Decree No. 169/2016/ND-CP on the Handling of Goods Held by Carriers at Vietnamese Sea Ports

DECREE

On the handling of goods held by carriers at Vietnamese seaports

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Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Vietnam Maritime Code on November 25, 2015;

At the proposal of the Minister of Transport;

At the proposal of promulgates the Decree on the handling of goods For coal-fired thermal power plants where the enterprise holds 100% of the registered capital and uses 100% of its own capital to invest in the project approved by the competent authority, E is determined as 100%;o held by carriers at seadevelopmentports in Vietnam.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree stipulates the handling of goods held by carriers at Vietnamese seaports.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Decree applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals within the country and foreign organizations and individuals related to the handling of goods held by carriers at Vietnamese seaports.

2. This Decree does not apply to the handling of goods stored at seaports. The handling of goods stored at seaports shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Customs.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

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

Goods subject to retention are goods retained by the carrier or by a person authorized by the carrier at a seaport or warehouse area to ensure payment for shipping service fees, compensation for vessel detention costs, and other expenses arising from maritime cargo transportation.

2. The holder is the person managing the goods during the period of retention based on a storage contract with the carrier. The storage contract is concluded between the carrier and the holder in accordance with Article 554 of the Civil Code 2015 and the provisions of this Decree.

Debts include shipping service fees and other expenses recorded in the transport document, if such amounts have not been paid in advance, contributions to general average losses, salvage charges allocated to the goods in accordance with the regulations.

Perishable goods include fresh food items, frozen goods, or goods with a shelf life of less than 60 days from the date of retention.

Chapter II

HANDLING OF GOODS RETAINED AT VIETNAMESE SEAPORTS

Section 1

RETENTION OF GOODS

Article 4. Carrier's right to retain goods

The carrier has the right to retain goods in the following cases:

1. The consignee does not come to collect the goods or refuses to accept them.

2. The consignee delays collection of the goods beyond the agreed time in the marine cargo transportation contract.

3. Multiple parties present bills of lading, through bills of lading, sea waybills, or other transport documents of equal value to claim the same consignment of goods.

4. The shipper and consignee have not fully settled the debts specified in the transportation contract or have not provided necessary guarantees.

Article 5. Retention of goods by the carrier for debt settlement

1. The carrier may only retain the quantity of goods whose value ensures full payment of the debts and other expenses as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 12 of this Decree. The value of the goods serves as the basis for calculating the quantity of goods that the carrier may retain, determined based on the market price of the goods at the location where the carrier retains the goods and at the time of retention.

2. In the case of goods packed in containers, the carrier may retain the entire container if the value of the goods in the container exceeds the total amount required to settle the debts and other expenses as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 12 of this Decree.

Section 2

HANDLING OF RETAINED GOODS

Article 6. General Principles for Handling Goods Held by the Carrier at Seaports

1. When exercising the right to hold goods as stipulated in Article 4 of this Decree, the carrier must conclude a storage contract with the custodian to unload the goods from the ship and store them safely according to the law.

The contents of the storage contract shall be carried out in accordance with the law on storage contracts, and also include agreements on the early withdrawal of goods, rights and responsibilities of the custodian in delivering goods to the consignee.

2. Within sixty days from the date the vessel arrives at the port to deliver goods, if there is no consignee to accept the stored goods or the consignee does not pay off all debts or does not provide necessary guarantees, the carrier has the right to auction the goods to offset the debt.

3. In cases where less than sixty days have passed as provided in Clause 2 of this Article, during the period the goods are held, if the consignee comes to collect the goods, the custodian shall handle the goods based on the storage contract concluded with the carrier in accordance with the law. After delivering the goods to the lawful consignee upon notification from the carrier, the custodian shall notify the carrier in writing and attach the delivery record between the custodian and the consignee and other relevant documents (if any).

Article 7. Notification of Held Goods

1. Within three days from the date of occurrence of the holding of goods, the carrier must notify in writing the consignor and consignee about the holding of goods and the plan to sell the held goods to settle debts; the content of the notification must include at least the following information:

a) Name of goods, type of goods, quantity, volume of goods and time of unloading goods to implement the holding; place of storing goods;

b) Estimated costs and losses arising from the responsibility of the consignee to pay;

c) Estimated time of auctioning goods (if applicable).

2. After fifteen days from the date of sending the notification as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, if the carrier does not receive a response from the consignor or consignee or does not receive payment of all debts, the carrier must publish at least once in one of the daily newspapers or on central or provincial-level mass media in the locality where the goods are being held for three consecutive issues. The publication period may be extended but not more than thirty days from the date of notification to the consignor.

Article 8. Customs Procedures for Exported and Imported Goods Held

1. For goods held under the circumstances specified in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Decree that the carrier intends to auction, customs import procedures for such goods must be completed in accordance with relevant laws. In addition to the customs declaration for imported goods as prescribed, the carrier must submit the following documents to the customs authority:

a) A request for customs clearance procedures for imported goods for held goods;

b) Evidence related to the notification as prescribed in Article 7 of this Decree (original).

2. For goods held under the circumstances specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 4 of this Decree, within the notification period, the carrier must complete customs import procedures, declare abandonment or re-export of goods in accordance with the law on customs but not later than sixty days from the date the vessel arrives at the port to deliver goods.

