Article 1.- To issue the "provisional Regulation on customs procedure services" for the experimental provision of customs procedure services.

Article 2.- This Decision replaces Decision No. 15/1999/QD-TCHQ of January 8, 1999 of the General Director of Customs and takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 3.- The heads of the units attached to the General Department of Customs; the heads of the provincial/municipal Customs Departments; and the Rector of the Customs College shall have to implement this Decision.

Article 4.- The director of the Department for Customs Management Supervision shall have to guide, organize and direct the implementation of the "provisional Regulation on customs procedure services" issued together with this Decision.

General Director of Customs

PHAN VAN DINH

(Issued together with Decision No. 111/1999/QD-TCHQ of April 8, 1999 of the General Director of Customs)

Chapter I

PROCEDURES FOR REGISTRATION OF CUSTOMS PROCEDURE-SERVICE PROVISION

Article 1.- Customs procedure services-providing enterprises.

1. Enterprises providing customs procedure services are those established and having registered their business according to the provisions of law, and are staffed with personnel already trained and fostered professionally in customs procedure services provision, who have been granted customs procedure services provision certificates and special-use cards;

2. When providing customs procedure services, an enterprise shall have to make registration with the customs agency so as to create favorable conditions for the latter in the professional management work and the combat against trade frauds as well as tax losses for the State budget. The already registered enterprise shall be professionally advised by the customs agency and given favorable conditions for the professional training and fostering of its personnel in customs procedure services provision.

Article 2.- Registration procedures

1. The registration procedures shall be filled in at the Customs Department of the province or city where an enterprise provides customs procedure services, involving the following papers:

a/ The official dispatch on the registration of customs procedure-service provision (according to the form issued by the General Department of Customs);

b/ The enterprise�s establishment license and its business registration certificate (the notarized copies);

c/ The customs procedure-service provision certificate of each employee directly engaged in the provision of services (the notarized copy);

2. The provincial/municipal Customs Department shall, on the basis of the papers and information provided by the enterprise, compile a dossier and submit it to the General Department of Customs together with its remarks and/or suggestions. Within 15 days, the General Department of Customs shall have to reply the provincial/municipal Customs Department and the concerned enterprise whether such enterprise is accepted or not. If the enterprise fully meets the conditions stipulated in Article 1 of this Regulation, the General Department of Customs shall issue a notice to the provincial/municipal Customs Department, permitting the concerned enterprise to provide customs procedure services.

3. The provincial/municipal Customs Department shall issue special-use cards to those employees who have been registered by the enterprise and have customs procedure services provision certificates. The granted special-use cards shall be valid for the fulfillment of customs procedures at the customs agency where the registration is made and which is related to the lot of goods subject to the customs procedure clearance at border gates. In cases where the enterprise has made registration but not trained its personnel yet, the provincial/municipal Customs Department shall issue temporary special-use cards valid for 6 months from the date of their issuance. Upon the expiry of the above-mentioned time-limit, if such personnel wish to continue with the customs procedure services provision, they must go through training or refresher courses in order to be granted the customs procedures services provision certificates.

4. Enterprises providing customs procedure services shall have to pay fee for the issue of special-use cards to their personnel as prescribed.

Article 3.- Service-provision scope

An enterprise providing custom procedure services shall, basing itself on the contract or papers of equivalent contractual value made between it and the exporter/importer as prescribed by Vietnamese law, represent the goods owner in performing one or all of the following tasks:

1. Making customs declaration and affixing signature thereon;

2. Completing and submitting/producing the custom dossier related to the lot of import/export goods;

3. Showing goods to the customs for inspection;

4. Paying import/export taxes as well as other taxes and fees or making other payments related to the import/export goods;

5. Filling in procedures for making complaints, requesting the reconsideration or readjustment related to the import/export goods.

Article 4.- Obligations of the customs procedure services-providing enterprise

1. To refrain from letting other units use its name to provide customs procedure services;

2. Not to disclose secrets gathered during the performance of its work, which causes harms to the goods owner�s interests;

3. To arrange means and personnel in service of goods inspection by the customs agency;

4. To open book(s) for monitoring, truthfully and accurately recording data related to each lot of import/export goods for which the enterprise is providing customs procedure services; to keep on file all dossiers and vouchers related to the lot of import/export goods within 5 years, as prescribed by law, after completing the customs procedures and fully producing them to the customs agency when so requested.

Article 5.- Reports on the enterprise�s operation and changes.

1. Annually, when making reports to the tax agency, the customs procedure services-providing enterprises shall also submit reports to the provincial/municipal Customs Department, clearly stating the number of customs procedure services it has provided in the year, the errors it has made and the causes thereof, the situation on the observance of the regulations on import, export and customs, and the proposals to the customs agency;

2. When dissolved or bankrupt or when there are changes in its appellation and/or address, the replacement of person directly in charge of the customs procedure services or the personnel directly engaged in the provision of customs procedure services, the enterprise shall have to notify in writing the provincial/municipal Customs Department thereof. In case of bankruptcy, the enterprise shall hand over to the provincial/municipal Customs Department where it has registered the services provision all books and vouchers directly related to the lots of import/export goods for which it has provided the customs procedure services.

