Decree No. 18/2009/ND-CP amends and supplements certain articles of Decree No. 97/2007/ND-CP dated June 7, 2007, of the Government on administrative violations and enforcement of administrative decisions in the customs sector.

DECREE

Amending and supplementing some articles of the Government Decree No. 97/2007/NĐ-CP dated June 7, 2007 on handling administrative violations and enforcing administrative decisions in the customs sector.

________________________

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Based on the Customs Law dated June 29, 2001 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Customs Law dated June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration dated November 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance dated July 2, 2002 and the Ordinance amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance dated April 2, 2008;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Finance,

DECREE:

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of the Government Decree No. 97/2007/NĐ-CP dated June 7, 2007 on handling administrative violations and enforcing administrative decisions in the customs sector as follows:

1. Article 6 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 6. Forms of administrative penalty in the customs sector

1. For each administrative violation, the violator must bear one of the following main forms of punishment:

a) Warning;

b) Fine.

For the act of evading tax or cheating on tax, the fine shall be from one to three times the amount of tax evaded or cheated.

For the act of under-declaring tax liability or over-declaring tax exemptions, reductions, refunds, or non-payment, the fine shall be 10% of the amount of tax under-declared or over-declared compared to the provisions of the law.

For the act of delaying tax payment, the fine shall be 0.05% per day calculated on the amount of delayed tax payment.

For the act of failing to deduct or transfer the full or partial corresponding amount that should be paid from the account of the organization or individual subject to enforcement of administrative decision on tax into the state budget when the taxpayer's deposit account has a balance, the fine shall correspond to the amount not deducted or transferred.

The maximum fine for other administrative violations in the customs sector is 70,000,000 VND and for tax procedures is 100,000,000 VND. The specific fine for a single violation is the average of the fine range prescribed for that act. In cases with mitigating circumstances, the fine may be reduced but not lower than the minimum fine range. In cases with aggravating circumstances, the fine may be increased but not exceed the maximum fine range.

2. Depending on the nature and degree of the violation, the violator may also be subject to one or more of the following supplementary forms of punishment:

a) Revocation of license or professional certificate;

b) Confiscation of objects and means used to commit administrative violations.

3. In addition to the forms of punishment provided for in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, the violator may also be subject to one or more of the following measures to remedy consequences:

a) Compelling the destruction of contraband items, harmful cultural products, goods harmful to human health, animals, and plants;

b) Compelling the removal of goods or vehicles out of Vietnam or compelling the re-export of goods or vehicles in violation;

c) Compelling the repayment of the equivalent value of contraband items or vehicles that have been consumed, disposed of, or destroyed contrary to the law;

d) Other measures as prescribed in this Decree.

4. For acts of violation not subject to supplementary punishment of confiscation of goods or vehicles in violation and remedial measures, such goods or vehicles may be cleared through customs according to the law if the violator has paid the fine as prescribed or if a credit institution or another entity permitted to carry out certain banking activities provides a guarantee for the amount to be paid to enforce the penalty decision."

2. Article 7 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 7. Cases Not Subject to Administrative Penalty

1. The cases prescribed in Clause 6, Article 3 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance, and those prescribed in Article 4 of the Government Decree No. 128/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2008 detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002 and the Ordinance amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2008.

2. Goods and transport vehicles brought into Vietnam due to fire, natural disasters, enemy attacks, unexpected events, and in emergency situations, must be declared according to the law and removed from Vietnam after these factors are resolved.

3. Mistakes made during importation or sending goods to Vietnam, which have been reported in writing by the sender, recipient, or their authorized representative to the customs authority before the actual inspection of goods or the decision to waive the actual inspection of goods, and accepted by the head of the customs authority receiving and processing the file. This provision does not apply to cases where imported goods are narcotics, weapons, subversive materials, or Schedule I chemicals as defined in the Chemical Weapons Convention.

4. Supplementing customs declaration files in the following cases:

a) Before the customs authority conducts an actual inspection of goods or decides to waive the actual inspection of goods, the declarant discovers errors in the submitted customs declaration file;

b) The taxpayer discovers errors affecting the amount of tax payable within 60 days from the date of registering the customs declaration but before the customs authority conducts a tax inspection or audit at the taxpayer's premises. In this case, the taxpayer will still be penalized for late tax payment as stipulated in Article 15 of this Decree.

