On March 27, 1999 the Government issued Decree No. 16/1999/ND-CP on customs procedures, supervision and fees, which has fully, clearly and concretely prescribed the customs procedures and supervision.

In order to help local customs offices further understand and uniformly implement the regulations in the Decree and execute its Article 39, the General Department of Customs hereby additionally guides the implementation of a number of regulations in Chapters I and II on the customs procedures (excluding Articles 10 and 21 which shall be implemented under separate guidance) as follows:

I. REGARDING PLACES FOR CUSTOMS PROCEDURE FILLING AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND THE TIME LIMIT FOR CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FILLING

1. The places for customs procedure filling and customs inspection locations prescribed in Article 4:

1.1. In addition to places permitted for customs procedures filling as specified in the Decree, there are customs procedures filling locations other than the border gates, to be decided by the Prime Minister at the proposal of the General Director of Customs. There exist in such places the customs organizations operating like border-gate customs units and being allowed to carry out customs procedures for all kinds of export and import goods when so requested by customs procedures fillers (including import goods liable to import duties prescribed at Article 3, Decree No. 94/1998/ND-CP of November 17, 1998 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax);

1.2. The extra-bordergate customs inspection locations are the customs inspection locations established according to regions by decision of the General Director of Customs. Such extra-bordergate customs inspection locations are also organized with customs offices operating like border-gate customs units and being permitted to carry out the customs procedures for all types of export and import goods, except for commercial import goods liable to import duties prescribed in Article 3, Decree No. 94/1998/ND-CP of November 17, 1998 of the Government;

1.3. The customs procedures for the transition of export and/or import goods to locations mentioned in Points 1.1. and 1.2. as well as activities at such locations shall comply with the regulations on extra-border gate customs procedures filling locations and the export and/or import goods transition issued by the General Director of Customs;

2. Customs procedures filling time-limits prescribed at Article 5:

2.1. For import goods:

- Goods imported by maritime, air and railways: Within 30 days from the date the goods arrive at the discharge border gate inscribed on the bill of lading, the customs procedures fillers shall have to go to the customs office for filling the procedures. The date the goods arrive at the discharge border gate is the date the customs office at the discharge border gate (sea port customs, airport customs, transnational railways station customs) stamps the seal on the manifest, certifying the goods’ arrival at the border gate;

- Goods imported by land road and river way: The date the goods arrive at the first border gate of import is the date the border-gate customs office receives and registers the dossiers submitted and produced by the customs procedures fillers.

2.2. For export goods:

The customs procedures fillers shall have to fill the customs procedures at the export border gates when the transport means are on exit at least within:

- 08 hours for goods transported by sea;

- 04 hours for goods transported by river;

- 04 hours (at the departure stations) for goods transported by railway;

- 04 hours for goods transported by road;

- 02 hours for goods transported by air.

Above is the general regulation on customs procedures filling time-limits; for specific cases, the heads of border-gate customs offices or equivalent level shall base themselves on the actual export goods lots to decide the appropriate time limits for filling the customs procedures which must, however, be completed 01 hour before the transport means depart;

2.3. The transit airplane on technical stopover is understood as the transit airplane stopping over at the airport for refueling, repair or any other force majeure reasons. The transit airplane on technical stopover shall neither pick up nor release passengers and/or cargo at the stopover airport.

II. A NUMBER OF CONCRETE GUIDANCE ON CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR EXPORT AND IMPORT GOODS

1. Customs declaration, reception of customs dossiers as prescribed at Article 6:

1.1. Persons who sign on the customs declaration forms:

- The lawful representatives (directors, deputy-directors or persons authorized in writing by directors) of exporting and/or importing enterprises;

- The lawful representatives (directors, deputy-directors or persons authorized in writing by directors) of entrusted export enterprises;

- The lawful representatives (directors, deputy directors or persons authorized in writing by directors) of the customs procedures services enterprises;

The signatories to the customs declaration forms shall have to take responsibility before law for the declared contents in the customs declaration forms signed by them.

