Công văn 19046/BTC-TCHQ

To: Customs Departments of provinces.

The Law on Customs was passed by the 13^th National Assembly during its 7^th session on June 23, 2014 and is effective from January 01, 2015. This Law supersedes the Law on Customs No. 29/2001/QH10 dated 2001 and the Law No. 42/2005/QH11 dated 2005 on amendment of and addition to a number of Articles of the Law on Customs.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance is urgently cooperating with relevant authorities in proposing a Decree providing for the implementation of the 2014 Law on Customs and a Circular guiding such implementation to the Government for promulgation.

For the purposes of consistent implementation of the 2014 Law on Customs from January 01, 2015 while awaiting the entry into force of the Decree and Circular providing for the Law on Customs, the Ministry of Finance requests its affiliates to implement the regulations of the 2014 Law on Customs from its effective date of January 01, 2015. Any customs-related regulation of an applicable legislative document that does not conflict with regulations of the 2014 Law on Customs may continue to be implemented until a substituting document is available. If there is any discrepancy between a customs-related regulation of an applicable Decree or Circular and regulations of the 2014 Law on Customs, the latter shall prevail.

The Ministry of Finance hereby provides the following guidelines:

1. Locations of customs posts

Customs procedures shall be carried out at the locations specified in Article 22 of the 2014 Law on Customs unless otherwise provided for by law on specialized management.

2. Customs agents

2.1. Requirements for customs agent employees are specified in Clause 2 Article 20 of the Law on Customs.

2.2. The Director General of the General Department of Vietnam Customs has the power to decide recognition, suspension or termination of customs broking; grant of certificates of training in customs declaration; grant and revocation of customs agent employee’s codes.

2.3. Recognized customs agents and customs agent employees granted certificates of training in customs declaration may continue working. Customs agents shall exercise their rights and fulfill their duties according to regulations of Clause 3 Article 18 of the 2014 Law on Customs.  

3. Privileged enterprises

3.1. Application of privileges given to enterprises shall comply with regulations of Article 43 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

3.2. Requirements for application of privileges shall comply with regulations of the Circular No. 86/2013/TT-BTC.

4. Time limit for submission of customs documents

4.1. Customs declarations shall be submitted after goods are transported to places notified by customs declarants and at least 04 hours before the exit of vehicle for exports or at least 02 hours before the exit of vehicle for exports delivered by express delivery services.

4.2. Customs declarations for imports shall be submitted before goods arrive at border checkpoints or within 30 days after goods arrive at border checkpoints.

4.3. Customs declarations for vehicles shall be submitted by the deadline specified in Clause 2 Article 69 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

4.4. Time limit for submission of relevant documents in customs documents:

a) Regarding e-customs declaration, when customs authorities conduct examination of customs documents and physical inspection of goods, customs declarants shall submit physical relevant documents, except documents which are already available in the national single-window communication system;

b) When submitting physical customs declarations, customs declarants shall also submit relevant documents.

5. Time limit for customs authorities to carry out customs procedures

5.1. Examination of customs documents shall be completed within 02 working hours from the time customs authorities receive the complete customs documents.

5.2. Physical inspection of goods shall be completed within 08 working hours from the time customs declarants fully present the goods to customs authorities. For goods subject to specialized inspection of quality, health, culture, animal quarantine, plant quarantine or food safety in accordance with corresponding regulations of lawsoft, the time limit for completion of physical inspection of goods shall begin from the day on which specialized inspection results are given as prescribed by law.

For shipments in large quantities and of many types or in case the inspection is complicated, heads of customs authorities where customs procedures are carried out shall decide to extend the time limit for physical inspection of goods for a maximum of 02 days.

6. Predetermination of HS codes

Relevant information and documents and goods samples for applying for predetermination of HS codes shall be provided by applicants according to regulations of the Circular No. 128/2013/TT-BTC. If a sample of the goods to be exported or imported could not be provided, the customs declarant shall produce technical documents related to such goods.

7. Additional declaration

If a customs declarant finds that the customs declaration contains errors, he/she may make an additional as follows:

7.1. For goods undergoing customs procedures: Additional declarations shall be made before the customs authority notifies the direct examination of the customs document;

7.2. For goods granted clearance: Within 60 days from the day of customs clearance and before the day on which customs authority decides to conduct post-clearance inspection, unless the additional declaration is related to the import or export permit; or specialized inspection in terms of quality, health, culture, animal quarantine, plant quarantine and food safety.

If the customs declarant detects an error in his/her customs declaration when the abovementioned time limit has expired, he/she shall make an additional declaration and face administrative penalties in accordance with tax laws and administrative penalty laws.

