Circular No. 08/2008/TT-BCT on Exporting Minerals

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Exporting Minerals

Pursuant to Decree No. 189/2007/ND-CP dated December 27, 2007, issued by the Government, detailing the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to Decree No. 12/2006/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 2006 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Trade regarding international trade activities and agency buying, selling, processing, and transiting goods with foreign countries;

Pursuant to Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Minerals and the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Minerals;

The Ministry of Industry and Trade hereby provides guidelines for exporting minerals as follows:

I. SCOPE OF APPLICATION

Minerals referred to in this Circular include solid minerals, including metallic minerals, non-metallic minerals, and industrial minerals.

Petroleum, natural gas, oil shale, mineral water, natural hot water, construction materials, and raw materials for cement production are not within the scope of application of this Circular.

II. DEFINITIONS

In this Circular, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. VILAS Standard: Is the standard of the Vietnam Laboratory Accreditation System (Vietnam Laboratory Accreditation Scheme). A laboratory meeting the VILAS standard is a laboratory that has a quality management system according to ISO/IEC 17025, equivalent to TCVN ISO/IEC 17025:2001. The VILAS certification is issued by the Quality Certification Office under the General Department of Standards, Metrology, and Quality Control.

2. Competent State Authority issuing mining permits and mineral processing permits: Is The Ministry of Industry (prior to November 11, 2002), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (from November 11, 2002), and the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial-level People's Committees).

3. Processing: is the process of removing impurities and increasing the content (or components) of useful minerals and mineral substances in raw minerals to obtain mineral products meeting specifications, standards, and content requirements for further deep processing (called concentrate); or the process of processing and treating raw minerals and concentrates to meet specifications and usage requirements (but not yet reaching metal, alloy, or chemical compound products) through the application of one or a combination of the following methods:

- Hand sorting.

- Washing; crushing and screening according to particle size.

- Gravity separation; magnetic separation; electrostatic separation; chemical separation.

- Other mechanical and thermal treatment methods (such as stripping overburden, cutting, crushing and grinding, drying, sintering, pelletizing...).

III. REGULATIONS ON EXPORTING MINERALS

1. Domestic-mined minerals may only be exported if they simultaneously meet the following requirements:

a) They are mined from mines or mine points not included in the planning for domestic deep processing activities as specified in Appendix 01 attached to this Circular.

b) They have been processed to meet the quality standards and conditions specified in Appendix 02 attached to this Circular. The quality standards of mineral types requiring metal content (%) must be confirmed by laboratories meeting the VILAS standard.

Minerals listed in Column 2 of Appendices 01 and 02, but mined from mines or mine points outside the list specified in Column 3 of Appendix 01 and meeting the standards and conditions specified in Appendix 02 can be freely exported.

2. Only enterprises are permitted to export minerals. An enterprise exporting minerals is an enterprise established in accordance with the law, having the necessary conditions stipulated by the Law on Trade regarding export, import, processing, and agency buying and selling of goods with foreign countries, and must satisfy one of the following conditions:

a) Possessing a valid Mining Permit or Valid Mining Recovery Permit issued by the competent state authority.

b) Possessing a valid Mineral Processing Permit and a Purchase Contract for minerals for processing signed with organizations or individuals holding a permit as stipulated in point a of this clause.

c) Possessing a Purchase Contract for minerals for export accompanied by a certified copy of the value-added tax invoice or a Commissioning Export Contract for minerals signed with organizations or individuals holding permits as stipulated in points a and b of this clause.

d) Possessing legitimate proof of purchase (or auction) of minerals confiscated and sold by the competent state authority.

3. In cases where imported minerals are processed and then exported, the exporting enterprise must have legitimate proof showing the origin of the exported minerals from imports.

4. Exporting minerals under the temporary import-re-export trading method or accepting overseas traders' commission for processing and exporting is carried out in accordance with Decree No. 12/2006/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 2006 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Trade regarding international trade activities and agency buying, selling, processing, and transiting goods with foreign countries.

5. Coal exportation shall be conducted in accordance with Circular No. 05/2007/TT-BCT dated October 22, 2007 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade guiding coal exports.

IV. REPORTS ON EXPORTING MINERALS

1. Enterprises exporting minerals are responsible for reporting the results of exporting minerals and bear responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the reported data and information.

