Thông tư 16/2015/TT-BTTTT

CIRCULAR

SPECIFYING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOVERNMENT’S DECREE No. 187/2013/NĐ-CP DATED NOVEMBER 20, 2013 ON EXPORT AND IMPORT OF GOODS IN THE PRINT AND PUBLICATION INDUSTRY

Pursuant to the Law on Publishing dated November 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 132/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 16, 2013 on defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 187/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 20, 2013 on specifying the implementation of the Commerce Law on international commodity trading operations and activities of agents, product purchase, sale, processing and transit in a relationship with partners in foreign countries;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 195/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 21, 2013 on specifying several articles and implementation of the Law on Publishing;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP dated June 19, 2014 on stipulating print activities;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 41/2005/QĐ-TTg dated March 2, 2005 on promulgating the regulation on granting the permit for import of commodities;

After considering the request of the Director of the Bureau of Publication,

The Minister of Information and Communications hereby introduce the Circular on specifying the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 187/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 20, 2013 on export and import of commodities in the print and publication industry.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of application and applicable entities

1. Scope of application:

a) This Circular herein provides for applicable entities, commodity types, statutory standards that should be met, and procedures for export or import of commodities in the print and publication industry under the authority of the Ministry of Information and Communications (hereinafter also referred to as print or publication commodities);

b) Temporary import, re-export, temporary export, re-import and transit of commodities in the print and publication industry shall be governed under the provisions of the Circular No. 05/2014/TT-BTC of the Minister of Industry and Trade dated January 27, 2014 on temporary import, re-export, temporary export, re-import and transit of commodities.

2. Applicable entities:

This Circular shall apply to individual or institutional entities in Vietnam that export or import commodities in the print and publication industry.

Article 2. Commodities in the print and publication industry classified by the HS code

1. Print commodities:

Print commodities, such as equipment, apparatus, parts or components, which have been defined by the HS codes and description, and put under the authority of the Ministry of Information and Communications, shall be classified by headings with the following codes:

a) 84.40;

b) 84.42;

c) 84.43.

2. Publication commodities:

Publication commodities are those which have been defined by the HS codes and description, and put under the authority of the Ministry of Information and Communications, shall be classified by headings with the following codes:

a) 49.01;

b) 4903.00.00 and 4904.00.00;

c) 49.05;

d) 4910.00.00;

dd) 49.11.

Article 3. Export of commodities in the print and publication industry

1. The export permit issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications shall not be required to export print and publication commodities stipulated herein.

2. Export of publication products with contents in breach of regulations laid down in Clause 1 Article 10 of the Law on Publishing shall be prohibited in any form.

Chapter II

IMPORT OF PRINT COMMODITIES

Article 4. Entities permitted to import print commodities

1. Print facilities (enterprises, business households, public administrative agencies licensed to carry out print operations or issued the certificate of print facility registration).

2. Enterprises having their scope of operations including export, import of print equipment as prescribed by laws.

3. Other agencies or organizations having the legal status and permitted to use print equipment for performing internal tasks.

Article 5. Imported print commodities

1. Commodities stipulated in Clause 1 Article 2 hereof which are energy-consuming equipment defined in the List and are required to meet requirements stipulated in the Appendix I enclosed herewith.

2. Commodities stipulated in Clause 1 Article 2 hereof which are non-energy-consuming equipment, and components or parts of commodities which do not require the import permit granted by the Ministry of Information and Communications to be imported.

Article 6. Grant of the permit for import of print commodities

1. Print equipment import organizations stipulated in Article 4 hereof shall prepare 01 set of documents submitted to apply for grant of the import permit by post or in person to the Bureau of Publication. Documentation shall include the followings:

a) The application form for grant of the import permit by following the Form No. 06 given in the Appendix issued together with the Circular No. 03/2015/TT-BTTTT of the Minister of Information And Communications dated March 6, 2015 on specifying and providing guidance on implementation of several articles, clauses of the Government’s Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP dated June 19, 2014 on providing regulations on print operations (hereinafter referred to as the Circular No. 03/2015/TT-BTTTT);

b) The catalogue of each equipment item;

c) The authenticated duplicate or simply the duplicate of the following documents (attach the original copy for verification):

a) The licence for print operations or the declaration sheet used for registration of print facility operations which has been attested in accordance with regulations laid down in Clause 5 Article 14 enshrined in the Government’s Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP dated June 19, 2014 on setting regulations on print operations of print facilities stipulated in Clause 1 Article 4 hereof;

If the applicant is an enterprise, the Business Registration Certificate or the Enterprise Registration Certificate should be submitted as stipulated in Clause 2 Article 4 hereof;

If the applicant is an agency or organization, the establishment decision should be submitted as stipulated in Clause 3 Article 4 hereof.

2. Within 05 working days from receipt of all valid required documents, the Bureau of Publication shall issue the permit for import of print equipment by following the Form No. 10 given in the Appendix issued together with the Circular No. 03/2015/TT-BTTTT; in case of refusal to issue the permit, the Bureau should send the written response which clearly states the reasons for such refusal.

3. The permit for import of print equipment shall be valid till the clearance completion date.

Chapter III

IMPORT OF PUBLICATION COMMODITIES

Article 7. Entities permitted to import publication commodities

1. The organization issued the licence for publication import activities as stipulated in Article 38 of the Law on Publishing (hereinafter referred to as publication import facility) shall be entitled to import publication products for trading purposes.

