Circular No. 10/2009/TT-BCT on Implementing Rules of Origin under the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Japan

CIRCULAR

IMPLEMENTATION OF RULES OF ORIGIN IN THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM AND JAPAN ON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

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 the Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Japan on Economic Partnership signed on December 25, 2008, in Tokyo, Japan;
Pursuant to Decree No. 19/2006/NĐ-CP dated February 20, 2006, promulgated by the Government detailing the Law on Commerce regarding the origin of goods;

The Ministry of Industry and Trade stipulates the implementation of rules of origin in the Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Japan on Economic Partnership as follows:

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Interpretation of terms

1. The Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Japan on Economic Partnership is the agreement signed on December 25, 2008, in Tokyo, Japan (referred to in this circular as the VJEPA Agreement).

2. Certificate of Origin Form VJ (referred to in this circular as the C/O) is the C/O issued by the Issuing Organization for exported goods that meet the provisions set out in this circular.

3. The Issuing Organization of Certificate of Origin Form VJ of Vietnam (referred to in this circular as the Issuing Organization) includes organizations specified in Appendix 12.

4. The applicant for Certificate of Origin Form VJ (referred to in this circular as the applicant) includes the exporter, the manufacturer, or the representative with a valid power of attorney from the exporter or the manufacturer.

5. The eCOSys system is the electronic management and certification system for certificates of origin in Vietnam located at: http://www.ecosys.gov.vn.

6. Member countries are Vietnam and Japan.

Article 2. Goods Entitled to C/O

Goods entitled to C/O are goods originating according to the provisions in Appendix 1 of this circular.

Article 3. Responsibilities of the Applicant for C/O

The applicant for C/O shall be responsible for:

1. Registering business records with the Issuing Organization in accordance with Article 5;

2. Submitting the application for C/O to the Issuing Organization;

3. Proving that exported goods comply with the origin requirements and facilitating the Issuing Organization in verifying the origin of goods;

4. Being liable under the law for the accuracy and truthfulness of declarations related to the application for C/O, including in cases where the exporter has authorized them;

5. Promptly reporting to the Issuing Organization at the place where the business has applied for any C/Os rejected by the importing country due to refusal to recognize C/Os issued by Issuing Organizations in Vietnam (if any);

6. Facilitating the Issuing Organization's inspection of the actual production facility or location of cultivation, harvesting, and processing of exported goods;

7. Proving the authenticity of the origin of exported goods when requested by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Issuing Organization, domestic customs authorities, and the customs authorities of the importing country.

Article 4. Responsibilities of the Issuing Organization

The Issuing Organization shall be responsible for:

1. Guiding the applicant if requested;

2. Receiving and examining business records and applications for C/O;

3. Verifying the actual origin of goods when necessary;

4. Issuing C/O when goods meet the origin requirements of this circular and the applicant complies with the provisions of Article 3;

5. Sending samples of signatures of authorized signatories of C/O and the seal of the Issuing Organization to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Department of Import-Export) in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for registration with the competent authority of Japan;

6. Resolving complaints related to the issuance of C/O within its jurisdiction;

7. Re-verifying the origin of exported goods upon request of the competent authority of the importing country;

8. Exchanging relevant information on the issuance of C/O with other Issuing Organizations;

9. Implementing reporting systems and other requirements as prescribed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Chapter II
PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING C/O

Article 5. Registration of Business File

1. The person requesting for issuance of the Certificate of Origin (C/O) shall only be considered for issuance of the C/O at the place where the business file has been registered after completing the business file registration procedures. The business file includes:

a) Registration of the authorized representative's signature for the Application for Issuance of C/O and the business seal (Annex 11);

b) Copy of the Business Registration Certificate of the trader (certified true copy);

c) Copy of the Tax Code Registration Certificate (certified true copy);

d) List of production facilities (if any) of the trader (Annex 10).

2. Any changes in the business file must be reported to the C/O issuing organization where the business file was previously registered before requesting for issuance of the C/O. In cases where there are no changes, the business file still needs to be updated every two (02) years.

3. In cases where the person requesting for issuance of the C/O wishes to obtain the C/O from a different issuing organization due to force majeure or valid reasons, they must submit a document clearly stating the reasons for not requesting the C/O from the previous registering organization and must register the business file with the new issuing organization.

Article 6. Documents for Requesting Issuance of C/O

1. The documents for requesting issuance of the C/O include:

a) The Application for Issuance of C/O (Annex 9) fully and properly filled out as guided in Annex 8;

b) The C/O form (Annex 6) fully completed;

c) The Customs Declaration Form that has completed customs procedures. In cases where exported goods do not require submission of a Customs Declaration Form according to the law, such forms need not be submitted;

d) Commercial invoice;

đ) Bill of Lading or equivalent transport documents in cases where the trader does not have a Bill of Lading. In cases where a back-to-back C/O is issued for the entire consignment or part thereof from a free trade zone into the domestic market, this document may not be required if the trader actually does not have it;

In cases where there is no Export Customs Declaration Form that has completed customs procedures and Bill of Lading (or equivalent transport documents), the person requesting for issuance of the C/O may be allowed to provide these documents later but not exceeding fifteen (15) working days from the date of issuance of the C/O.

