, such licenses must be obtained prior to customs declaration registration and the license information must be fully declared on the customs declaration in accordance with the guidance of the Minister of Finance.

If, upon inspection of the dossier, the customs office has sufficient grounds to determine that the goods are subject to licensing but such license is not available at the time of registration of the customs declaration, the case shall be handled in accordance with the law on administrative violations.”

c) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. When making customs declaration, customs declarants shall:

a) Input customs declaration information on the electronic customs declaration system;

b) Submit the customs declaration and supporting documents constituting the customs dossier in the form of electronic data or digitized data to the customs office via the customs electronic data processing system.

In cases where the supporting documents constituting the customs dossier are already available on the Vietnam National Single Window portal, the customs declarant is not required to submit them to the customs office. Where submission of original hard copies of documents constituting the customs dossier is required, the customs declarant must submit them either directly or by postal service to the customs office;

c) Receive feedback and follow instructions from the customs office.

With regard to paper customs declaration, customs declarants shall fully fill in the customs declaration form, give their signatures and append their seals (except when customs declarants are individuals) on their declaration forms and submit paper documents in the customs dossier to customs offices.”

d) To amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

“5. The customs declarant must submit a new customs declaration in the following cases:

a) Exports and imports that are not subject to export duty, import duty, excise tax, value-added tax, or environmental protection tax, or that are tax-exempt or subject to tariff-rate quotas with absolute tax rates, and which have been released or cleared, but later undergo changes to their tax exemption status or to the purposes qualifying them for exemption or preferential tariff-rate quotas;

b) Goods being raw materials, supplies, or components imported for processing or for the production of exports, and goods temporarily imported or temporarily exported that have been released or cleared, but later have their intended use changed or are transferred to domestic consumption.

They shall be regulated by the import and export management and tax policies applicable at the time when their new customs declarations are registered, unless all the import and export management policies have been fully implemented at the time when the initial customs declarations are registered.”

dd) To amend and supplement Clause 10 as follows:

“10. The Ministry of Finance shall stipulate in detail the additional filling in or cancellation of customs declarations, registration of one-off customs declarations or completion of new customs declarations for goods of which the use purpose is changed or which are put up for domestic sale, and the handling of situations where the customs electronic data processing system or the electronic customs declaration system encounters a malfunction.”

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

“4. The Customs Department shall base himself/herself on the criteria for classifying risk levels set by the Minister of Finance to decide on customs inspection and make announcement through the electronic customs data processing system in one of the following forms:

a) Approving the information declared on the customs declarations for decision on customs clearance;

b) Examining related documents in the customs dossiers submitted or produced by customs declarants, or any other documents stored on the national single-window portal in order to decide on customs clearance or physical inspection of goods before permitting customs clearance.

The Minister of Finance shall specify the timing for notification of customs inspection on the customs electronic data processing system.”

14. To amend and supplement Article 28 as follows:

“Article 28. Customs inspection during the storage and handling of goods within customs operation areas

1. Based on the results of risk management information analysis, the customs office shall decide on the inspection of goods via screeners or other technical devices.

2. Port and warehouse operation enterprises shall arrange places for installment of screeners and other technical devices, and transport goods requiring screening to the inspection site as requested by the customs office.

3. In case the inspection of goods conducted by means of screeners or other technical devices shows any signs of suspicion and customs offices find it necessary to conduct physical inspection of such goods, customs offices shall notify port and warehouse operation enterprises to arrange separate warehousing areas.”

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

“5. In case, upon using technical equipment and devices provided by the customs office, customs officers conducting the physical inspection cannot verify the accuracy of the information declared by customs declarants about goods name, code, type, quality, quantity, volume and weight, the following shall apply:

a) For goods included in the List of goods received and handled by the customs inspection agency: The customs office where the physical inspection is conducted shall request the customs inspection agency to conduct analysis and classification, and to inspect and assess the technical specifications of the goods using equipment and devices, in order to determine the above-mentioned contents, and base on the results provided by the customs inspection agency to decide on the customs clearance.

The Customs Department shall notify the List of goods received and handled by the customs inspection agency.

b) For goods not included in the List of goods received and handled by the customs inspection agency: The customs office where the physical inspection is conducted shall request an expert assessment by an inspection organization in accordance with law and shall base its decision on customs clearance on the results of such assessment.”

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

“1. Goods release must comply with Article 36 of the Customs Law. Goods shall be released in the following cases:

a) Analysis, classification or assessment of imports and exports shall be conducted to identify goods code, quantity, weight and volume of imports or exports, and customs declarants who have already paid their taxes or credit institutions that provide guarantee for taxes self-assessed by customs declarants.

Exports and imports shall also be deemed subject to analysis, classification, or assessment for determining the classification code, even when sampling is not required, if they have the same name, composition, structure, physico-chemical properties, functions, uses, packaging specifications, and manufacturer as previously sampled goods that are awaiting analysis, classification, or assessment results, declared by the same customs declarant;

b) Imports or exports have not had official prices at the time their customs declarations are registered and customs declarants had paid taxes or have their taxes guaranteed by credit institutions on the basis of the price that they have temporarily calculated;

c) Imports or exports are defined at Point b, Clause 2, Article 21 of this Decree and customs declarants had paid taxes or have their taxes guaranteed by credit institutions on the basis of self-declaration and tax calculation by the customs declarant;

d) If customs declarants do not have sufficient information and documents to support customs valuation of their imports or exports, their goods shall be released provided that there is any credit institution providing guarantee for their taxes calculated based on customs value determined by customs offices.”

17. To amend and supplement the title of article and Clauses 1 and 2, Article 33 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement the title of Article 33 as follows:

“Article 33. Responsibilities of competent state agencies and coordination relationship between these agencies in the inspection of goods and vehicles”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Imports, exports, in-transit goods, vehicles on entry, exit or in transit that are subject to quarantine must undergo such quarantine at border gates before completing customs procedures, unless they are permitted by the quarantine law to be brought to inland places for quarantine. For imports, exports and in-transit goods that are subject to quality inspection or food safety control, the inspection shall be carried out in accordance with the law on quality inspection and food safety control, and customs offices shall base themselves on conclusions made by specialized management agencies, specialized inspection agencies or organizations, or base on other documents in accordance with the laws on specialized management and inspection to decide on customs clearance.

Specialized management agencies and specialized inspection agencies or organizations shall coordinate in concurrently inspecting imports, exports or in-transit goods at border gates or goods inspection places, unless goods are required to be brought to specialized inspection places to meet technical or professional requirements.”

c) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Coordination in sampling and specialized inspection:

a) For exports and imports subject to specialized inspection, sampling shall be carried out in accordance with the law on specialized inspection;

b) Specialized inspection agencies and organizations shall directly carry out sampling of exports and imports at the location notified by the customs declarant; in case sampling is conducted within customs operation areas, the customs office shall supervise the sampling process;

c) Prior to sampling, the customs declarant must notify the customs office and the specialized inspection agency of the time and location of sampling.

The customs declarant must present the goods for sampling by the specialized inspection agency or organization, or the customs office;

d) Sampling must be conducted in the presence of the customs declarant. Samples must be sealed and a Sampling Record must be prepared and certified by the customs declarant and the specialized inspection agency or organization;

dd) The specialized inspection agency or organization shall carry out the inspection and notify the inspection results via the Vietnam National Single Window portal to the customs office and the customs declarant within 02 working days from the date the inspection results are available.

In cases where the specialized inspection agency or organization has not completed the inspection procedures or updated the inspection results on the Vietnam National Single Window portal, the customs office shall accept a copy of the inspection result notification submitted by the customs declarant via the customs electronic data processing system.”

18. To amend Point a, Clause 2, Article 34 as follows:

“a) Arrange separate areas for storing imports, exports, in-transit goods and goods which have been imported for more than 90 days since the date of their arrival at border gates but left unclaimed; and goods in violation of customs law;”

19. To amend and supplement Article 35 as follows:

“Article 35. Customs procedures for and customs inspection and supervision of on-spot exports and imports

1. On-spot exports and imports are goods specified in Clause 1, Article 47a of the Customs Law, as amended and supplemented under Clause 3, Article 3 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Bidding Law; the Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value-Added Tax; the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, including:

a) Goods processed in Vietnam under foreign traders’ orders for sale or transfer to organizations and individuals in Vietnam;

b) Goods sold, leased, or lent between Vietnamese enterprises and foreign traders where the foreign trader designates delivery and receipt of goods to/from an enterprise in Vietnam.

2. On-spot exports and imports must undergo customs procedures; goods may be delivered and received before customs procedures are carried out or may undergo customs procedures before goods are delivered and received; and shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision from the time of delivery and receipt until the completion of customs procedures, or from the time of customs declaration until the completion of delivery and receipt.

3. On-spot exports and imports shall be considered to have completed customs procedures when both the on-spot export declaration and the on-spot import declaration have completed customs clearance procedures.

4. The time limit, location, and method of delivery and receipt of goods shall be carried out in accordance with the foreign trader’s instructions and must be notified to the customs office either at the time of customs procedures or prior to the time of delivery and receipt of the goods.

5. The Minister of Finance shall detail this Article.”

20. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 37 as follows:

“1. Notice of processing or export production establishments and places for storing materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and exported products

a) Before carrying out procedures for importing the first shipment of materials, supplies, machinery and equipment for processing or export production, an organization or individual shall notify the processing or export production establishment and places for storing materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and exported products, using the information indicators prescribed by the Minister of Finance via the customs electronic data processing system;

b) In case of changes to the contents of the notice on the processing or export production establishment that lead to changes in premises, address, production scale, legal representative of the trader, business lines subject to conditions, subcontracting, or changes in the location for storage of raw materials, supplies, machinery, equipment, or export products, such changes must be notified to the customs office prior to the importation or transfer of raw materials, supplies, machinery, equipment, semi-finished products, or products to the new subcontracting location or new storage location. For changes not included in the above-mentioned contents, the customs office must be notified no later than the tenth day of the first month of the subsequent quarter from the date the change arises.”

21. To amend and supplement Article 39 as follows:

“Article 39. Inspection of processing or export production establishments, processing and production capacity; and places for storing materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and exported products

1. Cases subject to inspection:

a) Organizations and individuals importing goods for processing or export production for the first time;

b) There are grounds to determine that organizations or individuals change information regarding address, business line, production scale, or production capacity without notifying the customs office;

c) Organizations and individuals importing goods for processing for foreign traders but subcontract the entire processing contract to another organization or individual;

d) When it is discovered that raw materials, supplies, components, and export products are being stored at locations not previously notified to the customs office;

dd) Other cases subject to inspection based on risk management application.

2. The customs office receiving the notification of the processing or export production establishment shall decide on the inspection of the processing or export production establishment, processing and production capacity, and locations for storage of raw materials, supplies, machinery, equipment, and export products.

Inspection shall be conducted at least after 5 working days from the date the organization or individual receives the inspection decision. The inspection duration must not exceed 5 working days.