2. Vietnamese and foreign entities stipulated in Article 41 of the Law on Publishing shall be entitled to import publication products for non-business purposes.

Article 8. Imported publication commodities

1. Import of publication commodities stipulated in Clause 2 Article 2 hereof shall be allowed on condition that they meet requirements stipulated in the Appendix II enclosed herewith.

2. Import of publication commodities with contents in breach of regulations laid down in Clause 1 Article 10 of the Law on Publishing shall be prohibited in any form.

Article 9. Registration and confirmation given to register export of publication products for trading purposes

1. The publication import facility shall send 01 set of documents for registration by post or in person to the Bureau of Publication. If these documents are submitted online, the publication import facility must be issued the digital certificate by the organization providing digital signature authentication service and such submission must be carried out under the instructions given on the website of the Bureau of Publication. Documentation shall include the followings:

a) The registration form by following the Form No. 04 given in the Appendix III issued together with the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BTTTT of the Minister of Information and Communications dated December 29, 2014 on specifying and providing guidance on implementation of several articles of the Law on Publishing and the Government’s Decree No. 195/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 21, 2013 on specifying several articles and implementation of the Law on Publishing (hereinafter referred to as the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BTTTT);

b) 03 lists of imported publication products by following the Form No. 05 given in the Appendix III issued together with the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BTTTT

2. The publication import facility shall be liable for fee for registration of import of publication products in accordance with legal regulations.

3. Within 15 working days from receipt of all valid required documents, the Bureau of Publication must give the written confirmation of registration of publication import by following the Form No. 06 given in the Appendix III issued together with the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BTTTT; in case of refusal to issue the permit, the Bureau should send the written response which clearly states the reasons for such refusal.

If it is suspected that contents of publication products may violate Vietnamese laws, the Bureau of Publication shall have the right to refuse to give the confirmation of registration of import of such publication products, or request such publication products to be subject to the content assessment before giving that confirmation.

Article 10. Grant of the permit for import of publication products for non-business purposes

1. Before importing publication products for non-business purposes, institutional or individual entities must send the application for grant of the import permit by post or in person to the licensing agency in accordance with the following regulations:

a) Central agencies or organizations, or foreign organizations with their offices located in Hanoi, shall send their application to the Bureau of Publication or the Department of Information and Communications of Hanoi;

b) Other agencies or organizations, and Vietnamese or foreign individuals, shall send their application to the Department of Information and Communications in the area where their offices, and ports of entry of imported publication products, are located.

2. Application for grant of the permit shall include 01 set of documents as follows:

a) The application form for grant of the import permit by following the Form No. 07 given in the Appendix III issued together with the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BTTTT;

b) 02 lists of imported publication products by following the Form No. 08 given in the Appendix III issued together with the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BTTTT

3. The applicant shall be liable for the fee for grant of the permit for import of publication products in accordance with legal regulations.

4. In the course of considering applications to issue the permit, if the Bureau of Publication, or the Department of Information and Communications, discovers that publication products may be in violation of Vietnam’s laws, they have the right to refuse to grant the import permit or conduct the assessment under the provisions of Article 21 of the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BTTTT as a basis for making a decision to issue the permit for import of publication products.

The applicant shall be liable for the assessment fee in accordance with legal regulations.

5. Within 15 working days from receipt of all valid required documents, the Bureau of Publication, or the Department of Information and Communications, must issue the permit for import of publication products for non-business purposes by following the Form No. 09 given in the Appendix III issued together with the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BTTTT except for the circumstance under which the assessment is conducted as stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article; in case of refusal to issue the permit, they should send the written response which clearly states the reasons for such refusal.

6. The permit for import of publication products for non-business purposes shall be valid till the clearance completion date.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Article 11. Effect

1. This Circular shall come into force since August 15, 2015.

2. As from the entry into force of this Circular, regulations on export and import of commodities in the print and publication industry laid down in the Circular No. 48/2006/TT-BVHTT of the Ministry of Culture and Information dated May 5, 2006 on providing guidance on several contents stipulated by the Government's Decree No. 12/2006/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 2006 on specifying the implementation of the Law on Commerce in terms of international goods trade and the activities of agents, trading, processing, and transit of goods with foreign partners shall be abolished.

Article 12. Implementation

In the course of implementing this Circular,

1. If there is any development or change of functions, technologies or commodity types, or if laws provide other regulations on imported or exported commodities in the print and publication industry, the Bureau of Publication shall be responsible for studying and suggesting any appropriate amendment or supplementation to regulations laid down in this Circular to the Minister of Information and Communications;

2. If there is any difficulty that may occur, agencies, organizations or individuals are advised to send their feedbacks to the Ministry of Information and Communications (forwarded by the Bureau of Publication) for consideration and possible solutions.

APPENDIX I

PRINT IMPORT LIST, PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS (Issued together with the Circular No. 16/2015/TT-BTTTT of the Minister of Information and Communications dated June 17, 2015)

1. Prepress equipment

2. Printing equipment

3. Print finishing equipment

4. Photocopying equipment

APPENDIX II

PUBLICATION IMPORT LIST AND PROCEDURES (Issued together with the Circular No. 16/2015/TT-BTTTT of the Minister of Information and Communications dated June 17, 2015)

(*) Note: Publication products are stipulated in Clause 4 Article 4 enshrined in the Law on Publishing.