2. If deemed necessary, the C/O issuing organization may request the person requesting for issuance of the C/O to provide additional documents related to the exported goods such as: Import Customs Declaration Forms for raw materials and components; export permit (if any); purchase and sale contracts; value-added tax invoices for purchasing raw materials and components domestically; samples of raw materials and components or samples of exported goods; detailed description of the production process of the goods with the HS code details of the input materials and the HS code details of the goods (for the criterion of changing commodity codes or specific processing criteria); calculation of regional value content (for the regional value content criterion); and other documents to prove the origin of the exported goods.

3. For documents specified in points c, d, đ of Clause 1 and those specified in Clause 2 which are certified copies bearing the signature and stamp of confirmation of the legal representative or authorized representative of the trader, the original may be requested by the C/O issuing organization for verification if deemed necessary.

4. For traders participating in eCOSys, the authorized representative signing the Application for Issuance of C/O will fill in the data through the eCOSys system, electronically sign and automatically transmit to the C/O issuing organization. After reviewing the file on the eCOSys system, if the issuance of the C/O is approved, the C/O issuing organization will notify the trader via the eCOSys system to submit the complete paper file to the C/O issuing organization for verification before issuing the C/O.

Article 7. Acceptance of Applications for Issuance of C/O

When the applicant submits the application for issuance of C/O, the receiving officer shall be responsible for accepting the application, checking the application, and notifying the applicant in writing or by other means about the following actions to be taken:

1. Issuing the C/O in accordance with Article 8;

2. Requesting additional documents in accordance with Article 6;

3. Refusing to issue the C/O if any of the following situations are discovered:

a) The applicant has not completed the registration of the business record as prescribed in Article 5;

b) The application for issuance of C/O is inaccurate or incomplete as prescribed in Article 6;

c) The applicant has not submitted the debt certificates as prescribed in Article 6;

d) There are contradictions in the content of the application;

đ) Submitting the application for issuance of C/O at a place other than where the business record was registered;

e) The C/O form is filled out in handwriting, erased, blurred, or printed in multiple ink colors;

g) There is legal evidence proving that the goods do not have the origin as stipulated in this circular or the applicant has engaged in fraudulent or dishonest behavior in proving the origin of the goods.

Article 8. Issuance of C/O

1. The C/O must be issued within no more than three (03) working days from the date the applicant submits a complete and valid application, except in cases provided for in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The issuing organization may conduct on-site inspections at the production location if it deems that the examination of the application is insufficient grounds for issuing the C/O or if there are signs of violations of laws regarding previously issued C/Os. The inspection officers of the issuing organization will prepare a report on the results of the inspection and require the applicant and/or exporter to sign the report. In case the applicant and/or exporter refuse to sign, the inspection officer must clearly record the reasons for refusal and sign the report to confirm.

The processing time for issuing the C/O in such cases shall not exceed five (05) working days from the date the applicant submits a complete application.

3. During the process of reviewing the issuance of C/O, if it is found that the goods do not meet the origin requirements or the application package is missing or invalid, the issuing organization will notify the applicant according to Clause 2 or Clause 3 of Article 7.

4. The verification period shall not hinder the export shipment or payment of the exporter, except in cases due to the fault of the exporter.

Article 9. Revocation of Issued C/O

The issuing organization will revoke the issued C/O in the following cases:

1. The exporter or the applicant for issuance of C/O falsifies documents.

2. The issued C/O does not comply with the origin standards.

Chapter III
ORGANIZATION MANAGING THE ISSUANCE OF C/O

Article 10. Authority to Sign C/O

Only those who have completed the procedure for registering their signature samples with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Industry and Trade registers with the competent authority of Japan shall be authorized to sign and issue C/O.

Article 11. Lead Agency

The Import-Export Department, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, performs the following tasks:

1. Guiding and inspecting the issuance of C/O;

2. Implementing procedures for registering the signature samples of authorized signatories and the seals of Vietnamese issuing organizations with the competent authority of Japan, and transferring the signature samples of authorized signatories and the seals of Japanese issuing organizations to the Ministry of Finance (General Customs Department);

3. Assisting the Minister of Industry and Trade in resolving issues related to the implementation of C/O.

Article 12. Reporting System

1. The issuing organization must update the issuance data through the eCOSys system daily with all necessary information as required in the Application for Issuance of C/O.

2. If the issuing organization violates Clause 1 of this Article for the third time, it will be suspended from issuing C/O and publicly announced on the Ministry of Industry and Trade's website.

Article 13. Implementation Provisions

This Circular takes effect forty-five (45) days from the date of signing.