3. The inspection covers:

a) Inspection of the address of the processing or production establishment and locations for storage of raw materials, supplies, machinery, equipment, and export products;

b) Inspection of business lines for investment and business operations;

c) Inspection of factories, machinery, and equipment;

d) Inspection of labor status participating in the production line;

dd) Inspection of the process, capacity, and scale of production and processing;

e) Inspection of the storage of imported raw materials, supplies, and export products at notified locations, and inspection of the tracking of raw materials, supplies, export products, machinery, and equipment via warehouse tracking accounting books or software for managing the inventory of raw materials, supplies, export products, machinery, and equipment.

4. Handling of inspection results on processing or production establishments, processing and production capacity; locations for storage of raw materials, supplies, machinery, equipment, and export products:

a) If the production establishment meets the conditions to carry out processing or production for export, the organization or individual shall be entitled to export duty, import duty, and other tax (if any) incentives from the time the establishment is notified to the customs office;

b) If there is no processing or production establishment, or if the establishment does not conform to the notified contents and is not suitable for processing or production for export, the organization or individual shall be required to fully pay export duty, import duty, and other taxes (if any), and late payment interest from the date of registration of the import customs declaration to the actual date of tax payment, and shall be subject to sanction for violations as prescribed for the quantity of imported raw materials and supplies not eligible for tax incentives;

c) Where there are grounds to determine that the organization or individual imports raw materials, supplies, machinery, and equipment beyond the production capacity, or for a conditional business line as prescribed by law, and the organization or individual fails to present a license or certificate of business eligibility, or imports raw materials, supplies, machinery, and equipment inconsistent with the business lines previously notified to the customs office, the organization or individual shall be allowed to provide explanations and supporting evidence; in cases where the explanation or proof is not provided or is unreasonable, the case shall be handled in accordance with regulations.”

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

“1. Cases subject to inspection:

a) Organizations or individuals show signs of risk that they have imported machinery, equipment, materials and supplies but make no product for export upon the expiration of the production and business cycle;

b) There are grounds to determine that organizations or individuals import materials, supplies, machinery and equipment or export products in abnormally higher or lower quantities compared to their production capacity;

c) There are grounds to determine that organizations or individuals sell materials, supplies, machinery, equipment or products into the inland without making customs declarations;

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

dd) Inspections based on risk management for cases where organizations or individuals are required to immediately notify changes in premises, address, production scale, legal representative of the trader, conditional business lines, subcontracting, or changes in the storage locations of raw materials, supplies, machinery, equipment, and export products as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 37 of this Decree.

For the cases specified at Point a and Point b of Clause 1 of this Article, organizations and individuals shall provide written explanations upon request of the customs office. Inspections shall only be carried out if the organization or individual fails to provide explanations or if the customs office has grounds to determine that the explanations are unreasonable.”

23. To amend and supplement Article 43 as follows:

“Article 43. Customs procedures for and customs inspection and supervision of goods in transit

1. Customs procedures for goods in transit shall be carried out at customs offices of the first border-gate of importation and the last border-gate of exportation.

a) The first border gate of importation shall be identified as follows:

a.1) For sea and air transportation, the first border gate of importation is the port of destination indicated on the bill of lading.

In cases where the port of destination indicated on the bill of lading is not a seaport or airport, the first border gate of importation shall be the unloading port where the seagoing ships or aircraft arrives upon entry into Vietnam;

a.2) For railway transportation, the first border gate of importation is the border international railway station;

a.3) For land and inland waterway transportation, the first border gate of importation is the national border gate through which the goods are imported into the territory of Vietnam;

a.4) For goods sent via postal or express delivery services, the first border gate of importation is the location designated for centralized gathering, inspection, and supervision of postal items and express consignments.

b) The last border gate of exportation is the border gate through which the vehicles carrying the goods in transit exits the country.

Goods in transit under multilateral agreements on transit of goods to which Vietnam is a contracting party shall comply with separate provisions of the Government.

2. Customs dossier:

a) A customs declaration or a document substituting the declaration. In cases where the declaration or the substituting document cannot contain detailed information on the goods, the customs declarant must submit a list of goods in transit using the form issued by the Minister of Finance;

b) Bill of lading, for goods in transit transported by sea, air or railway: 01 copy;

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

3. Responsibilities of the customs declarants:

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

b) To transport goods along the routes, through border gates and within the time limit prescribed in Clause 1, Article 65 of the Customs Law;

c) To ensure customs seals or the intactness of goods and the carrier’s seals.

In force majeure circumstances where the goods’ intactness or customs seals or carrier’s seals cannot be ensured or goods cannot be transported along designated routes and within prescribed time limit, customs declarants shall, after applying necessary measures to limit and prevent damage, promptly notify such to customs offices for handling. In case customs declarants cannot promptly notify customs offices of the situation, they may notify such to the public security, border guard, marine police office or local government, whichever is convenient for them, for handling in accordance with law;

d) To use means of transport for goods in transit that meet the customs supervision requirements as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 71 of the Customs Law;

dd) In case of transshipment, warehousing, change in mode of transport, change in means of transport, or consolidation with exports, the customs declarant shall submit a written request to the customs office at the first border gate of importation using the form issued by the Minister of Finance.

Such transshipment, warehousing, change in transport method or means shall be carried out at the border gate area, bonded warehouse, container freight station, customs clearance locations at import-export ports established within the domestic territory, centralized goods gathering, inspection and supervision locations, and other locations recognized by the Director of the Customs Department in accordance with Article 22 of the Customs Law;

e) Goods in transit consolidated with exports must satisfy the following conditions:

e.1) Goods in transit and exported goods must be separately packed (packages, cartons, bags);

e.2) Goods in transit must not fall under the list of goods subject to the Prime Minister’s authority for transit permission;

e.3) Consolidation must be carried out at the container freight station at the last border gate of exportation or at the centralized inspection and supervision location for postal or express delivery goods;

g) To present the goods for physical inspection upon request by the customs office.

4. Responsibilities of customs office at the border gate of importation:

a) To receive and handle customs dossiers under Clause 2 of this Article;

b) To carry out customs supervision in accordance with Clause 7 of this Article;

c) To conduct physical inspection of goods in case of any sign of violation;

d) To monitor the transportation of goods subject to customs supervision;

dd) In cases of transshipment, warehousing, change of mode of transport or means of transport, or consolidation with exports, if the location stated in the written request satisfies the conditions specified at Point dd, Clause 3 of this Article and is consistent with the transit route registered with the customs office, the customs office receiving the written request shall make a handover record and send it together with the approved request to the customs office in charge of implementing the transshipment, warehousing, change of mode of transport or means of transport, or consolidation with exports.

5. Responsibilities of the customs office managing the location for transshipment, warehousing, change of mode of transport or means of transport:

a) To receive the shipment transported to the location and check the seal condition or the intactness of goods against the handover record;

b) To supervise transshipment, warehousing, change of mode of transport or means of transport, or consolidation with exports;

c) To apply customs sealing in cases where customs seals or carrier’s seals have been changed;

d) To make a handover record to the customs office at the last border gate of exportation or to the customs office in charge of implementing transshipment, warehousing, change of mode of transport or means of transport, or consolidation with exports.

6. Responsibilities of the customs office at the border gate of exportation:

a) To check information on the customs declaration or the document substituting the declaration on the customs electronic data processing system;

b) To check the seal condition or the intactness of goods.

In cases where goods in transit are transported by inland waterway for export abroad, the customs office at the border gate of exportation shall, based on route information, transport time, and any alerts (if any), decide on the inspection of customs seals or the carrier’s seals;

c) To conduct physical inspection of goods in case of any sign of violation;

d) To receive the written request for consolidation with exports as prescribed at Point dd, Clause 4 of this Article;

dd) To supervise the goods until actual exportation.

7. Customs supervision:

a) In-transit goods shall be customs-sealed or carrier-sealed, or be supervised by technical devices. Those that cannot be sealed shall be handed to customs declarants for preservation of their original state;

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

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

24. To amend and supplement Article 44 as follows:

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

1. Transshipped goods are those transported by sea from abroad to terminals within Vietnamese seaports, and then exported either from the same terminal, to another terminal within the same seaport, or to another seaport for export abroad. Transshipped goods may be exported in full at once or in multiple shipments.

2. The transshipment activities of goods as prescribed in this Article include loading and unloading, container replacement, transportation, and storage of goods as requested by the carrier at the port of import or port of export.

The storage period of transshipped goods shall not exceed 30 days from the date of completion of customs procedures at the port of importation.

In cases where transshipped goods are damaged or lost during storage at Vietnamese seaports and additional time is needed for remedy, the transshipment duration may be extended corresponding to the time necessary to carry out such actions, subject to approval by the customs office where the transshipment procedures are conducted.

3. Transshipped goods shall be subject to customs supervision from the time they arrive at Vietnamese seaports, throughout the storage process at the port, and during transportation until the goods are exported out of the territory of Vietnam. Transshipped goods may be physically inspected only in case signs of violation are detected.

4. Responsibilities of the customs declarants:

a) To fill in a customs declaration under Clause 4, Article 25 of this Decree, or submit substitute documents in place of the customs declaration;

b) To maintain the intact condition of the goods and the original customs seals or the carrier’s seals throughout the transportation and storage at the port;

c) To present the goods for physical inspection upon request by the customs office;

d) To export all transshipped goods abroad within the time limit specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

5. Responsibilities of customs office at the border gate of importation:

a) To receive and handle customs declarations or documents in substitution;

b) To supervise goods in transit;

c) To affix customs seals to means of transport in cases where the carrier’s seals are no longer intact;

d) To conduct physical inspection of goods in case of any sign of violation.

6. Responsibilities of the customs office at the border gate of exportation:

a) To check information on the customs declaration or the document substituting the declaration;

b) To check the condition of the customs seals or the carrier’s seals, or the intactness of the goods in cases where sealing is not feasible;

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

d) To conduct physical inspection of goods in case of any sign of violation.

The Minister of Finance shall detail this Article.”

25. To amend and supplement Article 47 as follows:

“Article 47. Customs procedures for re-import of exported goods

1. Traders may re-import unused goods of their own that have been returned. Processed goods for foreign traders which have been exported may not be re-imported for destruction.

2. Customs dossier:

a) Customs declaration;

b) Bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway: 01 photocopy.

3. Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter. Customs declarants are not required to submit an import permit or a written notice of the results of specialized inspection, unless otherwise provided for by specialized management and inspection laws.

4. The tax policy applicable to re-imported exported goods shall comply with the tax laws.

5. For goods re-imported for destruction, repair, or recycling and subsequently re-exported or re-imported for re-export to a third country or export into a non-tariff zone, the time limit for destruction or re-export shall not exceed 12 months from the date of registration of the re-import declaration, unless in the case of specific goods with a repair or recycling period exceeding 12 months as required by the production cycle, in which case the customs office shall decide based on agreement between the parties.

The customs declarant is not yet required to pay tax during the period of repair or recycling; if, after the expiration of the registered repair or recycling period, the goods have not been re-exported, the tax laws shall be complied with.

