Circular No. 04/2003/TT-BTM guiding the implementation of Decision No. 91/2003/QĐ-TTg dated May 9, 2003 of the Prime Minister on the application of tariff quotas for imported goods in Vietnam.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Decision No. 91/2003/QD-TTg dated May 9, 2003of the Prime Minister

on the application of tariff quotasfor imported goods in Vietnam

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Pursuant to Decree No. 57/1998/ND-CP dated July 31, 1998 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Trade regarding export, import, processing, and agency sales of goods with foreign countries;

 Pursuant to Decree No. 44/2001/ND-CP dated August 2, 2001 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 57/1998/ND-CP dated July 31, 1998 of the Government;

Pursuant to Decision No. 46/2001/QD-TTg dated April 4, 2001 of the Prime Minister on managing exports and imports of goods during the period from 2001 to 2005;

Pursuant to Decision No. 91/2003/QĐ-TTg dated May 9, 2003 of the Prime Minister on the application of tariff quotas for imported goods in Vietnam;

After exchanging opinions with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,

The Ministry of Trade hereby provides guidelines for implementing Decision No. 91/2003/QD-TTg dated May 9, 2003 of the Prime Minister as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1. Tariff quota (TQ) for imported goods is the quantity of goods for importation granted by the Ministry of Trade to traders with permission to import and enjoy the tariff rate within the TQ as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

2. From August 1, 2003, TQ will be applied to three types of goods: raw tobacco leaves, salt, and cotton, according to the following commodity codes:

3. The amount of TQ applicable to the above goods in each period shall be announced by the Ministry of Trade in a separate document after consultation with relevant ministries and agencies. The principle for determining the amount of TQ is based on balancing the demand for raw materials and domestic production capacity.

II. SUBJECTS TO BE ALLOCATED TARIFF QUOTAS:

The Ministry of Trade issues import licenses to traders meeting the conditions for importing goods under the tariff quota list, specifically as follows:

1. Tobacco Leaves:

Traders holding a production permit for cigarette manufacturing issued by the Ministry of Industry and having a need to use a certain proportion of imported raw tobacco leaves in accordance with the annual import plan prescribed by the Ministry of Industry.

2. Salt:

Traders have a need to use salt in production in compliance with the regulations of the specialized management ministry.

3. Cotton:

Traders holding business registration certificates with appropriate business activities and a need to import cotton.

III. ALLOCATION OF TARIFF QUOTAS:

1Before September 30 each year, traders wishing to import the aforementioned goods must submit an application for TQ for the following year to the Ministry of Trade using Form 2 attached to this Circular.

2Based on the TQ amount announced by the Ministry of Trade for each period and taking into account the balance between import results and the TQ registration needs of traders, the Ministry of Trade will consider issuing import permits under TQ to traders specified in Section II of this Circular. The issuance of import permits under TQ will be carried out in November each year.

For the year 2003, it will be implemented as follows:

a) Raw tobacco leaves and salt:

Traders who have been granted import licenses or assigned import plans by the specialized management ministry for 2003 but have not fully utilized their import quotas may continue to import under the license or plan until December 31, 2003, and enjoy the tariff rate within the TQ for that portion of the import quota.

In cases where traders request additional or new TQ for the last five months of 2003, they must submit an application for TQ to the Ministry of Trade for consideration of an import permit under TQ. The TQ application form (Form 1 attached to this Circular) must be confirmed by the specialized management ministry regarding the need for importation to serve production.

b) Cotton:

Traders holding a business registration certificate with appropriate business activities and having a need to import cotton must submit an application for TQ for the last five months of 2003 to the Ministry of Trade for consideration of an import permit under TQ.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION:

1. Traders must present the import permit under TQ issued by the Ministry of Trade to the customs office when importing goods and the quantity of goods in the permit will enjoy the tariff rate within the TQ.

2. At the end of each quarter, traders must report their import situation to the Ministry of Trade (using Form 3 attached to this Circular).

Before September 30 each year, traders must submit a report (replacing the third quarter report) to the Ministry of Trade evaluating their ability to import throughout the year, requesting adjustments to increase or decrease the allocated quota, or reporting the quantity of goods they cannot import so that the Ministry of Trade can allocate them to other traders.

3. Traders granted import permits by the Ministry of Trade may entrust other traders to import under current regulations. Any buying, selling, or transferring of TQ is strictly prohibited.

4. Traders meeting the conditions for importing raw tobacco leaves, salt, and cotton as stipulated in Section II of this Circular, if they do not have a TQ from the Ministry of Trade or have exhausted their allocated quantity, may still import according to their needs without seeking permission from the Ministry of Trade but must pay the tariff outside the TQ as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

5. Traders meeting the conditions for importing raw tobacco leaves, salt, and cotton as stipulated in Section II of this Circular, if they need to request additional or new TQ for importing raw materials to serve the production of export goods, must submit an application for TQ to the Ministry of Trade for consideration of an import permit under TQ. The TQ application must be confirmed by the specialized management ministry (for salt and raw tobacco leaves) regarding the need for importation to serve the production of export goods.

6. Traders violating the provisions of this Circular will be subject to penalties according to the current laws depending on the severity of the violation.

7. This Circular and its forms can be printed from the Ministry of Trade's website at www.mot.gov.vn. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette./.