5. Organizations or individuals who violate tax laws regarding exported or imported goods, resulting in a reduction in the amount of tax payable or an increase in tax exemptions, reductions, refunds, or non-payment, but the difference in tax amount does not exceed 500,000 VND for violations committed by individuals or 2,000,000 VND for violations committed by organizations.

6. Exporting or importing goods that do not match the declared quantity or weight as specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 9 of this Decree, but the value of the mismatched goods does not exceed 10% of the actual export or import value, with a maximum limit of 10,000,000 VND.

7. Declaring the correct name of the exported or imported goods but incorrectly declaring the code or tax rate for the first time.

Article 8. Violating regulations on declaring foreign currency, cash Vietnamese currency, gold (in block, bar, bead, plate form) for persons exiting or entering the country with passports or travel documents where the value of the contraband is under VND 10,000,000.

3. Article 8 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

Article 8. Violating regulations on the deadline for customs procedures and tax submission

1. Warning or imposing a fine from VND 200,000 to VND 1,000,000 for one of the following violations:

a) Declaring and submitting the customs declaration form not in accordance with the prescribed deadlines, except for violations stipulated in points a, d, đ, e Clause 2; points a, b Clause 3; Clause 4 of this Article;

b) Not submitting timely the documents included in the customs declaration form that are allowed to be submitted late according to customs laws, except for violations stipulated in point c Clause 2 of this Article.

c) Supplementing the tax declaration form more than 60 (sixty) days from the date of registering the customs declaration form but before the customs authority discovers the under-declaration of tax obligations or over-declaration of tax exemptions, reductions, refunds, or non-collection.

d) Declaring the consumption quota of raw materials for export processing goods and imported raw materials for export production not in accordance with the prescribed deadlines.

2. Imposing a fine from VND 1,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for one of the following violations:

a) Declaring taxes beyond the prescribed deadlines when changing the purpose of using goods that have been determined to be exempt from tax, tax-exempt, or subject to tax exemption review;

b) Not submitting the documents required for liquidation, settlement, tax refund review, or non-tax collection within the prescribed deadlines;

c) Not submitting the Certificate of Origin of goods that are allowed to be submitted late within the prescribed deadlines;

d) Not handling surplus raw materials, spare parts, waste materials, scrap, borrowed machinery, and equipment under processing contracts according to the registered liquidation plan within the prescribed deadlines;

đ) Not re-exporting or re-importing goods within the prescribed deadlines or the time registered with the customs authority, except for violations stipulated in point a Clause 3 of this Article;

e) Not re-exporting or re-importing transportation vehicles of individuals or organizations in border areas regularly crossing the border within the prescribed deadlines;

g) Not complying with the reporting system for goods under customs supervision and management at warehouses, ports, and duty-free zones as prescribed by law;

h) Violating other provisions regarding the declaration deadline as prescribed by law.

3. Imposing a fine from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 for one of the following violations:

a) Not re-exporting temporarily imported goods that are exempt from tax within the prescribed deadlines;

b) Not re-exporting or re-importing transportation vehicles that exit or enter the country within the prescribed deadlines, except for violations stipulated in point e Clause 2 of this Article;

c) Storing transit goods on Vietnamese territory beyond the permitted period.

4. Imposing a fine from VND 15,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 for the violation stipulated in point b Clause 3 of this Article where the violating vehicle is a passenger car with less than 24 seats.

5. In addition to fines, individuals and organizations violating administrative regulations shall also be subject to the following measures to rectify consequences:

a) Compelling re-export of goods for violations stipulated in point đ Clause 2; point a Clause 3 of this Article, except in cases where the goods are declared for domestic consumption and approved for such use by the competent authority;

b) Compelling re-export of transportation vehicles for violations stipulated in point e Clause 2, point b Clause 3, and Clause 4 of this Article;

c) Compelling the transit of goods for violations stipulated in point c Clause 3 of this Article.

4. Article 9 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

Article 9. Violating regulations on customs declaration and tax declaration

1. Warning or imposing a fine from VND 200,000 to VND 1,000,000 for the act of not declaring or incorrectly declaring the name, quantity, weight, origin of goods in the following cases:

a) Goods from abroad entering transshipment ports, duty-free zones, or from transshipment ports, duty-free zones to abroad, or from duty-free zones to inland areas for processing, repair, warranty, except for violations stipulated in point i Clause 1 of Article 14 of this Decree;

b) Transit goods, transfer goods;

c) Humanitarian aid goods, non-reimbursable aid goods approved by authorized authorities.