6. Procedures for re-exporting recycled or repaired goods must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.

7. Handling of recycled or repaired goods which cannot be re-exported:

a) For repaired or recycled products which are processed goods or goods manufactured for export: Customs procedures shall be carried out for domestic sale or destruction;

In case of domestic consumption, tax payment must be made for raw materials and supplies (including packaging materials or packaging used for packing export products), components, and semi-finished products imported and directly constituting the exported product; and for finished products imported for packaging, labeling, attachment, assembly into, or combination into synchronized items with the exported product;

b) Recycled or repaired products other than processed goods or goods produced for export shall be put for domestic sale like goods re-imported for domestic sale. The settlement of tax shall comply with the law on tax administration;

c) For processed or export-manufactured products that are re-imported for repair or recycling but only a portion of the raw materials or supplies can be reused for further production of export products (of the same or different types), it is required to monitor and establish separate norms for the product codes applicable after repair or recycling. Scrap, defective products, and waste generated from the repair or recycling process shall be monitored and handled similarly to those arising from processing and manufacturing of export goods.

8. In case re-imported goods are export products made from imported raw materials and supplies exempted from import duties; or are exported goods originating from imports and eligible for import duty refund, the customs office conducting the re-import procedures shall notify the customs office in charge of finalization reporting or duty refund (if they are two different customs offices) of cases in which goods cannot be re-exported as referred to in Clause 7 of this Article, or where the time limit referred to in Clause 5 of this Article has been exceeded, for tax handling in accordance with the law.

9. In case a trader re-imports its own used exports for recycling or warranty purposes at the request of the foreign trader, and subsequently re-exports such goods, the customs procedures shall be carried out in accordance with Article 50 of this Decree.”

26. To amend and supplement Article 48 as follows:

“Article 48. Customs procedures and supervision of imports which are required to be re-exported abroad or into non-tariff zones

1. Customs dossier:

a) Customs declaration;

b) Commercial invoice in case of export for sale overseas, or sales invoice, value-added tax invoice in case of export for sale into non-tariff zones: 01 copy.

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

3. Goods subject to mandatory re-export under a decision of a competent agency; goods (excluding goods banned from import or suspended from import) under customs supervision that are misdelivered, lost, unclaimed, or refused due to non-conformity with contract terms, provided that the carrier or goods owner submits a written request for re-export (clearly stating the reason for misdelivery, loss, or refusal), shall be taken out of the territory of Vietnam through the border gate of importation or international border gate.”

27. To amend and supplement Article 49 as follows:

“Article 49. Customs procedures for goods containers rotationally used for temporary import for re-export

1. Equipment which are rotated by the mode of temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import to contain imported or exported goods include:

a) Containers, with or without suspension hooks;

b) Tank (cistern) vehicles used to contain gas or liquid, constructed with stable and durable structures, designed specifically for containing and transporting gas or liquid, permanently marked with identification codes on the tank surface and transported by specialized trucks;

c) Flexi-tank containers for liquid cargoes;

d) Other equipment which may be used for many times to contain or package imported or exported goods.

2. The time limits for temporary import for re-export and temporary export for re-import shall be agreed upon by traders and their partners and registered with customs offices where procedures are carried out. In case of an extension request, the customs declarant shall make additional declaration or submit a written request for extension of the temporary import or export period (in case of a List declaration), together with 01 copy of the agreement with the partner on the extension, to the Customs Branch where procedures for temporary import or export are carried out, prior to the expiry date previously registered with the customs office.

For containers and tanks for rotational use specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article, the maximum duration of temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import shall not exceed 24 months, except for those for rotational use are holding leftover goods at customs supervision areas.

3. Customs procedures for the cases specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article

a) The customs declarant shall submit the dossier at the border-gate customs office. A dossier set must comprise:

a.1) List of goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import, using the form issued by the Minister of Finance: 02 originals;

a.2) Bill of lading for the means not containing goods: 01 copy;

a.3) Document stating the result of specialized inspection as required by relevant laws: 01 original.

b) The customs office shall check and compare the declared information in the List of goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import with the customs dossier set. If the information is consistent and shows no signs of suspicion, the customs office shall certify on the 02 Lists, retain 01 copy, and return 01 copy to the customs declarant. If there are doubts, physical inspection shall be carried out, and violations shall be handled in accordance with regulations;

c) Annually, no later than January 15, the customs declarant shall submit a report on the use and storage locations of the containers to the customs office.

4. Customs dossiers and procedures for the cases specified at Points c and d, Clause 1 of this Article

a) The customs declarant shall submit the dossier at the border-gate customs office or at the customs office where procedures for export or import of goods in containers for rotational use. A dossier set must comprise:

a.1) Customs declaration;

a.2) One copy of the bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway, in case the container for rotational use that is temporarily imported does not contain exports or imports;

a.3) Permit, document stating the result of specialized inspection as required by relevant laws: 01 original.

b) Customs procedures must comply with Section 5 of this Chapter.

5. Storage location:

Goods containers used on a rotational basis shall be stored at locations notified to the customs office at the time of temporary import declaration.

Those specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article owned by the carrier, must be stored within the custom operation area, except when delivered to the exporter’s or importer’s packing or unpacking location.

6. In case of change of intended use of the goods containers used on a rotational basis, provisions of Clause 5, Article 25 of this Decree shall be complied with.

7. Containers referred to in Clause 1 of this Article, if exported or imported under sale contracts, financial lease contracts, or other forms, shall be subject to customs procedures applicable to exports and imports under Section 5, this Chapter.”

28. To amend and supplement Article 50 as follows:

“Article 50. Customs procedures for goods temporarily exported for re-import and goods temporarily imported for re-export

1. The cases of temporary export for re-import and temporary import for re-export include:

a) Construction equipment, machinery and vehicles, means of transport, molds and models temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for investment project implementation, production, construction and installation of works, testing, research and product development;

b) Seagoing ships and aircraft temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for repair and maintenance;

c) Machinery, equipment, components, spare parts, and items temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import to serve the replacement and repair of Vietnamese seagoing ships and aircraft abroad, and foreign seagoing ships and aircraft anchoring at Vietnamese ports;

d) Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for organizing or participating in fairs, exhibitions, and product presentations;

dd) Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import to serve work for a definite term, including goods for conferences, seminars, scientific research, education, sports competitions, cultural and art events or others, medical examination and treatment, machinery, equipment, and professional tools serving work for a definite term;

e) Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for warranty, repair or replacement;

g) Other goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported.

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

a) Customs declaration;

b) Additional documents for temporarily imported goods:

b.1) Bill of lading, for goods transported by sea, air or railway (if any): 01 copy;

b.2) A permit for temporary import for export as prescribed by law; a written notice on the specialized inspection result as prescribed by law: 01 original;

b.3) Service provision contract for seagoing ship or aircraft repair and maintenance in the case specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article: 01 copy;

b.4) Document certified by a competent agency regarding participation in or organization of a fair or exhibition (excluding temporary import for re-export for product presentation) in the case specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article: 01 copy;

b.5) Document relating to participation in activities in the case specified at Point dd, Clause 1 of this Article: 01 copy.

3. A customs dossier for goods temporarily exported for re-import must comprise:

a) Customs declaration;

b) Additional documents for temporarily exported goods:

b.1) A permit for temporary export for import as prescribed by law; a written notice on the specialized inspection result as prescribed by law: 01 original;

b.2) One copy of the document on the organization of or participation in a trade fair or an exhibition, with certification of a competent agency (except temporary export for re-import for product display).

c) For goods re-imported, transport documents shall be additionally submitted in case the goods are transported by sea, air, or railway (if any): 01 copy.

4. Places of customs procedure completion:

The customs declarant may choose a convenient customs office to carry out procedures for temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import.

5. Customs procedures:

a) Comply with Section 5 of this Chapter;

b) For machinery, equipment, components, spare parts, and items temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import to serve the replacement and repair of seagoing ships and aircraft under service provision contracts, procedures shall be carried out in accordance with regulations applicable to processing operations as guided by the Minister of Finance.

6. The time limits for temporary import for re-export and temporary export:

a) For the cases specified at Points a, b, c, e, and g, Clause 1 of this Article, the time limit shall comply with the agreement between the trader and the partner and shall be registered with the customs office.

In case an extension of the time limit for temporary import or temporary export is required as agreed with the partner, before the expiry of the time limit for temporary import or temporary export as registered in the customs declaration, the customs declarant shall make additional customs declaration and submit 01 copy of the written agreement with the partner on the extension of the time limit for temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import to the customs office where the temporary import or export procedure was carried out. For the case of temporary import or export of goods to implement a project, the extension period must not exceed the duration of the investment project;

b) For the case specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article, the time limit for re-export and re-import shall be as follows:

b.1) Goods temporarily imported for organization of or participation in a fair, an exhibition or a product display in Vietnam shall be re-exported within 30 days after the end of such fair, exhibition or product display as registered with the customs office;

b.2) The time limit for temporary export of goods for a fair, an exhibition or a product display abroad is one year after such goods are temporarily exported. Past the above time limit, if such goods are not yet re-imported, their owners shall pay duty and perform other financial obligations prescribed by Vietnamese law.

c) For the cases specified at Point dd, Clause 1 of this Article: Time limits for temporary import for re-export and temporary export for re-import shall be in accordance with the actual duration of the work and must be registered with customs offices. In case an extension of the time limit for temporary import or temporary export is required, before the expiry of the time limit for temporary import or temporary export as registered in the customs declaration, the customs declarant shall make additional customs declaration and submit 01 copy of the document proving the extension of the work duration to the customs office where the temporary import or export procedure was carried out.

7. In case an enterprise engaged in temporary import or temporary export changes the purpose of use of the goods or diverts the goods for domestic consumption, it must carry out customs procedures for import or export in accordance with Section 5 of this Chapter.

8. In case goods are temporarily imported or exported for the purpose of research and product development, and at the time of re-export or re-import the goods are no longer in their original condition, the customs declarant must re-export or re-import the entire products, components, and spare parts constituting the original product.”

29. To amend and supplement Clauses 2, 5, 6, and add Clause 7 to Article 59 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

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

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

When making customs declaration, the customs declarant must not aggregate the duty-free quota of many persons on entry to declare exemption from duty for a single person on entry, except luggage carried by members of a family in the same trip. The declaration of duty-free quota shall be made for each time of entry.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

“5. Persons on entry or exit may temporarily consign their luggage into warehouses of an enterprise engaged in warehouse, yard, and port business at border gate and may receive them back upon their entry or exit. The duration of temporary consignment of luggage into warehouses must not exceed 180 days.

Before the end of each working day, the enterprise engaged in warehouse, yard, and port business shall send information on the consigned luggage to the border-gate customs office, using the form provided in the Appendix to this Decree.”

c) To amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

“6. If a person on entry or exit makes a written waiver of the consigned luggage in the duration of temporary consignment prescribed in Clause 5 of this Article or refuses to claim back the consigned luggage upon the expiration of the duration, or the office or enterprise engaged in warehouse, yard, and port business at the border gate determines that the luggage owner has performed acts indicating abandonment, such luggage shall be handled in the same manner as goods left in stock within the customs operation area.”

d) To add Clause 7 as follows:

“7. In cases where luggage is transported by air without luggage tags and the owner of the luggage cannot be identified, the airline shall be responsible for coordinating with the customs office in handling the luggage in accordance with the law.”