Article 6.- Legal responsibility

1. Enterprises providing customs procedures services shall take responsibility before law for their customs procedure services-providing activities;

2. Where it can prove that it has strictly followed the goods owner�s instructions, the customs procedure services-providing enterprise may be exempt from legal responsibility according to the provisions of law and the contract concluded between it and the exporter/importer.

Article 7.- Handling of violations

An enterprise providing customs procedures services may be suspended from the provision of customs procedure services if it commits one of the following violations:

1. Its personnel directly engaged in the provision of customs procedure services continuously breach the customs legislation and the regulations related to the provision of customs procedure services;

2. Its personnel directly engaged in the provision of customs procedure services fail to satisfy the conditions stipulated in this Regulation;

3. It fails to execute or improperly executes the sanctioning decisions of the customs agency when committing acts of violating the customs legislation or the related provisions of law;

4. If fails to notify in advance the customs agency of the changes in the contents it has registered, lets others to take its name in providing services, fails to strictly comply with the regulations on the opening of books and monitoring services as well as the regulations on file keeping.

Chapter II

CUSTOMS PROCEDURE-SERVICES PROVIDING PERSONNEL

Article 8.- Conditions for customs procedure services-providing personnel

The personnel directly engaged in the provision of customs procedure services must meet the following criteria:

1. Having full act capacity and legal capacity;

2. Being qualified to take part in professional training and refresher courses on customs procedure services provision as stipulated by the Ministry of Education and Training; having gone through the training and granted customs procedure services provision certificates and special-use cards, which shall be produced to the customs agency when they fill in the customs procedures.

Article 9.- Obligations of customs procedure services providing personnel

When coming to fill in the customs procedures, the personnel engaged in the provision of customs procedure services shall have to fulfill the following obligations:

1. To produce their special-use cards issued by the customs agency; if not, they shall not be allowed to provide customs procedures services;

2. To produce contracts or papers of equivalent contractual value for the provision of customs procedure services, which clearly state: the name, address and enterprise code (if any) of the goods owner as well as of the enterprise providing customs procedure services; responsibilities and powers of the two parties;

3. To fully observe the regulations on customs procedures; to be present during the goods inspection; to provide necessary information for the customs officers in the examination of documents as well as the actual inspection of goods; and to contact the goods owner at the customs agency�s request;

4. To refrain from lending other persons their customs procedure-service provision certificates and special-use cards, to refrain from performing customs procedure services for many customs procedure services-providing enterprises. If wishing to work for another enterprise, they shall have to notify it to the customs agency for re-registration.

Article 10.- Handling of violations by the service-provision personnel

1. Customs procedure-service providing personnel, who violate one of the following stipulations may have their special-use cards for customs procedures-service provision withdrawn:

a/ Violating for three times or more the regulations on filling in the customs procedures for import/export goods;

b/ Letting other persons to use their special-use cards or using others� special-use cards;

c/ Changing the working unit at their own will without notifying it to the customs agency that has issued special-use cards;

d/ Committing acts of bribing customs officer(s) and other negative acts related to the filling of customs procedures for import/export goods.

2. For serious violations, they may be administratively handled or prosecuted before law, depending on the nature of their acts of violation.

Article 11.- Training and granting certificates

1. The Vietnam Customs College shall take responsibility to the General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Education and Training for organizing professional training and refresher courses as well as providing professional guidance on customs procedure services provision, issuing customs procedures-service provision certificates for persons who have gone through such training and refresher courses and pass the exams;

2. The inspection-examination council, composed of representatives of the Customs College and the specialized departments of the General Department of Customs, shall be established by decision of the General Director of Customs;

3. The persons who register to take part in professional training and/or refresher courses on customs procedure-service provision shall have to pay tuition and money for study materials according to the College�s regulations.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 12.- Scope of regulation

All activities related to the provision of customs procedure services shall have to comply with the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 13.- Organization of implementation

1. The director of the Department for Customs Management Supervision shall have to guide, organize and direct the implementation of this provisional Regulation;

2. The provincial/municipal Customs Departments shall have to organize the registration of enterprises providing customs procedure services, issue special-use cards to services providing personnel; monitor and review operations of these enterprises in the localities and biannually and annually report thereon to the General Department of Customs;

3. This provisional Regulation replaces the provisional Regulation issued together with the General Director of Customs� Decision No. 15/1999/QD-TCHQ of January 8, 1999 and takes effect 15 after its signing.

General Director of Customs

PHAN VAN DINH