2. Contents of reports on exporting minerals include:

a) Results of exporting mineral types, quantities, and turnover.

b) Origin of exported minerals; compliance with regulations on exporting minerals.

3. Reporting procedures for exporting minerals are as follows:

a) Reports on the implementation of mineral exports are prepared semi-annually and annually. The first half-year period is from January 1 to June 30 of the reporting year. The annual period is from January 1 to December 31 of the reporting year.

b) In addition to implementing the reporting procedures as stipulated in point a of this clause, when requested by relevant state management agencies for management purposes, enterprises exporting minerals must submit ad hoc reports on their mineral exports.

4. The deadline for submitting reports on exporting minerals is as follows:

a) The report established by the mineral exporting enterprise in accordance with Clause 2 of this Section must be submitted to the People's Committee of the province where the mineral export takes place no later than five (5) days from the reporting period specified in Point a, Clause 3 of this Section.

b) The People's Committee of the province shall direct competent agencies to establish a consolidated report on the situation of mineral exports within their management scope and submit it to the Ministry of Industry and Trade no later than fifteen (15) days from the reporting period specified in Point a, Clause 3 of this Section.

V. VIOLATION HANDLING

1. Any violation of the provisions on mineral exports stipulated in this Circular, depending on the level of violation, will be subject to administrative penalties in accordance with Decree No. 06/2008/ND-CP dated January 16, 2008 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in commercial activities and other relevant laws.

Mineral exporting enterprises without legitimate sources will be penalized in accordance with Article 1, Clause 4, Point 3 of Decree No. 77/2007/ND-CP dated July 29, 2007 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 150/2004/ND-CP dated July 29, 2004 of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of minerals.

2. State officials who abuse their positions and powers to violate the provisions of this Circular may be subject to disciplinary action, administrative handling, or criminal prosecution, depending on the degree and nature of the violation, in accordance with the law.

VI. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and shall replace Circular No. 02/2006/TT-BCN dated April 14, 2006 of the Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade) guiding mineral exports, and Circular No. 09/2006/TT-BCN dated November 28, 2006 of the Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade) amending and supplementing the list, quality standards, and conditions for mineral exports issued together with Circular No. 02/2006/TT-BCN dated April 14, 2006 of the Ministry of Industry guiding mineral exports.

2. The export of construction materials and raw materials for cement production shall be carried out in accordance with the Circular guiding the Ministry of Construction. Until the Circular guiding the Ministry of Construction is promulgated, the export of construction materials and raw materials for cement production shall temporarily continue to be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 02/2006/TT-BCN dated April 14, 2006 of the Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade) guiding mineral exports.

3. In cases where processed minerals cannot meet the quality standards set forth in Appendix 02 attached to this Circular due to objective reasons or if the exported minerals are not listed in Appendix 02, the mineral exporting enterprise shall report to the People's Committee of the province for inspection, confirmation, and request guidance from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

4. Based on the actual situation of mineral extraction, processing, and domestic demand, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will consider adjusting and/or supplementing Appendices 01 and 02 when necessary.

5. Upon discovering signs of violation of the regulations on mineral exports, the People's Committee of the province where the mineral export takes place shall be responsible for directing competent agencies to inspect, rectify, and promptly handle such violations.

6. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to periodically inspect compliance with the regulations on mineral exports stipulated in this Circular and related laws.

7. Valid mineral export contracts signed before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to be implemented until September 30, 2008.

8. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are any difficulties, mineral exporting enterprises or related organizations and individuals shall promptly reflect them in writing to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration and resolution.

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

Independence - Freedom - Happiness

Appendix 01

LIST OF MINES IN THE BALANCED PLANNING

TO SERVE DEEP PROCESSING ACTIVITIES INSIDE THE COUNTRY

(Annexed to Circular No. 08/2008/TT-BCT

dated June 18, 2008 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade)

Appendix 02

LIST OF MINERALS FOR EXPORT, QUALITY STANDARDS

AND CONDITIONS

(Annexed to Circular No. 08/2008/TT-BCT

dated June 18, 2008 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade)

Note: Mines in the Plan are the mines specified in Column 3 of Appendix 01 of this Circular.