DECISION No. 212/1998/QD-TTg OF NOVEMBER 2, 1998 PROMULGATING THE REGULATION ON BONDED WAREHOUSES

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of Government of September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Customs of February 20, 1990;

At the proposal of the General Director of Customs,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To promulgate, together with this Decision, the Regulation on Bonded Warehouses.

Article 2.- This Decision shall replace Decision No. 104/TTg of March 16, 1994 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Regulation on Bonded Warehouses.

Article 3.- The General Director of Customs shall be responsible for guiding the implementation of this Decision.

Article 4.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing. The ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of agencies attached to the Government and presidents of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

Prime Minister

PHAN VAN KHAI

REGULATION ON BONDED WAREHOUSES

(Promulgated together with Decision No. 212/1998/QD-TTg of November 2, 1998 of the Prime Minister)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Bonded warehouses are store or site areas set up on the territory of Vietnam separated with the adjacent area for temporary storing, keeping or carrying out a number of services concerning goods brought in from abroad or from the country under bonded warehouse leasing contracts signed between store owners and goods owners under the inspection and supervision of the Customs.

Goods temporarily stored or preserved in bonded warehouses, if destined for export, are those for which the customs procedures have been cleared for export; if brought from abroad, they are goods awaiting further transport to other country(ies) or the clearance of procedures for import into Vietnam, and not yet liable to import duty. Goods owners shall be assured of ownership over their goods left in bonded warehouses.

Article 2.- Bonded warehouses and all the goods, means of transport going in and out or stored and maintained therein shall be subject to inspection, supervision and control by Customs agencies.

Article 3.- The terms and expressions herein shall be understood as follows:

1. "Warehouse owner" is the enterprise licensed to carry out bonded warehouse business.

2. "Goods owner" is the person (legal entity or individual) that has goods deposited in bonded warehouses.

3. "Lawful representative of goods owners" is the person authorized by goods owners in accordance with the provisions of law, inclusive of foreigner. Goods owners shall be liable before law for their decisions regarding their authorized lawful representatives.

4. "Bonded warehouses' customs" are Customs units directly engaged in effecting customs procedures as well as inspecting and supervising goods brought in and out, stored, maintained and services in bonded warehouses.

Chapter II

ESTABLISHMENT AND LEASE OF BONDED WAREHOUSES

Article 4.- Bonded warehouses shall be permitted to set up in the following areas:

1. Provinces and cities which are the centers of goods traffic between Vietnam and foreign countries, have great flows of exported and imported goods and have conditions favorable to the transport of exported and imported goods.

The Prime Minister shall decide on each specific case where provinces and cities are allowed to set up bonded warehouses at the request of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities and the General Department of Customs.

2. Industrial parks, high-tech parks and export processing zones and exclusive economic zones (hereinafter referred collectively to as industrial parks) permitted to set up by competent authorities.

Article 5.- Setting up of bonded warehouses.

1. Enterprises situated on areas prescribed in Item 1 of Article 4 shall have to meet the following conditions before applying for setting up bonded warehouses:

a/ Being a State enterprise of Vietnam, staffed with a contingent of cadres qualified for profession of warehousing business, forwarding of exported and imported goods and international commercial transactions.

b/ Having valid papers on the rights to use necessary store and site surfaces in accordance with law. Stores and sites must be separated from the adjacent areas by solid wall and fencing systems, equipped with technical and material bases, ensure safety for people as well as means of transport, storing and keeping of goods and convenient for Custom's inspection and supervision.

c/ Strictly abiding by policies and law and having transparent business, financial and credit relations.

d/ Paying fully fees for setting up bonded warehouses as stipulated.

e/ A dossier applied for the setting up bonded warehouses shall comprise:

- An application for setting up bonded warehouses according to the form published by the General Department of Customs;

- The written proposal by the ministry in charge or the People's Committees of provinces and cities which shall be forwarded to the Prime Minister and the General Department of Customs;

- Licenses or decisions to establish enterprises (notarized copies);

- Design diagrams of store and site areas with explicit indications of the boundary line separated from the outside, arrangement of storehouses, systems of internal transport routes within warehouse areas, protection and fire prevention systems, warehouse offices and offices of Store Customs units;

- A report with specific justifications (in writing) of warehouse operations;

- Documents concerning accounts at banks; and

- Valid documents on the right to use stores and sites.

