Công văn 5264/TCHQ-GSQL

To: Customs Departments of provinces

Recently, the General Department of Customs has received reports from a number of units on the import of scrap regulated in the Decision No. 73/2014/QĐ-TTg dated 19/12/2014 by the Prime Minister. For this matter, the General Department of Customs has issued the Official Dispatch No. 1681/TCHQ-GSQL dated 02/3/2015 and the Official Dispatch No. 3711/TCHQ-GSQL dated 23/4/2015 to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment requesting solution for relevant difficulties. In consideration of opinions from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in the Official Dispatch No. 995/BTNMT-TCMT dated 27/3/2015 and the Official Dispatch No. 2098/BTNMT-TCMT dated 27/5/2015, the General Department of Customs hereby provides the following guidelines:

1. Regarding the implementation of the National technical regulation on environment applicable to imported scrap:

Recently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is formulating National technical regulations on environment applicable to the scrap specified in the List of scrap permitted to be imported from abroad as materials for production. While awaiting issuance of guiding documents, if scrap necessary for production is not regulated by any technical regulation on environment, enterprises should be instructed to request the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,to request the Prime Minister to provide a temporary mechanism that specifies cases in which import of scrap on the List are permitted if the regulations on environmental protection are complied with.

2. The collection and transport of scrap from 15/6/2015 (applicable to the scrap collected during the manufacturing process of  export processing enterprises and/or enterprises in free trade zones) shall comply with the regulations in Clause 3 Article 1 of the Decree No. 38/2015/NĐ-CP dated 24/4/2015 by the Government, which prescribes: “Wastes from free trade zones, export-processing zones, export processing enterprises to inland shall be collected and treated in the same manner as wastes outside free trade zones, export-processing zones, export-processing enterprises under the provisions of this Decree; the provisions of Chapter VIII of this Decree are inapplicable to the scrap from free trade zone, export-processing zones and export-processing enterprises”.

3. Regarding the import of goods of cockle shells, snail shells and oyster shells as materials for production:

Goods of cockle shells, snail shells serving the production of handicrafts not collected from the production of consumer products; “such goods are considered production materials, not scrap, and are not regulated by regulations on management of scrap imported as materials for production"

(The Official Dispatch 995/BTNMT-TCMT dated 27/3/2015 and the Official Dispatch No. 2098/BTNMT-TCMT dated 27/5/2015 by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment are enclosed herewith).