8. Physical inspection of goods

8.1. Goods used for urgent demands; goods exclusively used for national defense and security purposes; and goods used for other special cases as decided by the Prime Minister are exempted from physical inspection unless violations against the law are suspected (according to Clauses 1 and 2 Article 33 of the 2014 Law on Customs).

8.2. In other cases, physical inspection of goods shall be conducted based on the application of risk management.

9. Physical inspection of goods in the absence of customs declarants

9.1. Physical inspection of goods in the absence of customs declarants is applied to the cases prescribed in Clause 1 Article 34 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

9.2. Physical inspection of goods in the absence of customs declarants shall be conducted in the forms prescribed in Clause 2 Article 34 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

10. Customs procedures for goods imported for export processing and production

10.1. Customs procedures for goods imported for export processing and production of domestic exports shall comply with regulations of the Circular No. 128/2013/TT-BTC and Circular No. 13/2014/TT-BTC.

10.2. Responsibilities of customs authorities for customs inspection and supervision of goods imported for export processing and production of domestic exports shall comply with regulations of Article 59 of the Law on Customs.

11. Time limit for storage of goods in bonded warehouses

Goods may be stored in bonded warehouses for up to 12 months from the first day they are stored in the bonded warehouse. For reasonable grounds, heads of Customs Departments managing bonded warehouses may extend this time limit once for not more than 12 months (according to Clause 1 Article 61 of the 2014 Law on Customs).

12. Time limit for storage of goods in CFSs

Goods may be stored in CFSs for up to 90 days from the day on which they are brought into such CFSs. For reasonable grounds, heads of Customs Sub-Departments managing CFSs may extend this time limit once for not more than 90 days (according to Clause 3 Article 61 of the 2014 Law on Customs).

13. Storage of goods in duty-free shops

Goods sold at duty-free shops shall be stored in duty-free shops or warehouses of duty-free goods-selling enterprises which meet customs supervision requirements. The goods storage duration must not exceed 12 months from the day on which the customs procedures are completed. Heads of Customs Sub-Departments managing duty-free shops may extend this time limit once for not more than 12 months for cases with reasonable grounds;

14. Handling of stagnant goods

14.1. Stagnant goods are defined in Clause 1 Article 58 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

14.2. Announcement procedures for the purpose of handling stagnant goods shall comply with regulations of Clauses 3 and 4 Article 58 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

14.3. For polluting goods, owners and operators of vehicles or persons authorized by owners of vehicles shall transport such goods out of the Vietnamese territory. In case owners or operators of vehicles or persons authorized by owners of vehicles are unidentifiable, customs authorities shall take charge and cooperate with port and depot enterprises, local administrations and related bodies in destroying such goods.

15. Inspection, supervision and suspension of customs procedures for imports and exports upon request for protection of intellectual property rights

15.1. The time limit for application of customs inspection and supervision measures for goods requiring protection of intellectual property rights is 02 years from the day on which the customs authority accepts the request of the intellectual property rights holder. This time limit may be granted extension for another 02 years but must not exceed the duration of protection of the concerned intellectual property subject matter in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property.

15.2. Suspension duration

The maximum suspension duration is 10 working days from the day on which the customs authority issues the decision. In case the requester has a plausible reason for suspension, this suspension duration may be extended but must not exceed 20 working days, provided that the requester pays an additional sum of money or submits an additional document on guarantee as prescribed in Clause 3 Article 74 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

16. Post-clearance inspection

16.1 Post-clearance inspection on the premises of customs authorities

a) Heads of Customs Departments and heads of Customs Sub-Departments shall issue decisions on post-clearance inspection on the premises of customs authorities.

b) The inspection duration shall be specified in the inspection decision provided that it does not exceed 05 working days.

c) Inspection shall be carried out according to the procedures specified in regulations of Clauses 1, 2 and 4 Article 79 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

d) Inspection results shall be handled in accordance with regulations of Clause 3 Article 79 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

16.2 Post-clearance inspection on the premises of customs declarants

a) Inspection deciders:

a.1) The Director General of the General Department of Vietnam Customs and heads of Post-clearance Inspection Departments shall decide post-clearance inspection nationwide;

a.2) Heads of Customs Departments shall decide post-clearance inspection in their provinces.

Customs Departments shall request the General Department of Vietnam Customs to assign units to inspect enterprises located outside their provinces.

b) The inspection duration shall be specified in the inspection decision provided that it does not exceed 10 working days. The inspection duration begins on the date the inspection is carried out in reality. In case the scope of inspection is large and matters are complicated, the inspection decider may extend the inspection duration once for not more than 10 working days;

c) Inspection shall be carried out according to the procedures specified in regulations of Clauses 2, 3 and 4 Article 80 of the 2014 Law on Customs.

For your reference and compliance./.