30. To amend and supplement Clauses 4, 5, 6 and 7, Article 60 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. Persons on entry shall carry out customs procedures for their luggage consigned before or after their trips within 30 days after their luggage arrives at a border gate. In cases where luggage sent on the same trip exceeds the duty-free quota, customs procedures must be carried out immediately upon entry.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

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

c) To amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

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

d) To amend and supplement Clause 7 as follows:

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

31. To add Article 60a as follows:

“Article 60a. Customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision for goods supplied to outbound aircraft and foreign seagoing ships anchoring at seaports in Vietnam

1. Goods imported for supply to outbound aircraft and foreign seagoing ships may be stored at the following locations:

a) Bonded warehouses;

b) Border gate areas where aircraft and seagoing ships enter or exit;

c) Catering processing and production establishments.

2. Goods supplied to outbound aircraft and seagoing ships shall be subject to customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision in accordance with the corresponding type of export and import and may be registered with a single customs declaration and delivered in multiple shipments.”

32. To amend and supplement Article 61 as follows:

“Article 61. Customs dossiers and time limit for submission of customs dossiers for aircraft on entry or exit or in transit

1. For aircraft on entry:

a) A customs dossier must comprise:

a.1) Declaration of goods imported by air in case the aircraft carries imported goods;

a.2) Information on bill of lading: master bill of lading, or house bill of lading, in case the aircraft carries imported goods;

a.3) List of passengers, in case the aircraft carries passengers;

a.4) List of flight crewmembers and attendants on board the aircraft;

a.5) Manifest of consigned luggage, in case the aircraft carries passengers;

a.6) Information on passenger name records (PNR);

a.7) Information on the flight, including flight route, code of the flight, name of the airline, airport of arrival, number of passengers, and time of entry.

b) Time limit for submission of customs dossiers:

b.1) No later than 3 hours prior to the estimated time of arrival for flights with a duration of more than 3 hours;

b.2) No later than 30 minutes prior to the estimated time of arrival for flights with a duration of less than 3 hours;

b.3) No later than 24 hours prior to the estimated time of arrival for passenger name records (PNR).

c) Time limit for modification and supplementation of customs dossiers:

c.1) The documents specified at Points a.1 and a.2, Clause 1 of this Article must be modified or supplemented before customs procedures for goods are completed and before goods are removed from the customs supervision area;

c.2) The documents specified at Points a.3, a.4, a.5, and a.7, Clause 1 of this Article must be modified or supplemented before or immediately after the aircraft lands at the designated position;

c.3) The documents specified at Point a.6, Clause 1 of this Article must be modified or supplemented no later than 8 hours prior to the estimated time of arrival.

2. For aircraft on exit:

a) A customs dossier must comprise:

a.1) Declaration of goods exported by air in case the aircraft carries exported goods;

a.2) List of passengers, in case the aircraft carries passengers;

a.3) List of flight crewmembers and attendants on board the aircraft;

a.4) Manifest of consigned luggage, in case the aircraft carries passengers;

a.5) Information on passenger name records (PNR);

a.6) Information on the flight, including flight route, code of the flight, name of the airline, airport of departure, number of passengers, and time of exit.

b) Time limit for submission of the customs dossier:

b.1) Before the time of aircraft departure for the documents specified at Points a.2, a.3, a.4, and a.6 of this Clause;

b.2) No later than 1 hour after the aircraft departs for the documents specified at Point a.1 of this Clause;

b.3) No later than 24 hours prior to the estimated time of departure for the documents specified at Point a.5 of this Clause.

c) Time limit for modification of customs dossiers:

c.1) Before the time of aircraft departure for the documents specified at Points a.2, a.3, a.4, and a.6 of this Clause;

c.2) Within 24 hours from the time the aircraft departs for the documents specified at Point a.1 of this Clause;

c.3) No later than 8 hours prior to the time of departure for the document specified at Point a.5 of this Clause.

3. For aircraft on transit:

When carrying out entry procedures for an aircraft in transit, a customs declarant shall follow provisions of Clause 1 of this Article. When carrying out exit procedures, if there are new documents compared to those submitted for entry, the customs declarant shall submit a customs dossier including such new documents within the time limits specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Upon technical stops, aircraft in transit are not required to carry out procedures for customs declaration but are subject to customs supervision.”

33. To amend and supplement Article 63 as follows:

 “Article 63. Customs procedures for aircraft on entry or exit or in transit

1. Declaration and submission of customs dossiers for aircraft on entry or exit or in transit:

a) The customs declarant shall declare the documents specified in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 61 of this Decree according to the information indicators prescribed by the Minister of Finance and submit them via the Vietnam National Single Window portal. The issuer of the house bill of lading shall be responsible for providing sufficient house bill of lading information regarding aircraft on entry to the airline for declaration within the time limit prescribed in Article 61 of this Decree and for submission via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

b) In case of amending or supplementing customs dossiers already submitted for aircraft on entry or exit, the customs declarant shall declare the information according to the indicators prescribed by the Minister of Finance and submit explanatory and evidentiary documents via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

c) For the submitted dossier corresponds to an aircraft that does not depart or arrive, the customs declarant shall declare and send a request for cancellation of the customs dossier according to the indicators prescribed by the Minister of Finance via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

d) In case the Vietnam National Single Window portal encounters a system failure, the customs declarant shall submit one original of the paper documents specified in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 61 of this Decree using the form issued by the Minister of Finance to the customs office handling the customs procedures for the aircraft on entry or exit.

For the cases specified at Points b and c of this Clause, the customs declarant shall submit a written request for amendment, supplementation, or cancellation to the customs office handling the customs procedures for the aircraft on entry or exit.

Immediately after the system failure is resolved, the customs declarant shall update the e-document information on the Vietnam National Single Window portal.

2. Receipt and examination of customs dossiers for aircraft on entry or exit or in transit:

a) The Vietnam National Single Window portal shall receive and examine the declared information and give a receipt number to the customs declarant within 30 minutes from the time of receipt of sufficient and valid information. In case of insufficient or invalid declarations, the Vietnam National Single Window portal shall respond with a refusal to accept the dossier (clearly stating the reason) within 1 hour from the time of receipt of the dossier;

b) In case the Vietnam National Single Window portal encounters a system failure, the customs office handling the procedures for aircraft on entry or exit shall receive the paper dossier, verify the completeness and validity of the documents within 30 minutes from the time of receipt, and issue a receipt number.

3. Processing the results of customs dossier examination for aircraft on entry or exit or in transit:

a) The customs office shall confirm the completion of customs procedures for aircraft on entry or exit via the Vietnam National Single Window portal.

For aircraft on entry transporting goods that are prohibited from import, suspended from import, or non-compliant with environmental protection regulations, the customs office shall notify the customs declarant, port operation enterprise, and the Civil Aviation Authority to prevent unloading such goods at the port, except where a license has been granted by a competent agency.

For aircraft listed for denial or suspension of entry, exit, or transit by a competent agency, the customs office shall notify the customs declarant that the aircraft is ineligible for customs procedures;

b) In case the Vietnam National Single Window portal encounters a system failure, the customs office shall notify the customs declarant in writing of the processing results;

c) If the Civil Aviation Authority, Court, Police, or other competent agencies issue a written request to suspend customs procedures for aircraft on entry or exit, the customs office shall coordinate with the relevant agencies to handle the case in accordance with the law.

4. Receipt, examination, and processing of information for amendment, supplementation, or cancellation of customs dossiers for aircraft on entry or exit or in transit:

a) The Vietnam National Single Window portal shall receive the information on amendments, supplements, or cancellations and respond to the customs declarant within 30 minutes from the time of receipt of complete and valid information.

In case of insufficient or invalid information, the Vietnam National Single Window portal shall respond with a refusal to accept (clearly stating the reason) within 30 minutes from the time of receipt;

b) The customs office handling the procedures shall, based on the explanatory and evidentiary documents submitted by the customs declarant, verify the content of the request for amendment, supplementation, or cancellation, update the system, or state the reason in case of refusal and respond with the processing result via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

c) In case the Vietnam National Single Window portal encounters a system failure, the customs office handling the procedures for aircraft on entry or exit shall receive the paper dossier, verify the completeness and validity of the documents within 30 minutes from the time of dossier receipt.

5. Customs inspection and supervision of aircraft on entry or exit or in transit

The customs office shall be responsible for conducting supervision of aircraft on entry or exit or in transit throughout the duration of the aircraft’s stay at the airport.

Based on the customs declaration information for aircraft on entry or exit, information provided by airport operation enterprises in accordance with Article 61 of this Decree, and other relevant information sources (if any), the customs office shall apply risk management to determine appropriate forms of inspection and customs supervision measures for goods and means of transport.

During the course of supervision, if there are grounds to determine signs of smuggling or illegal transportation of goods or currency, the customs office shall take inspection and preventive measures in accordance with law.”

34. To amend and supplement Article 64 as follows:

“Article 64. Responsibilities of airport operation enterprises, airlines, or their authorized persons

1. Responsibilities of airport operation enterprises:

At least 24 hours for regular flights or one hour for unscheduled flights before an aircraft’s entry and before the carrier completes aviation procedures for passengers on exit and exported goods on outbound or transit flights, the airport operation enterprise shall provide the airport-managing customs office with the following information:

a.1) Nationality of the aircraft;

a.2) Type of the aircraft;

a.3) Flight route;

a.4) Time of arrival and time of departure of the aircraft;

a.5) Parking position of the aircraft;

a.6) Passenger entry gate;

a.7) Time for cargo loading or unloading onto/from the aircraft.

b) At least one hour before an aircraft’s exit or entry, the airport operation enterprise shall notify the customs office of any change in the information specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article;

c) The airport operation enterprise shall share data from the camera and scanning systems with the customs office to serve customs inspection and supervision of aircraft on exit or entry or in transit and luggage of passengers on exit or entry or in transit.

2. Responsibilities of airlines or their authorized persons:

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

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

c) For aircraft on entry carrying imports, the airline or its authorized person shall unload all imports at the airport where customs procedures are carried out;

d) For aircraft completing a domestic leg and continuing on an international leg, the airline or its authorized person may only load exports onto the aircraft o exit when there are no remaining goods on the aircraft.”

35. To amend and supplement Article 65 as follows:

“Article 65. Customs dossiers and time limit for submission of customs dossiers for seagoing ships on entry or exit, in transit or port transfer

1. For seagoing ships on entry:

a) A customs dossier must comprise:

a.1) General declaration;

a.2) List of ship crewmembers;

a.3) Declaration of luggage of ship crewmembers and attendants working on board the ship;

a.4) Declaration of the ship stores;

a.5) List of passengers, in case the ship carries passengers;

a.6) Cargo declaration, in case the ship carries the goods;

a.7) Information on bill of lading: master bill of lading, or house bill of lading, in case the ship carries the goods;

a.8) Declaration of dangerous goods, in case the ship carries dangerous goods.

b) Time limit for submission of the customs dossier:

b.1) For the documents specified at Points a.2, a.3, a.4, and a.5 of Clause 1 of this Article: No later than 08 hours before the estimated time of arrival of the ship;

b.2) For the documents specified at Points a.1, a.6, a.7, and a.8 of Clause 1 of this Article: At least 12 hours before the expected time of arrival, for seagoing ships on a voyage of under 5 days; or at least 24 hours before the expected time of arrival, for seagoing ships on other voyages.

c) Time limit for modification and supplementation of customs dossiers:

c.1) For the documents specified at Points a.1, a.2, a.3, a.4, and a.5 of Clause 1 of this Article: Before or immediately after the ship's estimated arrival;

c.2) For the documents specified at Points a.6, a.7, and a.8 of Clause 1 of this Article: Before goods are removed from the customs supervision area.

