Công văn 5230/BTC-TCHQ

To: The Customs Departments of provinces and cities

The Finance Ministry has received official letters of some enterprises requesting guidance on duty refund for goods imported into the domestic market then exported into export processing zones or supplied to export processing enterprises. For uniform implementation, the Finance Ministry hereby provides the following opinions:

1. Item I, Section E of Circular No.113/2005/TT-BTC of December 15, 2005, does not stipulate the refund of import duty for cases where goods are imported into the domestic market then exported into export processing zones or supplied to export processing enterprises. So, for cases where customs declarations are registered from January 1, 2006 on, goods imported in the forms of business then sold into non-tariff zones (including export processing zones and export processing enterprises) shall not be entitled to import duty refund.

2. For cases where customs declarations were declared before January 1, 2006, goods imported in the forms of business then sold into export processing enterprises shall be refunded import duty. In cases where goods  were exported into an export processing zone but their export procedures were carried out at a border gate other than the border gate at which their import procedures were carried out and the goods inspection section of their export declaration does not specify the import declaration form which the exported goods belong to, in order to properly settle the duty refund and prevent its abuse, provincial/municipal Customs Departments should coordinate with provincial/municipal Taxation Departments in checking and determining whether goods have been actually exported and enterprises have received money and produced payment vouchers of the exported goods, they shall be refunded the paid duty amount or shall not have to pay the duty if they have not paid the duty yet. The refund procedures shall comply with the provisions of Point 1.9, Item I, Section E of the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 87/2004/TT-BTC of August 31, 2004.

The Finance Ministry hereby notifies the Customs Departments of provinces and cities for compliance.-