2. Imposing a fine from VND 1,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for the act of not declaring or incorrectly declaring the name, type, quantity, weight, quality, value of goods in the following cases:

a) Raw materials, components, machinery, equipment, spare parts imported under tax exemption;

b) Temporarily imported or exported goods under tax exemption or import tax exemption.

3. Imposing a fine from VND 5,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for the act of falsely declaring the name, quantity, weight, value of exported goods, except for exported goods which are processed products or produced from imported raw materials or temporarily exported and re-exported.

4. Imposing penalties for the act of not declaring or incorrectly declaring leading to underpayment of tax due or overpayment of tax exemptions, reductions, refunds, or non-collection: in addition to paying the full amount of tax as prescribed, taxpayers will be fined 10% of the underpaid tax or overpaid tax exemptions, reductions, refunds, or non-collection if they commit any of the following acts:

a) Preparing and incorrectly declaring contents in tax settlement forms, liquidation forms, tax exemption forms, tax reduction and exemption review forms, tax refund forms, or non-tax collection forms;

b) Not declaring or incorrectly declaring the name, type, quantity, weight, quality, value, commodity code, export tax, origin of exported or imported goods discovered by customs authorities during the clearance process, except for violations stipulated in Article 14 of this Decree;

c) Committing the violation stipulated in point b Clause of this Article and being discovered after the goods have been cleared, but the violator has voluntarily paid the full tax due as prescribed before the violation record is established.

5. The provisions of this Article do not apply to cases already handled according to the provisions of Article 16 of this Decree.

5. Article 11 is amended and supplemented as follows:

Article 11. Violating regulations on customs inspection and tax audit

1. Warning or imposing a fine from VND 200,000 to VND 1,000,000 for the act of arbitrarily erasing or altering customs declaration documents that have been registered without affecting the tax payable or the policy on goods.

2. A fine of VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Failure to arrange personnel and means to serve the actual inspection of goods and transport vehicles when requested by customs authorities without reasonable cause;

b) Violation of regulations on sample retention, file retention, and documentation.

3. A fine of VND 3,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Failure to present goods still being held as post-clearance inspection objects upon request by customs authorities;

b) Failure to provide relevant documents, materials, and electronic data concerning exported and imported goods, outbound and inbound transport vehicles as required by law;

c) Non-compliance with decisions on inspection and tax audit issued by customs authorities;

4. A fine of VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Swapping goods that have been inspected by customs with goods that have not been inspected by customs;

b) Forgery of customs seals, documents belonging to customs files to export or import goods without constituting a crime.

5. Confiscation of the contraband items shall be applied for the violation stipulated in point a, Clause 4 of this Article.

For the violation stipulated in point b, Clause 4 of this Article to evade taxes or commit tax fraud, penalties shall be imposed according to Article 14 of this Decree. In cases where the contraband items are prohibited from export or import or subject to conditional export or import under the law, they shall be confiscated for public funds.”

6. Article 12 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 12. Violations of Customs Supervision Regulations

1. A fine of VND 5,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts:

a) Moving transport vehicles carrying transit goods, port transfer goods, border transfer goods, or border checkpoint transfer goods along routes, locations, checkpoints, or times other than those specified or registered in customs files without reasonable cause;

b) Unauthorized removal of customs seals;

c) Unauthorized alteration of packaging or labels of goods under customs supervision;

d) Failure to maintain the original condition of goods under customs supervision or goods entrusted for storage according to the law until clearance procedures are completed.

2. A fine of VND 15,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Unauthorized consumption of goods under customs supervision;

b) Unauthorized consumption of transport vehicles registered for circulation abroad temporarily entering Vietnam;

c) Unauthorized consumption of goods entrusted for storage awaiting completion of clearance procedures according to the law.

3. In addition to fines, individuals or organizations committing administrative violations shall also be subject to supplementary penalties or measures to rectify consequences as follows:

a) Confiscation of contraband items for violations stipulated in point a and b, Clause 2 of this Article; if the contraband items are no longer available, they shall be ordered to pay an amount equal to the value of the contraband items;

b) Confiscation of contraband items for violations stipulated in point c, Clause 2 of this Article if the contraband items are goods listed in the Prohibited Export and Import Catalogue or do not meet conditions for export or import; if the contraband items are no longer available, they shall be ordered to pay an amount equal to the value of the contraband items;

c) Compulsion to perform border transfer or transit of goods and transport vehicles through designated checkpoints and routes as stipulated in point a, Clause 1 of this Article.”