2. Enterprises that apply for setting up bonded warehouses in industrial parks shall satisfy the following conditions:

a/ Being an enterprise having the function of dealing in warehousing business, forwarding of exported and imported goods and supply of technical material and import raw materials for industrial parks;

b/ Bonded warehouses must be located within the geographical boundary of industrial parks;

c/ Strictly abiding by policies and law; and having transparent business, financial and credit relations.

d/ Paying fully fees for setting up bonded warehouses as stipulated.

e/ A dossier applied for the setting up bonded warehouses shall comprise:

- An application for setting up bonded warehouses according to the form published by the General Department of Customs;

- Investment approval decisions by the competent agency(ies) or investment licenses or business registration certificates (notarized copies);

- The written proposal by provincial/municipal Management Boards of Industrial Parks forwarding to the Prime Minister and the General Department of Customs. Each industrial park shall have not more than 1 enterprise permitted to establish bonded warehouses;

- Design diagrams of warehouse areas in the overall industrial parks with explicit indications of the boundary line separated from the remaining area of the parks, location of storehouses, systems of internal transport routes within warehouse areas, protection and fire prevention systems, warehouse offices and offices of Warehouse Customs units;

- A report with specific justifications (in writing) of warehouse operations;

- Contracts for leasing land or stores or sites in industrial parks.

Article 6.- Procedures for consideration the granting of licenses for bonded warehouse business.

1. Application for setting up bonded warehouses and dossiers shall be forwarded to the provincial or municipal Customs. Within 15 days from the date of receipt of the application and dossiers of enterprises, the provincial/municipal Customs Departments shall study the dossiers, make actual survey of stores and sites and prepare reports and petitions to the General Department of Customs. The latter shall, within 15 days from the date of receipt of reports of provincial/municipal Customs Departments and dossiers of enterprises, examine and submit them to the Prime Minister. In case of the latter's approval, the General Department of Customs shall, within 15 days, complete the procedures to grant licenses for setting up bonded warehouses.

2. The General Department of Customs shall make periodical inspections once a year and irregular inspections of each bonded warehouse to report to the Prime Minister on the observance of law and the regulation of bonded warehouse by the licensed enterprises.

Where a bonded warehouse owner has breached policies and law related to bonded warehouses' operations to the extent that administrative sanctions were taken against it three times in a year due to violations of Bonded Warehouse Regulation at the level of pecuniary fines of 20 million VND or more or examination for criminal liability, the General Department of Customs shall issue a decision to revoke its license.

3. The General Department of Customs shall issue a decision to revoke licenses in cases where enterprises, after six months from the date of receipt of licenses to establish Bonded Warehouses, fail to put them into operation without plausible reasons.

4. The General Department of Customs, based on business requirements, enterprises' petitions and the suitability to geographical positions and operational conditions of bonded warehouses, shall decide to permit enterprises to expand, narrow or move the sites of bonded warehouses or to temporarily use stores and sites near bonded warehouses' area for a certain time to store goods deposited in them; but sufficient conditions must be met for strict control thereof in compliance with the stipulations herein.

Article 7.- Upon agreement or authorization by goods owners, bonded warehouse owners may carry out the following services in bonded warehouses:

1. Transport of goods from border check points to bonded warehouses and vice versa;

2. Acting as brokers for seeking outlet to goods deposited in bonded warehouses;

3. Getting through customs procedures on behalf of goods owners;

4. Acting as brokers for inspection and insurance;

5. Recycling or strengthening packings, repackaging, maintenance and repair of goods; these services must be done in bonded warehouses under Customs' surveillance;

6. Transport of goods from one bonded warehouse to another.

The General Department of Customs shall provide specific guidance for implementation of this Article.

Article 8.- Bonded warehouse owners in industrial parks, besides being entitled to perform services mentioned in Article 7, shall be entitled to make temporary import of goods which are technical materials or raw materials for supply production enterprises therein. These goods shall not be liable to import duty till they are officially imported into Vietnam.

The General Department of Customs shall provide specific guidance for implementation of this Article.

Article 9.- Leasing of bonded warehouses.

1. Subjects allowed to lease bonded warehouses:

- Foreign enterprises, organizations and individuals;

- Vietnamese enterprises of various economic sectors permitted to engage in export and import business; and

- Foreign-invested enterprises.

2. Bonded warehouse leases:

Bonded warehouse leases shall be agreed upon by warehouse owners and goods owners in compliance with the common requirements of both parties and must conform to Vietnamese policies and law. The following contents must necessarily be stated in the leases: names of types of goods, quantity and quality of goods; duration of leasing warehouses and services mentioned in Article 7 if so requested by goods owners.

