Circular No. 06/2026/TT-BTC amends and supplements certain Articles of Circular No. 13/2015/TT-BTC dated January 30, 2015, issued by the Minister of Finance, concerning customs inspection, supervision, and temporary suspension of customs procedures for exported and imported goods subject to intellectual property rights protection; counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights were amended and supplemented by Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BTC.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 13/2015/TT-BTC which has been amended and supplemented by Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BTC

1. Amending and supplementing Clause 3 which has been amended and supplemented according to Clause 1, Article 1 of Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BTC as follows:

"Article 3. Explanation of terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

5. Customs supervision of counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights is a business practice applied by customs authorities to ensure the integrity of goods, compliance with legal regulations in the storage, retention, loading/unloading, transportation, and use of exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights under customs management.

6. Customs control of counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights involves applying customs control measures and other business practices as prescribed by law to prevent and combat smuggling and illegal transportation of counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights within the customs jurisdiction.

7. The application includes: Application for inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; Application for updating and supplementing information on exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; Application for extension of inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; Application for termination of inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; and Application for temporary suspension of customs procedures.

8. The applicant of the application is the intellectual property rights holder (including the owner of intellectual property rights and organizations or individuals authorized by the owner to transfer intellectual property rights) or a person legally authorized by the intellectual property rights holder.

9. Goods infringing intellectual property rights are exported and imported goods violating the provisions of Article 28, Article 35 of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11, amended and supplemented according to Clause 8, Clause 10, Article 1 of Law No. 07/2022/QH15, Article 126, Article 127, Article 129, and Article 188 of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11.

10. Counterfeit goods in terms of intellectual property rights are goods as prescribed in Article 213 of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11, amended and supplemented according to Clause 79, Article 1 of Law No. 07/2022/QH15.”

7. The application includes: Application for inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; Application for updating and supplementing information on exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; Application for extension of inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; Application for termination of inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; and Application for suspension of customs procedures.

8. The applicant of the application is the subject of intellectual property rights (including the owner of intellectual property rights and organizations or individuals to whom the owner has transferred intellectual property rights) or a person authorized by the subject of intellectual property rights.

9. Goods infringing intellectual property rights are goods exported or imported that violate the provisions of Article 28, Article 35 of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11 amended and supplemented according to Clause 8, Clause 10 of Article 1 of Law No. 07/2022/QH15, Article 126, Article 127, Article 129, and Article 188 of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11.

10. Counterfeit goods with respect to intellectual property rights are goods defined in Article 213 of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11 amended and supplemented according to Clause 79 of Article 1 of Law No. 07/2022/QH15.”

2. Amend and supplement Article 6 which has been amended and supplemented according to Clause 4 of Article 1 of Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BTC as follows:

"Article 6. Submitting applications for inspection and supervision of export and import goods related to intellectual property rights

1. The application for inspection and supervision of export and import goods related to intellectual property rights shall include:

a) An application for inspection and supervision of export and import goods related to intellectual property rights according to the information criteria or one original copy according to Model No. 01 attached as Appendix II to this Circular.

b) Intellectual property rights protection certificate or other documents proving the industrial property rights being protected in Vietnam or a registration certificate for the contract transferring the right to use the subject of intellectual property; Copyright registration certificate, Related Rights registration certificate, Plant Variety Rights registration certificate, or other documents proving copyright, related rights to copyright, plant variety rights, including certificates issued from foreign countries in accordance with international treaties to which Vietnam is a member: 01 copy;

In case the protection certificate or registration certificate is issued electronically by the competent authority on their official website as announced, the applicant does not need to submit but must provide complete information about the protection certificate or registration certificate on the application form for inspection and supervision, along with the electronic page for the customs authority to check and verify.

Photographs of the actual goods for which intellectual property rights protection is requested; photographs and detailed descriptions of goods infringing intellectual property rights, distinguishing features between genuine and counterfeit goods, and infringing goods (if any).

d) List of organizations and individuals legally exporting and importing goods requiring inspection and supervision; list of organizations and individuals potentially exporting and importing infringing goods.