7. Article 13 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 13. Violations of Customs Control Regulations

1. A fine of VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Failure to comply with directives of customs officials when moving transport vehicles within the customs operational area;

b) Failure to comply with requests to open places storing goods for administrative search decisions.

2. Imposing a fine from VND 1,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for one of the following violations:

a) Sheltering, buying, selling, or transporting goods for export or import without valid documentation within the customs operational area;

b) Illegally transporting goods across borders without constituting a crime.

3. A fine of VND 5,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article where the contraband items have a value of VND 50,000,000 to less than VND 100,000,000;

4. A fine of VND 15,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Violations stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article where the contraband items have a value of VND 100,000,000 or more without constituting a crime;

b) Unloading goods at a port other than the destination port listed in the cargo manifest or transport document without a valid reason;

c) Unauthorized unloading, transshipment, bunkering, changing wagons, or cutting wagons of exported, imported, or transited goods on transport vehicles under customs inspection or supervision;

d) Disposing of goods by dumping, destroying, or discarding them to evade customs inspection, supervision, or control.

5. Confiscation of contraband items shall be applied for violations stipulated in Clause 2, Clause 3; point a, point d, Clause 4 of this Article.

For violations stipulated in point d, Clause 4 of this Article where the contraband items are no longer available, they shall be ordered to pay an amount equal to the value of the contraband items.”

8. Article 14 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 14. Penalties for Evading Taxes and Committing Tax Fraud

1. If taxpayers commit any of the following acts of evading taxes or committing tax fraud that do not reach the level of criminal prosecution, in addition to paying the full amount of tax as prescribed, they shall be fined an amount equal to the tax evaded or fraudulently claimed:

a) Using illegal or inaccurate documents or information to declare taxes; arbitrarily erasing, altering documents leading to underpayment of taxes due or overpayment of tax exemptions, refunds, or non-collection;

b) Incorrectly declaring commodity codes or tax rates for goods previously determined at the time of importation, resulting in underpayment of taxes due;

c) Violating the provisions of point c, Clause 4, Article 9 of this Decree and failing to voluntarily pay the full amount of tax as prescribed before the issuance of the violation notice;

d) Violating the management regulations for goods in duty-free zones;

đ) Processing export procedures but not exporting processed products or products produced from imported raw materials;

e) Exaggerating the type, quantity, weight, or processed products or products produced from imported raw materials in export declarations, with fraudulent tax amounts exceeding VND 50,000,000 without constituting a crime;

g) Exporting processed products or products produced from imported raw materials inconsistent with the imported raw materials; importing processed products from abroad inconsistent with the exported raw materials;

h) Arbitrarily changing the purpose of goods that have been determined to be exempt from tax, tax-exempt, or tax-exemption examination without declaring taxes.

i) Failing to declare or declaring incorrectly imported goods from duty-free zones into domestic areas.

k) Failing to record in accounting books revenues and expenditures related to determining the amount of tax payable;

l) Declaring an increase in the consumption quota of processing materials for export goods or imported materials for producing export goods without making a supplementary declaration before the customs authority discovers the violation;

m) Selling tax-exempt goods to unauthorized recipients;

n) Other intentional acts of failing to declare or declaring incorrectly the name, type, quantity, weight, quality, value, tax rate, origin of exported or imported goods to evade taxes.

2. Violating the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article repeatedly but not reaching the level of criminal prosecution shall be fined from two to three times the amount of evaded tax.

3. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to cases of violations that have been handled according to the provisions of Article 16 of this Decree.

9. Article 15 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 15. Violations concerning tax payment

1. If taxpayers or guarantors of tax payment commit the act of delaying tax payment as prescribed by tax management laws, they shall pay the full amount of tax due, in addition to being subject to a fine of 0.05% per day on the amount of delayed tax.

2. If taxpayers who have declared incorrectly and received a higher refund than prescribed shall be subject to a fine of 0.05% per day on the amount of excess refund.

3. The number of days of delayed tax payment shall be calculated from the day following the last day of the tax payment deadline or the extended tax payment period as prescribed until the taxpayer voluntarily pays the full amount of tax due to the state budget.”

