Circular No. 28/2009/TT-BCT confirms the tariff quota for natural honey imports into Japan under the Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Japan on Economic Partnership.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular applies to traders exporting natural honey to Japan under the Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Japan on Economic Partnership, competent state agencies, and other organizations and individuals related to this matter.

Article 2. Applicability

The agency confirming the Quota Tariff Certificate at the request of the exporter and the Department of Import-Export under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Quota Tariff Certificate shall be printed on white paper, size A4, in English and include the following minimum information:

- Reference number;

- Name and address of the exporter;

- Name and address of the importer;

- Description of goods;

- HS Code;

- Quantity (with specific unit of measurement indicated);

- Validity period of the Quota Tariff Certificate (effective date/expiry date); and

- Confirmation by the Department of Import-Export, Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The model of the Quota Tariff Certificate is specified in Appendix 1 of this Circular.

1. Traders who wish to enjoy the preferential tariff treatment provided by Japan under the quota tariff for natural honey imports from Vietnam to Japan under the Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Japan on Economic Partnership must submit an application to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for confirmation.

Article 5. Validity of the Certificate of Tariff Quota

The Certificate of Tariff Quota is valid from the date of confirmation until March 31 of the following year.

2. Based on the annual quota tariff allocated by Japan to Vietnam as specified in Appendix 2 of this Circular and according to the registration date for confirmation, the Quota Tariff Certificate for exporters will be confirmed on a first-come-first-served basis. For quantities of natural honey registered for export exceeding the remaining quota for that year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will confirm based on the remaining quota.

a) Application form according to the model attached in Appendix 3 of this Circular;

1. The application for confirmation of the Certificate of Quota includes:

2. In cases where there is no completed Export Declaration yet, a copy of the VJ CO may be deferred for up to fifteen (15) working days from the date of confirmation of the Quota Tariff Certificate.

b) A copy of the Customs Declaration completed with customs procedures;

c) A copy of the Certificate of Origin (CO) Model VJ stamped with the confirmation seal of the CO Issuing Organization.

3. If the enterprise does not submit the deferred documents as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will notify and request Japan not to issue the Quota Tariff Certificate to the importing enterprise in Japan.

Article 8. Receiving Applications for Confirmation

When the applicant submits the application for confirmation of the Certificate of Quota, the receiving officer shall be responsible for receiving the application, checking the application, and implementing the following measures:

2. Request for additional documents in case of missing documents as stipulated in Article 7. After the applicant provides complete valid documents, the receiving officer will implement the measure specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Refusal to confirm the Quota Tariff Certificate if the quota has been exhausted as specified in Appendix 2.

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will confirm the Quota Tariff Certificate within three (03) working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier.

2. In case of non-confirmation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will provide a written response specifying the reasons.

In case the Quota Tariff Certificate is lost, misplaced, or damaged, the trader can submit an application to the organization confirming the Quota Tariff Certificate requesting confirmation of a certified true copy of the original Quota Tariff Certificate. The organization confirming the Quota Tariff Certificate will confirm the copy based on the export documents kept by the organization and this copy must bear the phrase "CERTIFIED TRUE COPY" in the "REMARKS" section of the Quota Tariff Certificate. This copy bears the confirmation date of the original Quota Tariff Certificate.

This certified true copy must be confirmed within the validity period of the original Quota Tariff Certificate.

In case the trader does not use the Quota Tariff Certificate they have requested confirmation for due to not exporting the consignment for which the Quota Tariff Certificate was applied for or the consignment being returned to Vietnam after export, the trader must return the previously confirmed Quota Tariff Certificate to the organization that confirmed it.

Information on the allocation of the quota tariff for natural honey exports to Japan under the Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Japan on Economic Partnership will be publicly disclosed on the Ministry of Industry and Trade's website at

Article 12. Publicizing the allocation of tariff quotas on the Ministry of Industry and Trade's information page

www.moit.gov.vn This Circular takes effect forty-five (45) days from the date of signature.

Article 13. Implementation Provisions

This Circular takes effect 45 days after the date of issuance.