đ) Power of attorney (in case of power of attorney submission): One copy;

2. The applicant for the application for inspection and supervision of export and import goods related to intellectual property rights shall submit the application to the General Department of Customs through the Electronic Data Processing System.

In case the Customs Electronic Data Processing System encounters technical issues or fails to meet requirements, the applicant must submit 01 set of paper documents as specified in Clause 1 of this Article directly at the Single Window Office of the General Department of Customs or send it via postal service to the General Department of Customs.

The applicant for the application shall be responsible under the law for the accuracy, legality, and validity of the contents declared and submitted in the application.

3. Amend and supplement Article 7 which has been amended and supplemented according to Clause 5 of Article 1 of Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BTC as follows:

"Article 7. Inspection and processing of applications

1. The General Department of Customs shall inspect the completeness of the application package as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 6 of this Circular and process as follows:

a) In case the application is incomplete, within five working days from the date of receipt of the application, the General Department of Customs shall notify the applicant to submit additional documents.

b) In case the application is complete, the following contents shall be inspected:

b.1) Legal status of the applicant according to the law;

b.2) Consistency between the content of the application and accompanying documents;

b.3) Information and validity period of the protection certificate/copyright certificate;

b.4) Photographs, descriptions, and information about the goods consistent with the relevant intellectual property rights or the content of the complaint about the violation;

b.5) Content of the power of attorney consistent with the law and the validity period of the Power of Attorney (if any).

2. Within twenty working days from the date of receiving the complete application file, the General Department of Customs shall inspect the contents specified in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article, compare the information provided in the application with the database on intellectual property rights, and process accordingly.

a) In case of rejection, notify the applicant and specify the reasons;

b) In case of acceptance, notify the applicant and the Customs Sub-Departments in the relevant areas, and the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Units to implement customs inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods in accordance with Article 12 of this Circular.

3. The notification shall be made through the Customs Electronic Data Processing System. In case the Customs Electronic Data Processing System encounters technical issues or fails to meet requirements, the General Department of Customs shall notify in writing to the applicant and relevant units.

4. Cases of refusal to accept applications:

a) The applicant does not have legal status according to the law;

b) The content of the application and accompanying documents are inconsistent or not aligned;

c) The content of the power of attorney is inconsistent or the authorization period has expired;

d) During the processing of the application, if the General Department of Customs receives a notice from the competent authority regarding disputes or complaints about the subject of intellectual property rights or the legally authorized representative, the possibility of protection, and the scope of protection of intellectual property rights;

đ) Additional documents submitted exceed the ten-day deadline from the date the General Department of Customs sends the supplementary submission notice as stipulated in point a of Clause 1 of this Article.

5. Update and supplement information on export and import goods related to intellectual property rights.

a) In case there are changes or supplements to the information already accepted by the customs authority for inspection and supervision of goods related to intellectual property rights, the applicant must submit an application for updating and supplementing the information according to the information criteria or Form No. 07 of Appendix II issued together with this Circular to the General Department of Customs in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 6 of this Circular; clearly stating the number and date of the notification accepting inspection and supervision by the customs authority; updated and supplementary information, and attaching relevant documents.

b) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the application for updating and supplementing, the General Department of Customs shall examine and process it in accordance with the provisions of Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article.

4. Supplement Article 10a following Article 10 as follows:

"Article 10a. Procedures and formalities for proactively suspending customs procedures

1. During the implementation of inspection, supervision, and control measures for exported and imported goods related to intellectual property rights; based on analysis of the intellectual property rights database; based on information provided by customs business units, if there is clear evidence to suspect that exported or imported goods are counterfeit trademark goods, counterfeit geographical indication goods, or pirated copies, then the Head of the Customs Office where the declaration is registered shall issue a Decision to temporarily suspend customs procedures according to Form No. 10 of Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

2. The Customs Office where the declaration is registered shall notify the subject of intellectual property rights, the subject of copyright, related rights, or the legally authorized representative within eight working hours from the issuance of the Decision to temporarily suspend customs procedures according to the contact information in the accepted file and through the Customs Electronic Data Processing System to relevant organizations and individuals.