10. Article 16 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 16. Violations concerning the management of export, import, and transit goods; means of transport exiting, entering, or transiting

1. A fine of VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed for exporting or importing goods contrary to the provisions of the law on:

a) Border residents' goods exchange;

b) Importing humanitarian aid goods;

c) Exporting, importing gifts, movable assets, goods of persons exiting or entering the country;

d) In addition to imposing a fine, violators under points a, b, and c of this clause shall also have their contraband confiscated; if the contraband falls within the list of goods requiring conditional export or import permits, it shall be forcibly removed from Vietnam's territory, export suspended, or destroyed.

2. A fine of VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Transiting, transferring goods; exiting, entering, transiting transport vehicles not in accordance with the contents of the permit issued by the competent authority;

b) Exporting or importing goods that do not match the contents stated in the permit.

3. A fine of VND 10,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Transiting or transferring goods; exiting, entering, or transiting means of transport that require permits but lack the required permits from competent authorities;

b) Temporarily importing for re-export or temporarily exporting for re-importing goods that require permits but lack the required permits;

c) Exporting, importing, or bringing into Vietnam goods that are temporarily prohibited from export or import.

4. A fine of VND 15,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Exporting, importing, or bringing into Vietnam goods that are prohibited from export or import;

b) Bringing counterfeit origin goods into Vietnam's territory;

c) Exporting counterfeit origin goods;

d) Importing goods that require permits but cannot produce them within thirty days from the date the goods arrive at the border gate;

đ) Exporting goods without the required permit;

e) Exporting or importing goods that do not meet technical conditions or standards as prescribed by law;

g) Exporting or importing goods without complying with the legal requirements for product labels;

h) Changing the purpose of use of raw materials, components, machinery, equipment for processing; temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-imported goods that are prohibited from export or import or require conditional export or import without permission from competent authorities.

5. Importing or bringing into Vietnam goods that cause environmental pollution or harm human health, animals, or ecosystems shall be punished according to the decree on administrative penalties in the field of environmental protection.

6. In addition to fines, individuals or organizations committing administrative violations shall also be subject to additional penalties or measures to remedy consequences as follows:

a) Confiscation of goods if violating the provisions of point c, Clause 3; points a, b, h, Clause 4 of this Article; except when the specialized management agency requests removal from Vietnam's territory or re-export.

b) Suspension of the right to use permits for a period of thirty to ninety days for repeated offenses or multiple offenses under point b, Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Forced removal from Vietnam's territory or suspension of export for violations under Clause 2; points a, b, Clause 3; points c, d, đ, e, g, Clause 4 of this Article. Within the time limit specified in Article 35 of this Decree, if the specialized management agency allows import, import may be permitted.

11. Article 17 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 17. Violations concerning the management of bonded warehouses and duty-free warehouses

1. A fine of VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Failing to notify the customs authority when the warehouse lease contract has expired;

b) Failing to remove goods from the bonded warehouse when the warehouse lease contract has expired.

2. A fine of VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Moving goods from one bonded warehouse to another without the consent of the customs authority;

b)擅自扩大、缩小或移动保税仓库或免税仓库的位置；

c)未按照法律规定开设记录货物进出口、出库入库情况的账簿；

3. 对以下行为之一处以200万至500万越南盾的罚款：

a)未如实申报从国外进入保税仓库或免税仓库的货物名称、种类、数量、重量；或从保税仓库或免税仓库运往国外的货物；

b)未按规定履行海关监管货物报告制度。

4. 对以下行为之一处以500万至1000万越南盾的罚款：

a)将法律禁止存放在保税仓库内的货物从国外带入保税仓库。

b) Continue operating a bonded warehouse after the license to establish a bonded warehouse has been revoked;

c) Alter or modify the license to establish a bonded warehouse;

d) Illegally dispose of goods stored in a bonded warehouse or duty-free warehouse;

đ) Destroy goods stored in a bonded warehouse or duty-free warehouse in violation of the law;

5. In addition to being subject to a fine, individuals or organizations that violate the provisions shall also be subject to additional forms of administrative punishment or measures to remedy the consequences as follows:

a) Confiscate goods if they violate the provisions set out in points d and đ of Clause 4 of this Article. If the evidence of the violation no longer exists, they shall be ordered to pay an amount equal to the value of the confiscated goods;

b) Order the removal of goods from the territory of Vietnam within thirty days from the date of receipt of the decision on administrative sanction or the order to destroy the goods in violation of the provisions set out in point a of Clause 3 of this Article, in cases where the goods do not belong to a bonded warehouse rental contract, or point a of Clause 4 of this Article. For goods bearing counterfeit trademarks or names and origins of Vietnam, they must be required to remove the signs of infringement before removing the goods from the territory of Vietnam”.

