Official Dispatch 3701/TCHQ-TXNK 2024 on the customs procedures for repurposed imports

To: Siam City Cement (Vietnam) Limited.
(Adress: No. 11, Doan Van Bo Street, Ward 13, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City)

The General Department of Customs receives the Official Dispatch No. 65/CV/06/2024 dated June 20, 2024 requesting guidance on the procedures for import declaration for imports eligible for tax exemption under an investment project repurposed to the liquidation sale to domestic enterprises and declaration of customs value in case the original declaration is lost. The General Department of Customs’ opinion on such matter shall be as follows:

1. Regarding the customs procedures applicable to repurposed imports eligible for tax exemption:

According to Clause 2 Article 18 of the Law No. 54/2014/QH13 dated June 23, 2014 on Customs that regulates the Customs declarants’ obligations, including:

“b) To provide adequate and accurate information for customs offices to conduct prior identification of codes, origin and customs value of goods;

c) To be held responsible before law for the truthfulness of declared contents and submitted or produced documents, information consistency between dossiers kept at enterprises and dossiers kept at customs offices;

d) To comply with decisions and requests of customs offices and customs officers carrying out customs procedures or conducting customs inspection and supervision of goods and means of transport;

dd) To keep customs dossiers for goods cleared from customs procedures for 5 years as from the date of registration of customs declarations, unless otherwise provided by law; to keep accounting books and documents and other documents related to imported and exported goods cleared from customs procedures for a duration prescribed by law; to produce dossiers and provide relevant information and documents for examination when so requested by customs offices under Articles 32, 79 and 80 of this Law”;

According to Clause 5 Article 25 of the Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015, amended and supplemented by Clause 12 Article 1 of the Government's Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP dated April 20, 2018 that defines the customs declaration: “For imported or exported goods which are not liable to or are exempted from import duty or export duty, ... and have been released or cleared from customs procedures but then there are changes in the types of goods not liable to such duties or in the purposes for which goods are exempted from duty; ..., new customs declaration forms shall be filled in.  Such goods shall be regulated by the import and export management 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.”

According to Article 21 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015, amended and supplemented by Clause 10, Article 1 of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018 that defines the declaration of repurposed goods or goods sold domestically instead of being re-exported.

Pursuant to the above-mentioned regulations, imports exempted from import duty and have been cleared from customs procedures but then there are changes in the purposes for which goods are exempted from duty, new customs declaration forms shall be filled in. The customs procedures shall comply with Article 21 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015, amended and supplemented by Clause 10, Article 1 of the Ministry of Finance's Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018. Accordingly, the customs declaration must clearly specify the number of the initial customs declaration, repurposing or domestic sale method (the item Note (“Phần ghi chú”) of the electronic declaration or the item Other (“Ghi chép khác”) of the physical declaration). If the imports that are repurposed or sold domestically are exempt from import duties or not subject to import duties, the customs dossier retention period (05 years) has expired by the date of repurposing or domestic sale, the importer is not required to provide the declaration number upon repurposing or domestic sale.

2. Regarding the declaration of customs value:

According to Point b, Clause 2, Article 17, Circular No. 39/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015, amended by Clause 9, Article 1 of the Ministry of Finance's Circular No. 60/2019/TT-BTC dated August 30, 2019, the customs value applicable to imported goods that are used in Vietnam for purposes other than those for which they were determined non-taxable goods, goods eligible for tax exemption for sale shall be the declared value determined based on the actual selling price. If the customs office has grounds to believe that the declared value is unconformable, the customs value shall be determined in accordance with regulations and based on the current goods status. Thus, the customs value shall be declared based on the actual selling price (shown on the Liquidation sale contract).

The General Department of Customs notifies Siam City Cement (Vietnam) Limited for implementation./.