In case the Electronic Data Processing System encounters technical issues or fails to meet requirements, the customs office at the place of declaration shall notify the relevant parties in writing.

3. The temporary suspension period for counterfeit trademark goods and counterfeit geographical indication goods shall be implemented in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 103 of Decree No. 65/2023/NĐ-CP dated March 28, 2023, and for pirated goods in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 89 of Decree No. 17/2023/NĐ-CP dated April 24, 2023.

4. Immediately after issuing the Decision to suspend customs procedures, the customs office at the place of declaration shall conduct an actual inspection of the goods to determine the violation and handle it as follows:

a) If there is no violation, continue to process customs procedures in accordance with Article 11 of this Circular.

b) If the customs authority determines that the suspended goods are counterfeit trademark goods, counterfeit geographical indication goods, or illegally copied goods, they shall be handled in accordance with the law.

In case the violation behavior has criminal indications as stipulated in the Penal Code, the customs authority shall transfer it to the competent authority for investigation and prosecution in accordance with the law.

c) If there is insufficient basis to determine the violation, the customs office at the place of declaration shall carry out the following tasks:

c.1) Send full images of the exported or imported goods to the subject of intellectual property rights, the subject of copyright and related rights, or the lawful authorized representative (if contact information is available).

c.2) Request the importer or exporter or the subject of trademark or geographical indication rights; the subject of copyright, related rights, or the legally authorized representative (if contact information is available) to provide relevant documents concerning the goods (catalogs, appraisal conclusions, foreign documents, results of similar cases...);

c.3) Propose relevant organizations and individuals to take samples for appraisal in accordance with Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11 amended and supplemented in accordance with Clause 26 of Article 1 of Law No. 36/2009/QH12, Clause 78 of Article 1 of Law No. 07/2022/QH15. The sample-taking procedure, sampling technique, storage location, and storage time of the goods shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance (if necessary);

c.4) In case coordination and exchange with state management agencies on industrial property, copyright, and related rights are required due to disputes or complaints about the subject of rights; the possibility of protection; the scope of protection of trademark or geographical indication rights or copyright and related rights; the authority to handle violations, the basis for the response of state management agencies shall be used to process in accordance with regulations.

d) In case the applicant initiates a civil lawsuit, the customs authority shall act according to the court's opinion.

đ) Report to the Direct Tax Office responsible for the area and the General Department of Customs to promptly direct the resolution of cases exceeding their jurisdiction.

5. In case the customs authority temporarily suspends customs procedures proactively without cause, causing damage to the consignor, the decision to temporarily suspend within ten working days must compensate for the damage to the consignor and pay all incurred costs including warehouse fees, yard fees, loading and unloading fees, and storage fees for the goods in accordance with regulations.

6. Within thirty days from the date of the decision to apply administrative measures to handle counterfeit goods bearing trademarks, geographical indications, and illegally copied goods in accordance with Clause 1, Article 216 of the Law on Intellectual Property No. 50/2005/QH11, the customs authority issuing the violation handling decision shall notify the intellectual property rights holder or the duly authorized representative in writing of the following information: name and address of the sender; exporter, consignee, or importer; description of the goods; quantity of the goods; country of origin of the goods if known.

5. Amend and supplement Article 11 as follows:

"Article 11. Continuing customs procedures

1. The Head of the Customs Team at the place of declaration shall issue a decision to continue customs procedures for the consignment according to Form No. 05 of Appendix II issued by this Circular in the following cases:

a) As stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 76 of the Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13;

b) The inspection results of the customs authority confirm no violation;

c) The decision to suspend customs procedures is revoked in accordance with the law."

2. Within ten working days from the date of completing customs procedures for the consignment temporarily suspended upon request of the declarant, the customs office where the declaration is registered shall be responsible for:

a) Notify the intellectual property rights holder or the duly authorized representative to make payment to the owner of the goods for the costs incurred in accordance with Clause 5, Article 76 of the Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13.

b) Refunding the intellectual property rights owner or the legally authorized representative the guarantee amount in accordance with Clause 6, Article 76 of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13."