2. For seagoing ships on exit:

a) A customs dossier must comprise:

a.1) General declaration;

a.2) List of ship crewmembers;

a.3) Declaration of luggage of ship crewmembers and attendants working on board the ship;

a.4) Declaration of the ship stores;

a.5) List of passengers, in case the ship carries passengers;

a.6) Cargo declaration, in case the ship carries the goods;

a.7) Declaration of dangerous goods, in case the ship carries dangerous goods.

Upon the ship’s exit, if there is no change compared to contents declared upon its entry, the customs declarant is required to submit only the general declaration specified at Point a, Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article.

b) Time limit for submission of the customs dossier: At least 01 hours before the expected time of departure.

c) Time limit for modification of customs dossiers: Within 24 hours after the ship has departed.

3. For seagoing ships in transit:

When carrying out entry procedures for a seagoing ship in transit, the customs declarant shall follow provisions of Clause 1 of this Article. When carrying out exit procedures, if there are new documents compared to those submitted upon entry, the customs declarant shall submit a customs dossier comprising such documents within the time limits specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. For seagoing ships in port transfer:

The port transfer record and the relevant documents specified in Clause 1 of this Article must be prepared before the ship’s estimated arrival at the next port of call.”

36. To amend and supplement Article 67 as follows:

“Article 67. Customs procedures for seagoing ships on entry or exit or in transit or in port transfer

1. Declaration and submission of customs dossiers for seagoing ships on entry or exit:

a) The customs declarant shall declare the documents specified in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 65 of this Decree according to the information indicators prescribed by the Minister of Finance and submit them via the Vietnam National Single Window portal. In cases where the customs declarant does not have information on the house bill of lading, he/she shall provide the receipt number of the entry seagoing ship dossier to the issuer of the house bill of lading for complete declaration of such information within the prescribed time limit and submission via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

b) In case of amendments and supplements to a customs dossier already submitted for seagoing ship on exit or entry, the customs declarant shall declare according to information indicators as prescribed by the Minister of Finance and submit explanatory and evidentiary documents regarding amendments and supplements to the documents specified at Points a.6, a.7, and a.8, Clause 1, Article 65 of this Decree via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

c) In case the customs dossier has been submitted but the vessel does not actually exit or enter, the customs declarant shall declare and submit a request for cancellation of the customs dossier according to information indicators as prescribed by the Minister of Finance via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

d) In case the Vietnam National Single Window portal encounters a failure, the customs declarant shall submit 01 set of paper dossiers as prescribed in the Government's Decree No. 58/2017/ND-CP dated May 10, 2017, detailing a number of articles of the 2015 Vietnam Maritime Code to the customs office where customs procedures for the exiting or entering seagoing ship are processed.

Immediately after the system failure is resolved, the customs declarant shall update the e-document information on the Vietnam National Single Window portal.

For the cases specified at Points b and c of this Clause, the customs declarant shall submit a written request for amendment, supplementation, or cancellation to the customs office handling the customs procedures for the seagoing ship on entry or exit;

dd) For a seagoing ship on exit or entry engaging in transshipment or ship-to-ship transfer activities at an anchorage or transshipment area announced by competent agencies, prior to the ship’s arrival at such anchorage or transshipment area, the customs declarant shall notify the transshipment or ship-to-ship transfer plan to the customs office managing such area for customs supervision in accordance with regulations.

2. Receipt and examination of customs dossiers for seagoing ships on entry or exit:

a) The Vietnam National Single Window portal shall receive and examine the declared information and give a receipt number to the customs declarant within 01 hour from the time of receipt of sufficient and valid information. In case of insufficient or invalid declarations, the Vietnam National Single Window Portal shall respond with a refusal to accept the dossier (clearly stating the reason) within 1 hour from the time of receipt of the dossier;

b) In case the Vietnam National Single Window portal encounters a system failure, the customs office handling the procedures for seagoing ship on entry or exit shall receive the paper dossier, verify the completeness and validity of the documents within 01 hour from the time of receipt, and issue a receipt number.

3. Processing the results of customs dossier examination for seagoing ships on entry or exit:

a) The customs office shall confirm the completion of customs procedures for the seagoing ship on entry or exit via the Vietnam National Single Window portal.

For seagoing ships on entry transporting goods that are prohibited from import, suspended from import, or non-compliant with environmental protection regulations, the customs office shall notify the customs declarant, port operation enterprise, and the maritime administration to prevent unloading such goods at the port, except where a license has been granted by a competent agency.

For seagoing ship listed for denial or suspension of entry, exit, or transit by a competent agency, the customs office shall notify the customs declarant that the seagoing ship is ineligible for customs procedures;

b) In case the Vietnam National Single Window portal encounters a system failure, the customs office shall notify the maritime administration in writing of the processing results for carrying out procedures for seagoing ship on exit or entry;

c) The customs office shall suspend customs procedures for seagoing ships transporting environmentally polluting goods of ship firms that fail to comply with regulations at Point c, Clause 3 or Point c, Clause 4, Article 68 of this Decree.

Where there is a written request to suspend customs procedures from other competent authorities such as the maritime administration, court, Public Security agency, border guard, quarantine agency, or other competent agencies, the customs office processing customs procedures for the seagoing ship on exit or entry shall coordinate with relevant authorities for handling in accordance with law.

4. Receipt, examination and processing of customs dossiers for seagoing ships in transit or port transfer:

a) For seagoing ships in transit:

Customs procedures for seagoing ships in transit shall be carried out in accordance with Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article at the customs office at the port of entry.

In case the in-transit seagoing ship passes through Vietnam’s territorial waters, it must meet the conditions prescribed in Article 23 of the 2012 Law on the Sea of Vietnam; entry procedures shall be carried out at the first border-gate customs office of entry, and exit procedures shall be carried out at the last border-gate customs office of exit;

b) For seagoing ships in port transfer:

b.1) Where a seagoing ship plans to transfer to another seaport in Vietnam, the customs office at the departure port shall receive port transfer information provided by the maritime administration, ship firm/ship firm agent, prepare a port transfer ship dossier transfer note according to information indicators prescribed by the Minister of Finance, and send it to the customs office at the expected port of arrival;

b.2) The customs office at the port of arrival shall receive the port transfer ship dossier transfer note, provide feedback to the customs office that prepared the transfer note, and carry out customs procedures for seagoing ship on exit as prescribed in Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article;

b.3) In case the system encounters a malfunction, the customs office at the departure port shall prepare a port transfer ship dossier transfer note according to the form issued by the Minister of Finance; seal it together with the dossier as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 65 of this Decree, and hand it over to the customs declarant for delivery to the customs office at the port of arrival.

The customs office at the port of arrival shall receive the sealed dossier from the customs declarant, which was transferred from the customs office at the departure port, and provide feedback to the customs office that prepared the dossier transfer note.

5. Receipt, examination, and processing of information for amendment, supplementation, or cancellation of customs dossiers for seagoing ships on entry or exit or in transit or in port transfer:

a) The Vietnam National Single Window portal shall receive the information on amendments, supplements, or cancellations and respond to the customs declarant within 01 hour from the time of receipt of complete and valid information.

In case of insufficient or invalid information, the Vietnam National Single Window portal shall respond with a refusal to accept (clearly stating the reason) within 01 hour from the time of receipt;

b) The customs office handling the procedures shall, based on the explanatory and evidentiary documents submitted by the customs declarant, verify the content of the request for amendment, supplementation, or cancellation, update the system, or state the reason in case of refusal and respond with the processing result via the Vietnam National Single Window portal;

c) In case the Vietnam National Single Window portal encounters a system failure, the customs office handling the procedures for seagoing ships on entry or exit or in transit or in port transfer shall receive the paper dossiers, verify the completeness and validity of the documents within 01 hour from the time of dossier receipt.

6. Customs inspection and supervision of seagoing ships on entry or exit or in transit or in port transfer:

a) Based on the customs declaration information for a seagoing ship on entry or exit or in transit or in port transfer, and other relevant information sources (if any), the customs office shall apply risk management to determine appropriate forms of inspection and customs supervision measures for goods and means of transport;

b) During the supervision of seagoing ships while anchoring, loading, unloading goods, or moving within customs operation areas, if there is a ground to determine that smuggled or illegally transported goods are on board the hip, the Head of the Customs Team in charge of the area under supervision, the Head of the Customs Team processing procedures for ships on exit, entry, in transit, or port transfer, the Head of the Customs Control Team under the regional Customs Branch, the Head of the Anti-Smuggling Control Team under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch or an authorized deputy shall decide to conduct physical inspection of the ship, handle violations in accordance with relevant laws, or suspend or temporarily postpone the departure of the ship as prescribed by law;

c) Based on the notification of the transshipment or ship-to-ship transfer plan, the customs office shall carry out supervision on the principle of risk management.”

37. To amend and supplement Article 68 as follows:

“Article 68. Responsibilities of the maritime administration, seaport operation enterprises, shipmasters, ship firms, and their authorized persons

1. Responsibilities of maritime administrations:

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

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

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

d) Sharing information from the automatic identification system (AIS) of ships on exit and entry with the customs office to serve customs management and supervision purposes.

2. Responsibilities of a seaport operation enterprise:

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

b) Before unloading cargoes at the seaport, to notify the customs office of the location of warehouses and storing yards where imported goods are expected to be stored;

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

3. Responsibilities of the shipmaster:

a) To operate the ship on entry from the time it enters the Vietnamese territory to the time it arrives at the customs operation area, or operate the ship on exit from the customs operation area to the time it leaves the Vietnamese territory according to the designated route and positions of anchorage as prescribed by competent agencies. Any changes to the route or positions of anchorage must be approved by competent agencies;

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

c) To transport goods stored at seaports that cause environmental pollution or goods not qualified for storage at the port, which have been declared upon entry by the ship firm or its authorized person, out of the territory of Vietnam upon request of the customs office.

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

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

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

c) To transport goods stored at seaports that cause environmental pollution or goods not qualified for storage at the port, which have been declared upon entry by the ship firm or its authorized person, out of the territory of Vietnam upon request of the customs office.”

38. To amend and supplement Article 70 as follows:

“Article 70. Customs dossiers for trains on exit

1. A customs dossier for a train at a domestic international railway station must comprise:

a) One original of the written confirmation of the order of train formation, for passenger trains which undergo customs procedures at the station;

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

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

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

2. A customs dossier for a train at a border international railway station must comprise:

a) Documents specified at Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article;

b) One original of the document on cargo delivery and receipt;

c) One original of the written confirmation of the order of train formation;

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

39. To amend and supplement Article 71 as follows:

“Article 71. Time limit for provision and receipt of information in customs dossiers

1. Time limit for provision of information in customs dossiers:

a) For trains on entry:

a.1) At border international railway stations: The customs declarant shall submit the documents specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 69 of this Decree in accordance with the information indicators prescribed by the Minister of Finance and submit the annexed copies of the documents specified at Points a, b, d, dd, Clause 1, Article 69 of this Decree via the customs electronic data processing system before the train arrives at the border international railway station;

a.2) At domestic international railway stations: The documents specified in Clause 2, Article 69 of this Decree shall be submitted via the customs electronic data processing system before the train arrives at the domestic international railway station.