Bonded warehouse leases shall be signed and registered with Customs agencies 24 hours at the latest prior to arrival of goods at the first border gate of entry of Vietnam.

3. The duration for leasing Bonded Warehouses shall be stipulated in warehouse leases but shall not exceed 01 (one) year. The leasing term may be extended twice, each extension shall not exceed 06 months and must be notified in writing to bonded warehouse Customs prior to expiration of warehouse leases.

Where warehouse leases have expired while goods owners fail to get through procedures for extension, goods shall be treated as follows:

- Where goods owners sign extension leases within 30 days from the date of expiration of the leases, the Customs shall accept such leases.

- Beyond 30 days, warehouse owners shall notify goods owners once every 01 month. Where goods owners sign extension leases within 03 months from the date of expiration of leases, administrative actions shall be taken against them and extension leases shall be accepted. Where good owners fail to sign extension leases after 03 months from the date of expiration of leases, warehouse owners shall give written notifications to good owners and Bonded Warehouse Customs. In cases where goods owners fail to give a reply after 15 days from the date of making such notifications, the Customs shall arrange liquidation in accordance with the current stipulation; proceeds from such liquidation shall be remitted into the State budget after making deduction for storing fees, services fees (if any) and the costs for arrangement of liquidation in conformity with the stipulations of the Ministry of Finance.

- During the duration of deposition of goods, where goods owners make announcement in writing or where both warehouse owners and goods owners make written announcements to relinquish goods deposited in bonded warehouses, the Customs shall arrange liquidation and the proceeds therefrom shall be dealt with as stipulated above.

- Where goods are deteriorated beyond use, they shall be destroyed in accordance with Item 4, Article 13 hereof.

Chapter III

CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR GOODS BROUGHT IN AND OUT, STORED AND MAINTAINED IN BONDED WAREHOUSES

Article 10.- Goods brought in and out, stored and maintained in bonded warehouses.

1. All kinds of exported goods that have got through customs procedures and goods brought to Vietnam from overseas pending further transport to other country(ies) or pending import into Vietnam by those entitled to lease bonded warehouses as stipulated in Item 1, Article 9, shall be brought to and stored in bonded warehouses except the following goods:

- Goods bearing fake marks of Vietnam or fake names of Vietnamese origin;

- Goods that pose a danger to the public or environmental pollution; and

- Goods banned from export and import except for cases permitted by the Prime Minister.

Those goods the import of which is temporarily stopped for each period are still eligible for being stored in bonded warehouses for their export overseas. Those goods whose export is temporarily ceased shall must not be put into bonded warehouses.

2. Goods deposited in bonded warehouses before their import into domestic market shall comprise:

- Goods of foreign owners who have not signed sales contracts to Vietnamese enterprises;

- Goods of Vietnamese enterprises imported from abroad but customs procedures for which have not been cleared for their import into the domestic market.

3. Goods that are stored and preserved in bonded warehouses shall conform to bonded warehouse leases. Goods that are brought in and out of bonded warehouses must get through customs procedures and pay customs fees as prescribed.

4. Transport of goods from border gates or from gathering places after completion of customs procedures (with regard to exported goods brought in bonded warehouses) to bonded warehouses or from bonded warehouses to border gates shall all be subject to customs' supervision and control. Such transport shall be carried out on both sea routes or land roads and through international or national border gates.

Where exported goods are forwarded through other places, presidents of the People's Committees of border provinces shall examine and decide on each specific place; in any cases the national interests, sovereignty and security as well as social order at border must be ensured and actions against smuggling must be taken.

Article 11.- Customs procedures for goods brought in bonded warehouses

1. When goods are brought from abroad to the first border gate of Vietnam before being put in bonded warehouses, good owners or their lawful representatives shall produce to Bonded Warehouse Customs the following documents: bonded warehouse leases, declarations and other documents as stipulated by the General Department of Customs. Procedures for putting goods in warehouses shall comply with the General Department of Custom's regulations.

2. Goods brought from within Vietnam into bonded warehouses shall comprise exported goods for which the customs procedures have been completed and pending export; goods for which the temporary import for re-export timelimits have expired; and goods decided by competent State agency(ies) to be re-exported.