Article 9. Inspection and Determination of Value of Seized Goods

1. Prior to conducting the auction sale of seized goods, the carrier must request an inspection regarding the quantity, quality, and determination of the value of the goods, as well as other losses (if any) of the seized goods.

2. The costs for inspecting and determining the value of seized goods shall be paid from the proceeds of the auction sale of the goods.

3. The starting price for organizing the auction sale of goods shall be determined by the carrier after the goods have been inspected for quantity, quality, and value; the starting price for organizing the auction sale includes all types of taxes and fees as prescribed.

Article 10. Auction Sale of Seized Goods

1. The procedures and formalities for the auction sale of seized goods shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Auction Sale of Assets.

2. The successful bidder shall be responsible for paying the purchase price for the goods to the carrier according to the agreement stipulated in the asset auction sales contract.

3. After fully settling the purchase price, the successful bidder shall have the right to dispose of the goods and must promptly release the goods from the port.

Article 11. Handling of Seized Goods in Special Cases

1. Seized goods that fall under the category of prohibited imports, exports, temporary imports-reexports, temporary exports-reimports, or goods prohibited from trading or circulating within the territory of Vietnam shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. The leading agency handling seized goods that fall under the category of prohibited imports, exports, temporary imports-reexports, or temporary exports-reimports must seek the cooperation opinions of relevant specialized management agencies and handle them in accordance with the provisions of the law.

3. For seized goods that are perishable or where it is deemed that the cost of storage exceeds the actual value of the goods, the carrier has the right to decide on the auction sale period for the seized goods sixty days prior to the arrival date of the vessel at the discharge port and shall bear responsibility for their decision.

4. During the process of storing goods, if it is discovered that the stored goods may adversely affect the environment, safety, and health of people, the carrier or the custodian shall be responsible for notifying the consignor and consignee, and immediately reporting to the relevant customs authority to organize the disposal and destruction in accordance with the regulations.

Article 12. Payment of Proceeds from the Auction Sale of Seized Goods

1. All proceeds from the sale of seized goods shall be paid in the following priority order:

a) Taxes, fees, and charges arising during the storage period and organization of the sale of goods;

b) Debts including transportation service fees, other costs recorded in the transport documents, if these amounts have not yet been settled, contributions to common losses, salvage wages allocated to the goods as prescribed;

c) Costs for inspecting and valuing the goods;

d) Costs for the auction sale of goods;

đ) Costs related to warehousing, preservation, and sale of goods such as cargo handling fees, warehouse storage fees, and relocation costs;

e) Debts owed to the custodian;

g) Other incidental costs incurred.

2. The payment of the amounts specified in Clause 1 of this Article must be supported by valid documentation as prescribed by law. The payment time frame is thirty days from the date the carrier receives the proceeds from the auction sale of the goods.

3. In cases where the proceeds from the auction sale of seized goods are insufficient to cover the amounts specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the carrier has the right to continue requesting those parties with settlement obligations to pay the remaining amount as prescribed.

Article 13. Notification of Payment for Auctioned Seized Goods

Within three days from the date of completing the payment of the proceeds from the auction of seized goods as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 12 of this Decree, the carrier must notify the consignor and the recipient of the payment of the proceeds from the auction of the seized goods.

Article 14. Handling of Excess Proceeds from Auction After Payment

1. In cases where the person entitled to receive the excess proceeds requests to reclaim such amount, the carrier shall pay the excess amount as prescribed to the requesting party; in cases where multiple persons are entitled to receive the excess proceeds, the excess amount shall be divided according to the corresponding proportion of each person's entitlement.

2. After 180 days from the date of the auction of the goods without any request to reclaim the excess proceeds, the carrier shall have the obligation to deposit such amount into the state budget at the Treasury of the province or centrally administered city where the auction of the goods was carried out.

3. In cases where the request to reclaim the excess proceeds is not accepted by the carrier, the requesting party has the right to initiate legal proceedings before the competent court.

Article 15. Liability of the Recipient

The recipient is responsible for paying all costs and losses of the goods arising from storage; they have no right to reclaim the goods after the carrier has completed the auction of the goods in accordance with this Decree and other relevant regulations on asset auctions.

Article 16. Liability of the Carrier

The carrier, when implementing the storage and handling of seized goods in accordance with this Decree and other relevant provisions of the Law, shall bear responsibility under the Law for the legality of the storage and handling of seized goods.

Article 17. Liability of the Storage Party

The storage party is responsible for safely storing the seized goods; cooperating with relevant agencies in handling the seized goods in accordance with this Decree and other relevant provisions of the Law.

Article 18. Liability of the Customs Authority

The customs authority in the area where the goods are stored shall guide the parties involved in declaring and processing customs procedures for the seized goods in accordance with this Decree and other relevant provisions of the Law.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 19. Implementation Provisions

1. This Decree takes effect from July 1, 2017.

2. Repeal Decree No. 46/2006/NĐ-CP dated May 16, 2006 of the Government on the handling of goods stored by carriers at Vietnamese seaports.

Article 20. Implementation

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees, organizations, units, and individuals concerned are responsible for implementing this Decree./.