In case the customs electronic data processing system malfunctions or is not yet available, the customs declarant shall submit hard copy documents as specified in Clause 1, Article 69 of this Decree to the customs office at the border international railway station upon the train’s arrival, and submit the documents specified in Clause 2, Article 69 of this Decree to the customs office at the domestic international railway station upon the train’s arrival.

b) For trains on exit:

b.1) At domestic international railway stations: The customs declarant shall submit the documents specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 70 of this Decree in accordance with the information indicators prescribed by the Minister of Finance and submit the annexed copies of the documents specified at Points a, b, and d, Clause 1, Article 70 of this Decree via the customs electronic data processing system at least 30 minutes prior to the train’s departure for passenger trains and at least 01 hour for freight trains;

b.2) At border international railway stations: The documents specified in Clause 2, Article 70 of this Decree shall be submitted via the customs electronic data processing system 30 minutes prior to the train’s departure for passenger trains and 01 hour for freight trains.

In case the customs electronic data processing system malfunctions or is not yet available, the customs declarant shall submit hard copy documents as specified in Clause 1, Article 70 of this Decree to the customs office at the domestic international railway station 30 minutes before the train’s departure for passenger trains or 01 hour for freight trains. Documents specified in Clause 2, Article 70 of this Decree shall be submitted and presented to the customs office at the border international railway station 30 minutes before the train’s departure for passenger trains or 01 hour for freight trains.

c) When the information technology system is capable of supporting electronic declarations, the customs declarant shall make electronic declarations on the system in accordance with regulations.

2. Time limits for amending and supplementing customs dossier information:

The customs declarant shall amend or supplement documents and information indicators before and after the completion of the customs dossier inspection for trains on entry or exit in accordance with the time limits specified in Clause 1 of this Article and before the goods are removed from the customs supervision area.

3. Receipt of customs dossiers for international railway trains on entry or exit:

a) Immediately after the customs declarant provides the customs dossier information for international railway trains on entry or exit, the customs electronic data processing system shall automatically receive and process the declared information and respond with a successful declaration result when the declaration includes all documents as prescribed in Articles 69 and 70 of this Decree.

In case the customs dossier information is incomplete, the customs electronic data processing system shall respond and request the customs declarant to amend and supplement the declaration as prescribed;

b) In case the customs electronic data processing system malfunctions, the customs offices at border international railway stations and domestic international railway stations shall receive the hard copy documents submitted and presented by the customs declarant in accordance with Articles 69, 70, and 71 of this Decree.”

40. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 3, Article 72 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. To process customs dossiers submitted or produced by customs declarants under Articles 69, 70 and 71 of this Decree as follows:

a) To check and compare information in dossiers on ID number and quantity, seal numbers (if any) of each wagon or container containing cargo or consigned luggage; to check carrier seals (if any) on each wagon or container containing cargo or consigned luggage;

b) To affix customs seals on each wagon containing cargo or consigned luggage subject to customs supervision and transported to a border or domestic international railway station; for extra-long, extra-heavy or bulk cargoes which cannot be sealed up, the train conductor shall ensure the intactness of cargoes, consigned luggage and wagons in the course of transportation to the station of destination under regulations;

c) To hand over imported goods or exported goods to customs offices at domestic or border international railway stations, in case of trains on entry transporting cargoes subject to customs supervision to domestic international railway stations or trains on exit transporting cargoes subject to customs supervision to border international railway stations, and record the handover in writing according to a form set by the Minister of Finance;

d) To certify and append seals to documents submitted by station agents or train conductors or their lawful representatives; to seal up documents in customs dossiers to be handed over to station agents or train conductors or their lawful representatives for submission to customs offices at border or domestic international railway stations under regulations;

dd) To certify and notify customs offices at border or domestic international railway stations of the receipt of goods and dossiers of goods shipments subject to customs supervision and the state of goods transported to their stations. A customs dossier must comprise a cargo manifest and relevant documents as prescribed.

e) If detecting a sign of transporting goods in violation of the customs law, the head of the Customs Team of the international railway station shall decide on physical inspection of the vehicle or take other operational measures as prescribed by law.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. The time limit for the customs office to carry out customs procedures for an international train on entry or exit is one hour after the customs declarant submits and produces a complete customs dossier prescribed in Article 69, 70 or 71 of this Decree.”

41. To amend and supplement the title of Article 73 and Clause 1 Article 73 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement the title of Article 73 as follows:

“Article 73. Responsibilities of station agents and train conductors at international railway trains”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Responsibilities of station agents:

a) To notify in advance through the computer network, in writing or by facsimile customs offices at international railway stations of information on trips of trains on entry or exit, including ID numbers of locomotives and wagons; positions and time/duration of train arrival, stay and departure; and information on imported or exported goods, luggage of passengers on entry or exit, including positions and time of loading and unloading onto/from trains and changes in information on trains, goods and luggage;

b) To certify and append seals to the documents submitted by conductors of trains for carrying out customs procedures;

c) To submit and produce documents in customs dossiers and carry out customs procedures under regulations;

d) To take responsibility for the truthfulness of documents submitted to customs offices;

dd) To allocate storage areas for exported and imported goods, separate from the areas used for handling domestic goods, ensuring customs supervision of international railway trains and exported and imported goods. To coordinate with customs offices in conducting inspection, supervision and control to promptly detect and prevent violations of the customs law on trains and at international railway stations.”

42. To amend and supplement the title of Section 4, Chapter IV as follows:

“Section 4

CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF AUTOMOBILES, MOTORCYCLES AND MOPEDS ON ENTRY OR EXIT OR IN TRANSIT”

43. To amend and supplement Article 74 as follows:

“Article 74. Dossier and time limit for customs declaration upon entry for temporarily imported foreign automobiles, motorcycles, mopeds, and re-imported Vietnamese automobiles, motorcycles, mopeds

1. A dossier for automobile, motorcycle or moped on entry:

a) The transshipment permit or transport permit or written approval granted by a competent agency: Submit 01 copy, present the original;

c) The passenger list, for passenger automobiles: Submit 01 original;

c) The declaration of road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export, or the declaration of road vehicles temporarily exported for re-import, with temporary-export certification by the border-gate customs office that has carried out temporary export procedures: Submit 01 original;

d) Manifest of import goods for transport vehicles carrying imported goods: 01 original.

The documents specified at Points b, c, and d of this Clause shall comply with the forms promulgated by the Minister of Finance.

2. Time limit for submission of dossiers:

a) The customs declarant shall submit the dossier specified in Clause 1 of this Article to the customs office when the transport vehicle arrives at the border gate;

b) The customs declarant may amend and supplement the documents specified in Clause 1 of this Article before the goods are taken out of the customs supervision area;

c) When the information technology system is capable of supporting electronic declarations, the customs declarant shall make electronic declarations on the system in accordance with regulations.

3. For automobiles on entry under the Greater Mekong Subregion Cross-Border Transport and Trade Facilitation Agreement (GMS Agreement), procedures must comply with such Agreement and guiding documents.”

44. To amend and supplement Article 75 as follows:

“Article 75. Dossier and time limit for customs declaration upon exit for temporarily exported Vietnamese automobiles, motorcycles, mopeds, and re-exported foreign automobiles, motorcycles, mopeds

1. A dossier for automobile, motorcycle or moped on exit:

a) Transshipment permit or transport permit or written approval granted by a competent agency: Submit 01 copy, present the original;

c) The passenger list, for passenger automobiles: Submit 01 original;

c) The declaration of road vehicles temporarily exported for re-import, or the declaration of road vehicles temporarily imported for re-export with temporary-import certification by the border-gate customs office that has carried out temporary import procedures: Submit 01 original.

The documents specified at Points b, and c of this Clause shall comply with the forms promulgated by the Minister of Finance.

2. Time limit for submission of customs dossiers:

a) The customs declarant shall submit the dossier specified in Clause 1 of this Article to the customs office when the transport vehicle arrives at the border gate;

b) The customs declarant may amend and supplement the documents specified in Clause 1 of this Article before the transport vehicle exits;

c) When the information technology system is capable of supporting electronic declarations, the customs declarant shall make electronic declarations on the system in accordance with regulations.

3. For automobiles on exit under the Greater Mekong Subregion Cross-Border Transport and Trade Facilitation Agreement (GMS Agreement), procedures must comply with such Agreement and guiding documents.”

45. To amend and supplement Article 77 as follows:

“Article 77. Customs procedures for automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds on exit or entry

1. Responsibilities of the customs declarants:

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

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

2. Responsibilities of the customs office:

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

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

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

d) If the dossier is complete and invalid, to print the declaration of temporary import for re-export or the declaration of temporary export for re-import from the system, append the customs officer’s seal for the dossier receipt, and “VIETNAM CUSTOMS” mark according to the forms issued by the Director of Customs Department, in the declaration and the original of the transshipment permit or TAD carnet or documents issued by the competent agency permitting the vehicle to exit or enter the country under the treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party or in accordance with Vietnamese law, and hand it to the customs declarant for carrying out re-import or re-export procedures; to store such declaration submitted by the customs declarant when carrying out re-import or re-export procedures;

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

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

3. Customs inspection of vehicles on exit or entry:

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

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

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

b) Outside a customs operation area, the Public Security agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, inspecting and supervising automobiles, motorcycles and mopeds on exit or entry.

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

46. To amend and supplement the title of Section 5, Chapter IV as follows:

“Section 5

CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR, AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF INLAND WATERWAY VESSEL ON EXIT AND ENTRY OR IN TRANSIT, AND MEANS OF TRANSPORT CROSSING BORDER GATE AREAS FOR GOODS DELIVERY AND RECEIPT”

47. To amend and supplement Article 79 as follows:

“Article 79. Dossiers, time limits for dossier submission; receipt and processing of dossiers for inland waterway vessels exiting and entering via inland waterway border gates

1. Customs dossier for entry of foreign inland waterway vessels temporarily imported and Vietnamese inland waterway vessels re-imported:

a) The cross-border navigation permit issued by a competent agency: Submit 01 copy, present the original;

b) The declaration of inland waterway vessel temporarily imported for re-export, or the declaration of inland waterway vessel temporarily exported for re-import, with temporary-export certification by the border-gate customs office that has carried out temporary export procedures: Submit 01 original;

c) List of materials and supplies on board the inland waterway vessel: Submit 01 original;

d) List of crew members and personnel working on the inland waterway vessel (if any): Submit 01 original;

dd) Declaration of personal belongings of crew members and personnel working on the inland waterway vessel: Submit 01 original;

e) Cargo manifest in case the inland waterway vessel carries cargo: Submit 01 original;

g) Passenger list in case the inland waterway vessel carries passengers: Submit 01 original.

The documents specified at Points b, c, d, dd, e and g of this Clause shall comply with the forms promulgated by the Minister of Finance.