1.2. Responsibilities of the customs declarers:

- To prepare valid and lawful vouchers of the goods lots as required and other relevant conditions for completion of the customs declaration before going to the customs office to fill the procedures for the export or import of goods;

- To fully and accurately declare by themselves the actual goods in accordance with the contents prescribed in the customs declaration form’s part for declarer;

- To determine by themselves the goods code number, tax rate and tax calculation price of each export or import goods category, and to calculate by themselves the payable amount of each kind of tax on the customs declaration forms;

- To arrange files into places prescribed by the customs for ramification of goods according to criteria; to register the time to present goods for customs inspection when registering the customs dossiers;

- The declaration on the customs declaration forms may be typed with type-writers or computers or hand-written provided that the same kind of ink (excluding red ink) and the same type of letters are used. If the dossiers submitted to the customs are copies as prescribed, the lawful representatives of enterprises must affix their signatures and seals on such dossiers;

- To affix signatures and seals on the declaration forms after fully declaring all contents thereon; to submit the declaration forms together with other documents as prescribed in Decree No. 16/1999/ND-CP and this guiding Circular to the customs office where the procedures are filled;

- To detect and report in time and honestly acts contrary to regulations and negative phenomena committed by customs officials and employees.

1.3. Customs dossiers to be submitted and produced when the customs procedures are filled:

a/ For export goods:

- Papers to be produced (only for goods subject to conditional export):

The export permit issued by the Ministry of Trade or the specialized managing ministry: 01 original for comparison with the submitted copy.

- Papers to be submitted:

+ The customs declaration on export goods: 03 originals;

+ The foreign trade contract or the paper of contractual value: 01 copy;

+ The business registration certificate and the certificate of enterprise’s code registration (submitted only once when registering to carry out the procedures for the first goods lot at each customs procedures clearance location): 01 copy;

- The following cases require the additional submission of:

+ 03 originals of the detailed declaration of goods, for goods of different kinds;

+ 01 copy of the contract for entrusted export, for entrusted export goods;

+ 01 copy of the export permit issued by the Ministry of Trade or the specialized managing ministry, for goods subject to conditional export.

b/ For import goods:

- Papers to be produced (only for goods subject to conditional import):

+ The import permit issued by the Ministry of Trade or the specialized managing ministry: 01 original for comparison with the copy to be submitted;

- Papers to be submitted:

+ The customs declaration of the import goods: 03 originals;

+ The foreign trade contract or paper of contractual value: 01 copy;

+ The bill of lading: 01 copy;

+ The commercial invoice: 01 original and 02 copies;

+ The business registration certificate and the certificate of the enterprise code registration (submitted only once when registering to carry out the procedures for the first goods lot at each customs procedures clearance location): 01 copy;

- The following cases require the additional submission of:

+ 01 copy of the contract on entrusted import, for entrusted import goods;

+ 01 copy of the permit issued by the Ministry of Trade or the specialized managing ministry, for goods subject to conditional import;

+ 01 original and 02 copies of the detailed declaration of goods, for goods of different kinds;

+ 01 original of the certificate of origin (C/O) of goods, for goods of the countries which are let by Vietnam to enjoy origin preferences.

+ 01 origin of the quality inspection register, for goods subject to quality inspection as prescribed by the State;

+ 01 origin of the quarantine register, for goods subject to quarantine;

+ 01 origin of the labor safety certificate, for goods subject to labor safety inspection (if so stipulated);

1.4. Responsibilities of the customs offices which receive dossiers:

- To receive the dossiers submitted or produced by the customs procedures fillers;

- To examine the validity and uniformity of the dossiers according to each type of export and/or import;

- To guide the customs procedures fillers to supplement and complete the dossiers if their dossiers are incomplete and/or invalid;

- If the dossiers are complete and valid:

+ To ramify goods (according to criteria "green channel", "yellow channel" and "red channel") on the basis of comparing goods according to the dossiers with the goods ramification criteria set by the General Department of Customs;

+ To transfer the dossiers to other channels when detecting that the customs procedures fillers have wrongly determined the criteria for goods ramification;

+ To inscribe the registration numbers of the declarations; the days, months and years of registering the declarations and to stamp the seal of receiving dossiers on all declaration forms and enclosed documents in the customs dossiers;

+ To record in the customs declaration register according to the form set by the General Department of Customs;

- To check the self-application of tax codes, prices and tax calculation by customs declarers:

+ If they are correct, the notice on tax and tax collection shall be issued (for goods which require immediate payment of tax) or the tax notice shall be written (for goods entitled to tax grace);