With regard to goods brought from within Vietnam into bonded warehouses, the goods owners shall have to fully carry out the customs procedures as for a lot of exported goods including payment of tax (if any) as stipulated by law. Good owners or their lawful representatives shall have to submit to Bonded Warehouse Customs the following documents: bonded warehouse leases, declarations of exported goods for which the customs procedures have been completed, declarations of goods brought into bonded warehouses and other necessary documents stipulated by the General Department of Customs in order to clear procedures for depositing goods in warehouses.

Article 12.- Customs procedures for goods brought out of bonded warehouses.

1. Bringing of goods to foreign countries

Goods owners or their lawful representatives, who take goods in warehouses to foreign countries, shall have to make customs declarations and produce to the Bonded Warehouses Customs:

- Declarations of exported goods;

- Letters of attorney for taking out goods (if authorization has not been specified in warehouse leases); and

- Delivery orders.

The Bonded Warehouse Customs shall compare these declaration documents for taking goods from warehouses with the documents when filling procedures for depositing goods in warehouses and the actual lots of goods, and if these documents match, shall effect delivery procedures and either make customs sealing or accompany goods to border gates where they shall be exported. If the lot of goods of one contract cannot be all exported at one go, it will be subtracted back till the goods specified in the contract are clean out. Where there are difficulties in delivery of goods, the time limit for keeping goods at border gate areas shall not nevertheless be more than 180 days. If there are bonded warehouses at border gate areas, goods shall be deposited in such warehouses pending export. After the 180-day time limit, where goods have not been all brought out of Vietnam, the goods owners or their lawful representatives shall sign contracts to deposit them definitely in border bonded warehouses or to bring them back to the former bonded warehouses and to get through procedures to put them back into warehouses.

2. Import of goods into Vietnam:

a/ With regard to goods from abroad that are temporarily deposited in bonded warehouses and goods for which the temporary import timelimits have expired, the procedures for their re-export and deposit into bonded warehouses shall be carried out; if permitted to be imported for sale on domestic market in Vietnam, they shall be considered goods imported from foreign countries into Vietnam and must comply fully with the current regulations on imported goods. The time of import is the moment where the Customs registers the declarations for imported goods. Those goods that breach law and have been dealt with by a decision on their re-export and deposit in bonded warehouses shall not be allowed to be imported back.

b/ Goods from bonded warehouses brought into export processing zones, industrial parks and high-tech parks and vice versa shall be considered goods imported from abroad or exported abroad and comply with this Regulation and the Regulation on Export Processing Zones, Industrial Parks and High-Tech Parks promulgated together with the Government's Decree No. 36/CP of April 24, 1997.

Article 13.- Management of goods stored and preserved in bonded warehouses.

1. Any shifting of goods within a warehouse or from one warehouse to another shall be notified to Bonded Warehouse Customs. To perform services mentioned in Article 7 hereof, warehouse owners shall inform Bonded Warehouse Customs before the performance thereof and be subject to Bonded Warehouse Customs' supervision throughout the course of such performance.

2. Bonded warehouse owners shall open books for following up the taking out and delivery of goods from warehouses according to the forms and the reporting and recording regimes prescribed by the General Department of Customs.

3. Every year, warehouse owners shall make inventory of stocks outstanding in bonded warehouses under Bonded Warehouse Customs' supervision. Every 06 months and 1 year, bonded warehouse owners shall report to Bonded Warehouse Customs on the operation of warehouses.

4. Where there is a need to destroy lots of goods that are broken, damaged or the quality of which has deteriorated or the dates of use of which have expired as such cases may arise in the course of storing, there must be agreements in writing between goods owners their lawful representatives and warehouse owners, which shall be sent to provincial/municipal Customs where bonded warehouses are situated. The destruction of these lots of goods shall fully comply with the procedures stipulated by the General Department of Customs.

Chapter IV

DEALING WITH BREACHES

Article 14.- Any acts that breach the provisions hereof shall be dealt with according to with the Ordinance on Sanctions Against Administrative Violations or examined for criminal liability, depending on the nature and seriousness of the violations.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISION

Article 15.- This Regulation shall replace the Regulation on Bonded Warehouses promulgated together with Decision No. 104/TTg of March 16, 1994 and take effect together with Decision No. 212/1998/QD-TTg of November 2, 1998 of the Prime Minister.

Article 16.- The General Director of Customs shall be responsible for guiding implementation of this Regulation. The ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of agencies attached to the Government and presidents of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall be responsible for implementing this Regulation.

Prime Minister

PHAN VAN KHAI