2. Customs dossier for exit of foreign inland waterway vessels re-exported and Vietnamese inland waterway vessels temporarily exported:

a) The cross-border navigation permit issued by a competent agency: Submit 01 copy, present the original;

b) The declaration of inland waterway vessel temporarily exported for re-import, or the declaration of inland waterway vessel temporarily imported for re-export, with temporary-import certification by the border-gate customs office that has carried out temporary import procedures: Submit 01 original;

c) List of crew members and personnel working on the inland waterway vessel (if any): Submit 01 original;

d) List of materials and supplies on board the inland waterway vessel: Submit 01 original;

dd) Declaration of personal belongings of crew members and personnel working on the inland waterway vessels: Submit 01 original;

e) Cargo manifest in case the inland waterway vessel carries cargo: Submit 01 original;

g) Passenger list in case the inland waterway vessel carries passengers: Submit 01 original.

The documents specified at Points b, c, d, dd, e and g of this Clause shall comply with the forms promulgated by the Minister of Finance.

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

Upon re-export or re-import, if the customs declarant fails to produce a declaration for inland waterway vessel temporarily imported for re-export or a declaration for inland waterway vessel temporarily exported for re-import bearing certification by the border-gate customs office, he/she shall give explanation and fill in a declaration of temporary import for re-export or the declaration of temporary export for re-import.

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

4. Receipt and processing of dossiers:

a) Customs offices shall receive customs dossiers and perform risk management to check the dossiers, conduct physical inspection and certify the temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import of inland waterway vessel on entry or exit.

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

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

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

5. For foreign vessels in transit via Vietnam to Cambodia and foreign vessels in transit via Vietnam from Cambodia to foreign countries; and Vietnamese and Cambodian vessels with IMO call numbers on exit or entry by Tien or Hau river must comply with Articles 65, 67 and 68 of this Decree.

6. Customs supervision of waterway vessels:

a) Within a customs operation area, the customs office shall use technical devices to supervise inland waterway vessel on entry or exit;

b) Outside a customs operation area, the Public Security agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, inspecting and supervising inland waterway vessel on entry or exit.”

48. To amend and supplement Article 81 as follows:

“Article 81. Customs procedures for and customs inspection and supervision in specific cases

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

2. For ambulances, fire engines, salvage and rescue vehicles, or vehicles for humanitarian relief or performance of emergency tasks at the request of state management agencies on exit or entry:

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

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

3. Transport vehicles in transit, upon entry and exit, shall follow customs procedures in accordance with Articles 74, 75, and 77 of this Decree.

4. For motor vehicles of foreigners entering Vietnam under the Government's Decree No. 151/2024/ND-CP dated November 15, 2024, detailing a number of articles and measures for implementation of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, which are temporarily imported through land border gates and re-exported through international sea ports, airports, or railway stations, or vice versa, customs procedures for temporary import for re-export of means of transport shall be carried out in accordance with Article 77 of this Decree.

5. In cases where goods are transported through land border gates by other means of transport as agreed between Vietnam and neighboring countries (including unmanned cargo transport vehicles operating automatically across land border gates within a designated area, conveyor belts, pipelines, transmission lines, or other forms as prescribed by law or as agreed upon between competent agencies of Vietnam and the neighboring country), the organizations or individuals concerned shall be responsible for providing prior information on the goods and the transport schedule to the customs office for supervision in accordance with regulations.

The owner of the means of transport shall provide the customs office with a list of vehicles crossing the border gate and shall not be required to carry out customs procedures for vehicles exiting and entering the country. The customs office shall record the vehicle list in a monitoring logbook and carry out supervision from the time the vehicle enters the territory of Vietnam until it arrives at the gathering and inspection location at the border gate and then returns and exits the territory of Vietnam.

6. Rudimentary vehicles and other means of transport as prescribed by the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic and the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety (excluding motor vehicles) that cross the border to deliver and receive goods in border trade activities may operate only within the area of the land border gate and shall be subject to inspection and supervision by the customs office.

When crossing the land border gate, the vehicle owner or driver shall present personal identification and vehicle documents (if any) to the customs office. In cases where the vehicle carries exports or imports, the declarant shall submit the export or import goods declaration (or documents evidencing that the goods are exports or imports) and 01 copy of the list of import goods (in the case of transporting imports from abroad into Vietnam).

The vehicle driver shall be responsible for moving the vehicle carrying import goods into the goods gathering, inspection, and supervision area for exports and imports or into the designated goods gathering, inspection, and supervision area at the border gate for customs procedures.

The customs office shall receive and examine the documents submitted and presented by the vehicle driver as prescribed in this Clause, enter the data in the monitoring logbook as regulated, and supervise the vehicle while it operates in the border gate area. In case the documents are incomplete or invalid, the vehicle shall not be permitted to exit or enter the country, and the customs office shall clearly notify the vehicle driver of the reason.

The maximum time allowed for road vehicles and inland waterway vessels under this Clause to deliver and receive goods shall not exceed 48 hours, and 72 hours from the time of entry or exit through the land border gate, respectively. If there is a legitimate reason for prolonging the stay within border gates, the operators or goods owners shall send a written request to the head of the customs team concerned for consideration and extension; the extended time must not exceed 48 hours.

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

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

49. To amend and supplement Clause 4 and add Clause 5 Article 86 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. If wishing to destroy lots of goods which are broken, damaged, deteriorated or which expire during their storage in Vietnam, the bonded warehouse owner shall obtain written agreement from the goods owner or his/her lawful representative on the destruction. Such written agreement shall be sent to the customs office of the locality where the goods are stored or the bonded warehouse is managed, for monitoring. The goods owner or bonded warehouse owner shall take responsibility and pay expenses for the goods destruction in accordance with law.”

b) To add Clause 5 as follows:

“5. Goods released from bonded warehouses and brought to border gates of exportation for export may only be stored within the customs supervision area at the border gate of exportation for a maximum of 15 days from the date of arrival at the border gate of exportation. Within the aforementioned time limit, if the goods cannot be exported and the storage duration within the territory of Vietnam is still valid as prescribed in Article 61 of the Customs Law, the goods owner must submit a written notification to the customs office to request permission to move the goods into bonded warehouses at the border gate of exportation or return them to the original bonded warehouse or to the designated place for gathering, inspection, and supervision of exports and imports in the border gate or border area, and carry out customs-supervised goods transportation procedures.

If the goods owner fails to submit a written request to place the goods in bonded warehouse at the border gate of exportation, or to return them to the original bonded warehouse, or to the designated place for gathering, inspection, and supervision of exports and imports in the border gate or border area, the customs office shall handle the violation in accordance with regulations and compel the bringing of the goods out of the territory of Vietnam via the original border gate of importation within 15 days. If the goods owner fails to bring the goods out of the territory of Vietnam, they shall be handled in accordance with the law.”

50. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 91 as follows:

“1. Imports or exports which are stored in a CFS beyond the time limit specified in Clause 3, Article 61 of the Customs Law and are not brought out of such CFS shall be handled in accordance with Article 58 of the Customs Law.”

51. To amend and supplement Article 97 as follows:

“Article 97. Post-customs clearance inspection at customs offices

1. For customs dossiers prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 78 of the Customs Law, directors of regional Customs Branches or heads of customs teams shall issue decisions on post-customs clearance inspection at customs offices. For goods which are in large quantities and of complicated types and involve tax risks, directors of regional Customs Branches shall issue decisions on post-customs clearance inspection at the offices of customs declarants.

In case the customs declarant has its head office or tax identification number outside the management area of the regional Customs Branch, the inspection shall be conducted only for customs declarations processed within the management area. If any indication of violation is detected in customs declarations processed in the management area of another regional Customs Branch, the unit detecting the sign of violation shall report to the Customs Department for consideration and assignment of an inspection unit.

2. Notification of inspection results

Within 05 working days from the date of completion of the inspection (based on the date of signing the final inspection record at the customs office and within the time limit stated in the inspection decision as prescribed), the person who signed the inspection decision shall sign and issue the notification of inspection results and send it to the customs declarant.

3. The Minister of Finance shall stipulate in detail the post-customs clearance inspection at customs offices.”

52. To amend and supplement Article 98 as follows:

“Article 98. Post-customs clearance inspection at offices of customs declarants

1. Competence to decide on post-customs clearance inspection:

a) The Director of Customs Department and Director of the Post-Customs Clearance Inspection Branch shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection nationwide;

a.1) The Director of Customs Department shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection for priority enterprises, enterprises implementing national key projects, and enterprises applying for the priority regime;

a.2) The Director of the Post-Customs Clearance Inspection Branch shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection for customs declarants nationwide. For the cases specified at Point a.1 of this Clause, implementation shall be carried out upon assignment by the Director of the Customs Department.

b) The Director of the Regional Customs Branch shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection for customs declarants whose headquarters or tax identification numbers are within the management area. For the cases specified at Point a.1 of this Clause, implementation shall be carried out upon assignment by the Director of the Customs Department.

In case any sign of violation is detected with respect to a customs declarant outside the management area, the regional Customs Branch shall report to the Customs Department for consideration and assignment of the inspection unit.

2. Conclusion of post-customs clearance inspection: The customs office shall make conclusions on each matter already inspected.

a) If the customs office has sufficient grounds to make a conclusion, the procedure for issuing the inspection conclusion is as follows:

a.1) Drafting the post-customs clearance inspection conclusion:

Within 05 working days from the date of completion of the inspection (as determined by the date of signing the final inspection record at the premises of the customs declarant and within the inspection period stated in the inspection decision as prescribed), the person who issued the inspection decision shall finalize the draft inspection conclusion and send it to the customs declarant;

a.2) Explanation by the customs declarant:

Within 10 days from the date of completion of the inspection, the customs declarant may provide a written explanation or directly work with the decision-issuing officer on matters related to the inspection results and the draft conclusion.

If the customs declarant refuses to provide a written explanation or fails to do so within the aforesaid time limit, the customs office shall process the inspection conclusion based on the available dossiers;

a.3) Signing and issuing the inspection conclusion: Within 15 days from the date of completion of the inspection, the decision-issuing officer shall:

a.3.1) Review the explanation submitted by the customs declarant and the results of any meeting with the authorized representative of the customs declarant if further clarification is needed, to sign and issue the inspection conclusion;

a.3.2) Sign and issue the post-customs clearance inspection conclusion at the premises of the customs declarant and send it to the customs declarant (except for the case specified at Point b of this Clause).

If the last day of the time limit for issuing the post-customs clearance inspection conclusion falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, it shall be extended to the next working day.

b) In cases where the customs office does not have sufficient grounds for a conclusion and requires a professional opinion from a competent agency, the procedure for issuing the inspection conclusion is as follows:

b.1) Where the entire conclusion must await an opinion: Within 15 days from the date of completion of the inspection, the customs office shall send a written request for an opinion. The time limit for signing and issuing the inspection conclusion shall be 15 days from the date of receipt of the written opinion from the competent agency, following the procedure at Point a of this Clause;

b.2) Where some matters are conclusive and others require an professional opinion: The customs office shall issue the inspection conclusion on matters for which sufficient grounds exist, within the time limit prescribed at Point a of this Clause. Within 10 days from the date of signing the inspection conclusion, the customs office shall send a written request for an opinion. After receiving the opinion from the specialized agency, the customs office shall issue an additional conclusion (if necessary) and handle the inspection results in accordance with Clause 4, Article 100 (if applicable). If the additional conclusion is issued, the time limit for signing and issuing it shall be 15 days from the date of receipt of the written opinion of the competent specialized agency, following the procedure at Point a of this Clause;

b.3) The competent specialized agency shall provide a written opinion within 30 days from the date of receipt of the customs office’s written request.