12. Article 18 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 18. Insulting, threatening, or obstructing customs officers performing their duties

1. A fine of VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for acts of insulting the dignity or obstructing customs officers performing their duties.

2. A fine of VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 for acts of threatening or using violence against customs officers performing their duties without constituting a criminal offense.”

13. Article 23 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 23. Authority to temporarily detain persons under administrative procedures

1. The following persons have the authority to issue decisions to temporarily detain persons under administrative procedures:

Heads of Customs Branches, Leaders of Inspection Teams under Customs Bureaus; Leaders of Anti-Smuggling Inspection Teams and Sea Control Squadron Leaders under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Bureau of the General Department of Customs.

2. Persons specified in Clause 1 of this Article may delegate their subordinates to exercise the authority to temporarily detain persons under administrative procedures when absent, and such delegates are responsible for implementing administrative violation prevention measures and ensuring other administrative violation handling procedures. Delegation must be done in writing. The delegate must bear responsibility for their decisions before their superiors and the law.

3. Temporary detention of persons must comply with the principles, procedures, and steps prescribed in Article 44 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance and the Regulation on Temporary Detention of Persons under Administrative Procedures issued together with Decree No. 162/2004/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2004 of the Government”.

14. Article 24 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 24. Temporary Detention of Documents, Evidence, and Means of Violation

1. The temporary detention of documents, evidence, and means related to violations is applied in cases where it is necessary to immediately stop the violation or to verify circumstances serving as the basis for decision-making.

Persons specified in Clause 1 of this Decree have the authority to decide on the temporary detention of documents, evidence, and means of administrative violations.

When there are signs of tax evasion, fraudulent tax practices, the Director-General of the General Department of Customs, the Director of the Post-Customs Inspection Bureau under the General Department of Customs, the Director of the Customs Bureau, the Head of the Customs Branch, and the Leader of the Tax Audit Team have the authority to decide on the temporary detention of documents, evidence, and means of administrative violations.

2. In urgent situations, customs officers performing their duties may issue decisions to temporarily detain evidence and means of administrative violations. Within twenty-four hours of issuing the decision, the person who issued the decision must report to their direct superior as specified in Clause 1 of this Article and obtain their written approval; if such approval is not obtained, the person who issued the decision must immediately revoke the decision and return the detained items, money, goods, or means.

3. In cases where the detained evidence of administrative violations includes both goods that are evidence of violations and goods that are not evidence of violations:

a) In a consignment containing goods that are evidence of violations and goods that are not evidence of violations, only the goods that are evidence of violations can be temporarily detained. If it is not yet determined whether a violation has occurred, only samples of the goods should be taken as a basis for determination;

b) For evidence that is foreign currency, Vietnamese currency in cash carried by people exiting or entering the country with passports or travel documents, only the excess foreign currency and Vietnamese currency in cash beyond the amount that does not need to be declared according to the law will be temporarily detained.

4. Management of detained documents, evidence, and means shall be carried out in accordance with the law.

5. Evidence that is Vietnamese currency, foreign currency, gold, silver, precious stones, precious metals, narcotics, and other items subject to special management must be stored in accordance with the law.

6. For evidence of administrative violations that are easily perishable goods, the person issuing the decision to temporarily detain must prepare a separate record and organize immediate sale. The proceeds must be deposited into a temporary detention account opened at the State Treasury. If later, according to the decision of the competent authority, the evidence is confiscated, the proceeds must be returned to the owner, manager, or lawful user.

7. Within ten working days from the date of detention, the person authorized to issue the decision to temporarily detain and impose sanctions must handle the detained documents, evidence, and means according to the measures stipulated in the decision on sanctions. If confiscation is not imposed as a form of punishment, the detained documents, evidence, or proceeds from the sale of goods must be returned to the owner, manager, or lawful user.

The period for temporarily detaining documents, evidence, and means of violation may be extended but not exceeding sixty days for cases involving complex circumstances requiring investigation or involving multiple individuals and organizations within and outside the country.