+ If the self-application of tax codes, prices and tax calculation by the customs declarers are wrong, such shall be reported to the leadership of the border-gate customs office or the equivalent level for settlement;

- To enter the data on the declarations into computers or books in service of statistical work and transfer the already registered dossiers to the goods inspection section;

1.5. The time for registering the declarations:

- Export goods:

The customs procedures fillers may register their customs declarations only after they have fully rallied their goods, except for goods lots in big volume or big quantity, or for special cases where all goods cannot be rallied simultaneously at one location for procedures clearance;

- For import goods entitled to tax exemption, non-tax goods and goods with zero tax rate according to the provisions of the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax:

Enterprises may declare and register their declaration forms seven (07) days before the goods arrive at the border gates, provided that when there is any change in the commodity and/or tax policies, the enterprises shall have to re-register the new customs declaration forms and comply with those regulations as from the date the customs offices carry out procedures for the transport means which carry such goods to enter and stamp the certification seals on the manifests;

- Import goods with duties

Enterprises may register their declaration forms when the goods have arrived at the discharge border-gates.

1.6. It has been stipulated at clause 3, Article 6 that the customs dossiers, after being registered, must not be supplemented, amended or erased. In cases where the customs procedures fillers wish to amend and supplement them before the goods inspection and after the dossier reception, they shall have to send an official dispatch to the border-gate customs or equivalent level, clearly stating the reasons therefor. If deeming the reasons for such supplements and amendments are plausible, the leadership of the border-gate customs or the equivalent level shall decide the supplements and amendments. The customs declarers shall have to sign for acknowledgement and take responsibility for their supplements and amendments, and right after the completion of the supplement and amendment, goods inspection must be carried out. Where the customs has earlier received information on the smuggling and/or commercial frauds, the customs shall reject the supplements and amendments to the customs declarations and relevant papers by the customs declarers. For this case, the customs declarers shall have to produce goods for immediate inspection by the customs.

2. Goods inspection prescribed in Article 7:

2.1. The actual goods inspection must ensure the following principles:

- The actual goods inspection is conducted only after the declaration is registered;

- The actual goods inspection must be conducted at customs inspection locations in strict accordance with guidance in Point 1, Section I, this Circular. The customs procedures fillers or the lawful representatives must show and open goods containers/package for customs inspection.

- The inspection of each goods container/package of an export or import goods lot must be conducted by at least 02 customs inspectors to the witness of the customs procedures filler;

- Customs officers shall base themselves on the results of inspection by the previous procedures clearing sections, the nature and characteristics of each goods lot to opt for suitable inspection method. If there is ground to determine that the goods ramification by the customs dossiers- receiving section is improper, the ramification shall be re-determined and the goods inspection method shall be selected to suit such ramification;

- After conducting together with the customs procedures fillers or the lawful representatives the actual goods inspection, the inspection results must be recorded in the customs declaration immediately at the goods inspection locations;

- The customs inspectors shall inspect goods after clearly recording the method and result of inspection of the goods names, codes, quantity, weight, quality, origin and categories in the customs declaration, and have to sign and write their full names therein;

- After writing the confirmation of the goods inspection results in the customs declaration, if the results of the actual goods inspection are compatible to the declaration, the customs inspectors who have inspected the goods shall forward the dossiers to the leadership of the border-gate customs or the equivalent level for signing, sealing and deciding the goods release;

- If the results of the actual goods inspection are incompatible with the self-declaration by the customs declarers, the customs inspectors shall, depending on each specific case, make the record of the violation or the record of confirmation, requesting the customs procedures fillers to sign the record for confirmation and complete the dossiers for handling according to the current law provisions.

2.2. On goods expertise:

In cases where the leadership of the border-gate customs or the equivalent level deems that the results of the expertise, which has already been made, remain incompatible with the actual goods or where one goods category sees many different expertise results made by different expertising organizations, such shall be settled as follows:

- For export and/or import goods not subject to the specialized agencies’ management, the provincial/municipal Customs Departments shall report them to the General Department of Customs which shall request the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to settle them;

- For export and/or import goods on the list of goods subject to the specialized management, the provincial/municipal Customs Departments shall report them to the General Department of Customs which shall request the specialized managing ministry to settle them;

- When there is the conclusion by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment or the specialized managing ministry, the Customs shall base on such conclusion to settle them.