In case the 30-day time limit expires and the customs office does not receive a written opinion from the competent specialized agency, it shall issue the inspection conclusion (according to the procedure specified at Point a of this Clause) within 15 days from the expiration date, based on the inspection results and the existing data of the customs office.”

53. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 99 as follows:

“2. The suspension of a post-customs clearance inspection decision shall be considered by its issuer in the following cases:

a) Suspension when the customs office has not yet carried out the post-customs clearance inspection:

a.1) The customs declarant is currently subject to examination, inspection or investigation by a customs, tax, inspection, state audit or public security agency;

a.2) The customs declarant cannot implement the decision due to a force majeure event.

b) Suspension when the customs office is conducting a post-customs clearance inspection:

b.1) Where the customs office suspends the inspection in order to carry out verification at relevant agencies, organizations, or individuals; suspends due to force majeure events or other objective factors affecting the inspection schedule, the person issuing the inspection decision shall issue a notification of suspension to the customs declarant. The notification must state the reason and duration of suspension;

b.2) Where the customs declarant requests a suspension in order to address or remedy consequences caused by force majeure events or other objective factors affecting the inspection schedule, the customs declarant shall submit a written request stating the reason and duration of suspension to the person issuing the inspection decision for consideration and decision, and shall be informed accordingly.

The suspension period shall not be counted into the inspection period specified in the post-customs clearance inspection decision.”

54. To amend and supplement Article 100 as follows:

“Article 100. Organization of post-customs clearance inspection activities

1. Post-customs clearance inspection shall be conducted on the basis of risk management in selecting subjects, scope, contents, and methods of inspection and during the inspection process.

2. Collection of information for post-customs clearance inspection

Where necessary, the customs office may request the customs declarant, state management agencies, organizations, and individuals related to export, import activities and exports and imports to provide information, data, and documents to serve the post-customs clearance inspection.

3. Order of conducting post-customs clearance inspection

a) Issuance of a decision on post-customs clearance inspection

The decision on post-customs clearance inspection shall be sent to the customs declarant by one of the following methods: direct delivery, registered mail, fax, or email; the time limit for sending shall be within 03 working days from the date of signing and no later than 05 working days prior to the date of inspection, except for inspection at the customs office headquarters as provided in Clause 1, Article 78 of the Customs Law;

b) Conduct of post-customs clearance inspection:

b.1) Announcement of the decision on post-customs clearance inspection in case of inspection at the premises of the customs declarant

The customs office and the customs declarant shall sign the minutes of announcement to record the principles of inspection, inspection method, and determine the starting point of the inspection;

b.2) Inspection minutes

The customs office shall carry out the inspection within the scope and contents of the inspection decision based on risk management, and record the inspected contents with the customs declarant in the inspection minutes.

In case of inspection at the premises of the customs declarant: The inspection minutes shall be made and signed during the implementation period of the inspection decision. After the inspection is completed (determined based on the date of signing the final inspection minute at the premises of the customs declarant and within the time limit of the inspection decision in accordance with the law), if the customs declarant provides supplementary documents, data, or explanations, or in complicated cases requiring clarification of inspected contents: Within 05 working days from the date of completion of the inspection, the inspection team shall prepare and sign an inspection minute recording the supplementary explanations as prescribed at Point c, Clause 3, Article 80 of the Customs Law;

b.3) Working minutes

The customs office shall record the working contents with the customs declarant, individual, unit, or related organization (if any) by a working minute;

b.4) Handover minutes

The customs office shall record the delivery and receipt of dossiers, documents, data with the customs declarant, individual, unit, or related organization (if any) by a handover minute;

c) Handling of post-customs clearance inspection results:

c.1) In case the customs declarant provides information, dossiers, documents, data, and explanations proving the accuracy of the customs declaration, the customs office shall accept the declared contents;

c.2) In case the customs declarant fails to provide information, dossiers, documents, data, or fails to explain to prove the accuracy of the customs declaration, the customs office shall not accept the declared contents and shall handle the post-customs clearance inspection results in accordance with Clause 4 of this Article.

The customs office shall issue a notification of inspection result and an inspection conclusion as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 97 and Clause 2, Article 98 of this Decree.

4. Organization of the implementation of post-customs clearance inspection results

The person competent to issue a post-customs clearance inspection decision shall organize the implementation or assign a subordinate competent person in accordance with law to:

a) Issue tax and customs-elated administrative decisions in accordance with regulations (if any);

b) Handle in accordance with the criminal law and the law on handling of administrative violations (if any);

c) Urge the declarant to pay taxes, late payment interest, and fines under the decisions (if any) in accordance with law;

d) Issue decisions on and organize tax payment coercion in accordance with law (if any);

dd) Update information into the database system of the customs office in accordance with regulations (if any);

e) Propose amendments to inconsistent policies, laws, and management measures (if any).”

55. To amend and supplement Article 101 as follows:

“Article 101. Customs control measures

1. Customs control measures include:

a) Mobilizing people to participate in preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods;

b) Conducting customs patrol;

c) Collecting and studying information about areas and routes for goods transportation, cases, phenomena, vehicles on exit and entry or in transit, and related persons;

d) Collecting and studying information about persons who show signs of carrying out activities related to smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods;

dd) Collecting and processing domestic and overseas information relating to customs activities. Sending customs officers abroad to verify and collect information and documents in accordance with Vietnam’s law and treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party;

e) Selecting, training and employing persons who are outside the payroll of customs offices to perform the tasks of preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods;

g) Assigning customs officers to examine, supervise and monitor activities of smugglers and persons illegally transporting goods across the border;

h) Using professional technical equipment in accordance with law for examining, supervising and monitoring activities of smugglers and person illegally transporting goods across the border;

i) Customs offices may combine customs control measures and technical equipment for preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

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

56. To amend and supplement Clauses 2 and 3, Article 103 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Competence to postpone the departure of, and stop, vehicles

a) Heads of customs teams, heads of customs control teams under regional Customs Branches, and heads of anti-smuggling and control teams under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch or their empowered deputies may stop, and postpone the departure of, vehicles within their customs operation areas.

When having grounds to believe that, unless vehicles are promptly stopped, exhibits, documents or vehicles can be dispersed or destroyed, customs officers on duty may stop the vehicles for search and immediately report such to a competent person mentioned in this Clause;

a) Heads of customs control teams under regional Customs Branches, and heads of anti-smuggling and control teams under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch or their empowered deputies may stop, and postpone the departure of, vessels within the inland water area or territorial waters in accordance with the Law on the Sea of Vietnam.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. A document on empowerment shall be made, clearly stating the scope, contents and duration of the empowerment. Customs officers may use signal lights, flags, flares, loudspeakers and whistles to require the vehicles to stop.

The stoppage or postponement of the departure of vehicles must have a decision of a competent agency prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article. Customs offices shall notify maritime administration of the postponement of the departure of inland waterway and seaway vessel.”

57. To amend and supplement Clauses 2 and 4, Article 104 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Heads of customs teams, heads of customs control teams under regional Customs Branches, and heads of anti-smuggling and control teams under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch or their empowered deputies may decide on the chase.

When having grounds to believe that, unless they are promptly chased, vehicles or smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border can be dispersed or destroyed, customs officers on duty may chase the vehicles and goods and immediately report such to a competent person mentioned in this Clause.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. The chase and stoppage of vehicles and smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border shall be notified to public security agencies, border guards, coast guards and market management agencies in localities for coordination and application of prevention and handling measures in accordance with law. The agency receiving the notification shall be responsible for coordinating with and supporting the customs office in the chase and stoppage of the vehicles in accordance with the law.”

58. To add Article 104a as follows:

“Article 104a. Equipping of means to serve the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods

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

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

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

59. To amend and supplement Article 106 as follows:

“Article 106. Customs offices’ responsibility to collect and provide information

1. Customs offices shall collect customs information, covering:

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

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

The Minister of Finance shall prescribe in detail the collection of customs information mentioned at this Point;

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

2. Customs offices shall provide customs information, covering:

a) Providing information on customs-related regimes, policies and guidelines to organizations and individuals engaged or involved in production, import, export, entry, exit or transit activities;

b) Providing customs declarants with information relating to their rights and obligations;

c) Providing customs information to justice agencies and other state management agencies;

d) Providing customs statistical information in accordance with the statistics law;

dd) Providing customs declarants with information about their customs dossiers in force majeure cases to restore their customs dossier data;

e) Providing customs information to foreign customs authorities and international organizations in accordance with the laws of Vietnam, relevant treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contract party, or international agreements concluded.”

Article 2. Replacing and annulling a number of phrases, points, clauses, and articles of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015, detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Customs Law regarding customs procedures and customs inspection, supervision and control

1. To replace a number of phrases as follows:

a) To replace the phrase “General Department of Customs” in Clause 2, Article 3; Clause 1, Article 22; Clauses 2, 3, and 5, Article 24 with the phrase “Customs Department”;

b) To replace the phrase “Department of Customs” in Clause 1, Article 96 with the phrase “Regional Customs Branch”;

c) To replace the phrase “Customs Branch” in Clause 1, Article 56; Clause 2, Article 86; Clause 2, Article 87; Clauses 1 and 2, Article 88 with the phrase “customs office”;

d) To replace the phrase “Customs Branch” at Point c, Clause 2, Article 60 with “customs office at the border gate”;

dd) To replace the phrase “the General Director of Customs” in Clause 2, Article 13; Clauses 4 and 6, Article 24 with the phrase “the Director of Customs Department”;

e) To replace the phrase “Director of the provincial-level Department of Customs” in Clause 2, Article 40 with the phrase “Director of the regional Customs Branch;

g) To replace the phrase “Director of Customs Branch” in Clause 5, Article 26; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 27; Clauses 2, 3, and 4, Article 29; Clause 2, Article 32; Clause 4, Article 34; Clause 2, Article 40 with the phrase “Head of Customs Team.”

2. To annul Article 7; Article 8; the phrase “Clause 1” in Clause 1, Article 17; the phrase “before the effective date of this Decree” in Clause 4, Article 19; the phrase “type” in Clause 1, Article 29 and Clause 1, Article 30; Article 31; Clause 4, Article 33; the phrase “post-clearance” in Clause 2, Article 40; Article 51; Article 52; Article 53; Article 54; Article 55; Article 58; Article 62; Article 66; Article 76; Article 78; Article 80; Article 82; Point c, Clause 2, Article 84; Article 89; and Article 92 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP.

Article 3. Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and related agencies, organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.

Article 4. Implementation provisions

1. Effect

This Decree takes effect from August 15, 2025.

Particularly, Clauses 5, 6, and 19, Article 1 of this Decree, which amend and supplement Articles 10, 11, and 35 of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015, shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

2. Transitional provisions

Enterprises that were granted the application of the priority regime before the effective date of this Decree must fulfill the conditions specified in Clause 5, Article 1 of this Decree amending and supplementing Clause 3, Article 10 of the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015, within a maximum period of 01 year from the effective date of this Decree.

3. This Decree annuls the Government’s Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP dated 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.