8. Decisions to temporarily detain documents, evidence, and means of violation must be made in writing accompanied by a record of detention and handed over to the organization or individual whose documents, evidence, or means are detained.”

15. Article 27 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 27. Search of places where documents, objects, and means related to violations are concealed

1. Searches for places where documents, objects, and means related to violations are concealed may only be conducted when there is evidence that such items are hidden at those locations.

2. The person with authority as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 23 of this Decree has the right to decide on searching places where documents, objects, and means related to violations are concealed.

When signs of tax evasion or fraud are discovered, the Director of the General Department of Customs, the Director of the Post-Customs Inspection Department under the General Department of Customs, the Director of the Customs Office, and the Head of the Customs Branch have the authority to decide on searching places where administrative violation-related documents, objects, and means are concealed.

In cases where the place concealing administrative violation-related documents, objects, and means is a residence, the decision to search must obtain written consent from the Chairman of the People's Committee of the district before conducting the search.

3. During searches of places where documents, objects, and means related to violations are concealed, the owner of the searched location or a member of their family and a witness must be present. In cases where the owner of the searched location or a mature member of their family is absent and the search cannot be delayed, representatives of the commune authorities and two witnesses must be present.

4. Searches of places where administrative violation-related documents, objects, and means are concealed shall not be conducted at night, on holidays, or during Tet celebrations, unless the owner of the searched location is involved in a funeral or wedding event, except in urgent situations, immediate offenses, or ongoing searches that have not yet concluded, in which case the reason must be clearly recorded in the record.

5. All searches of places where documents, objects, and means related to violations are concealed must be based on a written decision and a record must be established. The decision and record of the search of places where documents, objects, and means are concealed must be handed over to the owner of the searched location."

16. Amend and supplement Article 28 as follows:

"Article 28. Authority to handle administrative violations in the customs domain

1. Customs officers performing their duties have the right:

a) To issue warnings;

b) To impose a fine up to 200,000 VND.

2. The Head of the Customs Business Team under the Customs Branch, the Head of the Customs Business Team under the Post-Customs Inspection Branch have the right:

a) To issue warnings;

b) Impose a fine up to 5,000,000 VND.

3. The Director of the Customs Branch (including the Director of the Port Customs Branch, the Director of the Non-Port Customs Branch, the Director of the Post-Customs Inspection Branch); the Head of the Control Team under the Provincial, Inter-Provincial, and Central City Customs Office (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Customs Office); the Head of the Anti-Smuggling Control Team and the Sea Control Squadron Leader under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Bureau of the General Department of Customs have the right:

a) To issue a warning

b) To impose a fine up to 20,000,000 VND, except in cases of punishment as provided for in Clause 4, Article 9, Article 14, Article 15, and Point a, Clause 1, Article 19 of this Decree.

c) To confiscate objects and means used to commit administrative violations.

4. The Director of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Bureau, the Director of the Post-Customs Inspection Bureau under the General Department of Customs, and the Director of the Customs Office have the right:

a) To issue warnings;

b) To impose a maximum fine of 70,000,000 VND in the customs domain and 100,000,000 VND in the tax domain, except in cases of punishment as provided for in Clause 4, Article 9; Article 14, Article 15, and Point a, Clause 1, Article 19 of this Decree.

c) To revoke the right to use licenses within their jurisdiction;

d) Confiscate objects and means used to commit administrative violations;

d) To compel the removal of objects and means violating laws from Vietnam or to compel re-exportation.

e) To compel the destruction of harmful cultural products, goods that are detrimental to human health, animals, and plants.

g) To compel the return of an amount equal to the value of objects and means violating laws that have been consumed, dispersed, or illegally destroyed.

h) Other measures as prescribed in this Decree.

5. Border Guard Forces and Coast Guard have the right to impose penalties according to Articles 32 and 33 of the Administrative Violations Handling Ordinance for administrative violations concerning customs as specified in Article 13 of this Decree.

6. The Director of the Customs Branch, the Director of the Customs Office, the Director of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Bureau, and the Director of the Post-Customs Inspection Bureau impose penalties on violations of tax laws as provided for in Clause 4, Article 9; Article 14, Article 15, and Point a, Clause 1, Article 19 of this Decree."

17. Supplement Article 28a after Article 28 as follows:

"Article 28a. Delegation of authority to handle administrative violations

1. Persons with authority to handle administrative violations as stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of Article 28 of this Decree may delegate their subordinates to exercise such authority. The delegation of authority to handle administrative violations must be carried out in writing and must clearly define the scope of content and the duration of the delegation.

In cases of decisions to temporarily detain individuals under administrative procedures, the delegation can only be made when the head is absent.

2. Subordinates who are delegated authority to handle administrative violations must bear responsibility for their decisions to handle administrative violations before their superiors and the law. The person delegated authority may not further delegate authority to any other individual."

18. Article 29 is amended as follows:

"Article 29. Determination of penalty authority

1. The penalty authority of persons specified in Article 28 of this Decree applies to administrative violations. In cases of fines, the penalty authority is determined based on the maximum level of the fine framework prescribed for each violation. This provision does not apply to cases specified in Clause 6 of Article 28 of this Decree.

2. In cases where a person commits multiple violations, the penalty authority is determined according to the following principle: if the level of the fine, supplementary penalty form, or remedial measure prescribed for each violation falls within the authority of the person imposing the penalty, then the penalty authority remains with that person. If the level of the fine, supplementary penalty form, or remedial measure prescribed for one of the violations exceeds the authority of the person imposing the penalty, they must transfer the entire case file to the person with the appropriate authority to impose the penalty."

3. Any acts violating customs laws occurring on land, within territorial waters, adjacent to territorial waters, on the continental shelf, or in the exclusive economic zone of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under the jurisdiction of customs at any location shall be subject to penalties by the customs authority at that location according to the authority prescribed in this Decree; in cases where such violations are discovered by the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department or the Post-Customs Clearance Inspection Department, they shall carry out penalties according to their respective authorities.

4. At border areas where there is no customs organization, the Border Guard Force or Coast Guard stationed at those locations have the right to impose penalties according to Articles 32 and 33 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance for administrative violations in the customs sector as stipulated in Article 13 of this Decree.

19. Article 32 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 32. Drafting Administrative Violation Records

For administrative violations in the customs sector not falling under the provisions of Article 31 of this Decree, the person authorized to enforce the law must promptly draft records in accordance with regulations. In cases where the administrative violation does not fall within the penalty authority of the record drafter, the record must be immediately transferred to the person authorized to impose penalties for further action.

The form, content, and procedure for drafting records shall be carried out according to the provisions of Article 55 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance."

20. Add Article 36a after Article 36 as follows:

"Article 36a. Valuation of Goods and Contraband Items to Determine Fine Amounts and Penalty Authority

1. For administrative violations prescribed in this Decree with fines based on the value of contraband goods or with confiscation penalties, valuation must be conducted as the basis for determining fine amounts and penalty authority for administrative violations.

The person authorized to handle administrative violations as stipulated in Article 28 of this Decree has the responsibility to value the goods and contraband items and must bear responsibility for the valuation of these items.

2. Depending on the specific type of goods or contraband items, the price determination will be based on one of the following grounds:

a) Listed price or price recorded on the sales contract or purchase invoice or import declaration (including tax).

b) Market price at the time and place of discovery of the administrative violation.

c) Production cost if the goods have not been sold.

d) Remaining actual value of the contraband items.

đ) For counterfeit goods, the price of the contraband item is the market price of genuine goods or goods with similar features, technical specifications, and functions at the time of the administrative violation.

3. If the grounds specified in Clause 2 of this Article are not applicable or it is difficult to determine the value of the goods or contraband items, the competent authority or person authorized to impose penalties shall establish a Valuation Committee. The composition and working principles of the Valuation Committee for contraband goods and items shall be carried out according to the provisions of the law.

If the value of the contraband item falls within the confiscation authority of the person who issued the temporary detention decision, that person decides to confiscate it; in cases where the value of the contraband item exceeds the confiscation authority of the person who issued the temporary detention decision, the case must be transferred to the person with the appropriate authority.

4. The valuation basis and related documents regarding the valuation of contraband goods and items must be reflected in the administrative violation penalty file."

Article 2.

1. This Decree takes effect from May 1, 2009.

2. Administrative violations prescribed in Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of Article 1 of this Decree occurring before the effective date of this Decree but at the time of punishment this Decree is already in effect, shall be punished according to the provisions of this Decree if this Decree does not provide for legal liability or provides for lighter legal liability.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall guide and organize the implementation of this Decree.

4. The ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government agencies, chairpersons of provincial people's committees under the central government shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.