JOINT CIRCULAR NO. 31/TTLB-TC-TCHQ REGULATING THE SYSTEM OF COLLECTION, PAYMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF USE OF CUSTOMS FEES

CIRCULAR

OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMS

Regulations on the Collection, Payment, and Management of Customs Fees

Implementing Article 5 of the Provisions on Customs Procedures and Customs Fees issued together with Decree No. 171/HĐBT dated May 27, 1991 of the Council of Ministers and Decision No. 276/CT dated August 27, 1992 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Customs hereby provide detailed regulations on the collection, payment, and management of customs fees as follows:

2. Individuals who have registered as the principal investigator of a Research Project or Pilot Production Project and those participating in its implementation shall not participate in the Evaluation and Selection Council for that Research Project or Pilot Production Project (hereinafter referred to as the Council). In necessary cases, members of the Council may be staff members of the organization registering as the principal investigator of the Research Project or Pilot Production Project, but not more than one person and they cannot serve as Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, or reviewing member.

1. The customs fees stipulated in this Circular include:

- Storage fees at customs warehouses.

- Customs procedures fees for processing at locations other than officially designated customs inspection sites, upon request of the consignor.

- Escort fees and sealing fees for goods.

- Customs fees for goods (including postal items), baggage, and vehicles transiting through Vietnam, as well as goods exported or imported under agency agreements with foreign entities.

- Customs fees for goods and baggage where customs confirms the validity of documents.

2. The consignors of objects subject to customs supervision (consignors of goods, baggage, and vehicles) or their duly authorized representatives, hereinafter referred to as persons handling customs procedures, must pay the customs fee once at the customs office that receives the object, manages it, and implements necessary business measures as specified in Points 1a, 2a, 3a1, 3b1, 4a, and 5a of Part II of this Circular.

3. Customs fees shall not be collected in the following cases:

a) Goods, baggage, and other items exempted from various fees pursuant to international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party or has recognized.

b) Humanitarian aid goods.

c) Goods undergoing customs inspection and storage overnight to complete procedures the next day.

d) Escorting ships and goods, baggage transported on ships from buoy number "0" into port areas and vice versa.

4. Adjustment of Fee Levels:

When market prices fluctuate by 20% or more, the Ministry of Finance will coordinate with the General Department of Customs to adjust the fee levels set forth in this Circular to reflect current realities.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Storage fees at customs warehouses:

a) Objects subject to fees:

- All goods and baggage stored in customs warehouses are subject to storage fees at customs warehouses.

b) Fee levels:

- Based on quantity, value, storage duration, and the fee rate to calculate the amount of fees due.

- In exceptional cases, if the storage fee payable equals or exceeds the value of the goods or baggage, the Director of the Provincial or Municipal Customs may consider specific reasons to reduce the fee, but ensuring the maximum fee does not exceed 60% of the value of the goods or baggage deposited.

- Goods stored in customs warehouses beyond six months (for perishable goods such as food, tobacco, etc., two months), from the date of the third notice issued by customs inviting the owner to collect the goods, but without response or no one collecting them, customs will organize liquidation according to government regulations. Proceeds from the sale will be deposited into a temporary account. Within six months, the owner can reclaim the proceeds from the sale if there are valid reasons; beyond this period, these funds will be remitted to the state budget (in both cases, all incurred costs will be deducted).

c) Payment deadline:

Persons handling customs procedures must pay the storage fee before removing goods from the warehouse.

2. Customs procedure fees for processing at locations other than officially designated customs inspection sites, upon request of the person handling customs procedures.

a) Objects subject to fees:

Goods (including postal items), baggage, and vehicles for which the person handling customs procedures requests customs to inspect at other locations approved by the customs authority.

b) Fee levels: Calculated based on the volume of goods, baggage, postal items, and vehicles for one-time processing. Specifically as follows:

c. Payment deadline: Persons handling customs procedures must pay the fee before the inspector signs off on the completion of customs procedures.

3. Escort fees and sealing fees for goods:

a) Escort fees:

a. 1) Objects subject to fees:

- Goods (including postal items), baggage, and vehicles for export or import if they require customs escort.

- Goods (including postal items), baggage, and vehicles for transit or passage through Vietnam (if they require customs escort).

a.2) Fee levels: Calculated based on the mode of transport and distance of escort. Specifically as follows:

a. 3) Time limit for advance payment of transportation fees

The person coming to handle procedures must pay the fee before the Customs performs the transportation of goods.

b) Fees for sealing goods:

b.1) Object of collection:

Goods (including postal items and parcels), luggage, export and import transport vehicles must implement the Customs sealing regime.

b.2) Collection rate:

- The rate for one seal (paper or lead wire) is 2,000 VND. - The maximum rate regardless of the number of seals for one quantity of exported, imported, or transiting goods contained in one container, one railway carriage, etc., is 10,000 VND.

b.3) Time limit for paying the sealing fee:

The person coming to handle procedures must pay the fee immediately after the customs inspector completes the sealing work.

4. Fees for goods (including postal items and parcels), luggage, transport vehicles transiting through Vietnam, goods entrusted for export and import by foreigners.

a) Objects subject to fees:

- Goods (including postal items and parcels), luggage, transport vehicles transiting or using Vietnam's territory, which are not within the scope defined in point 3a, Part I of this Circular and foreign individuals and overseas Vietnamese transiting through Vietnam.

- Exported and imported goods entrusted to foreigners.

b) Paying entities:

- The person coming to handle procedures is a foreigner and an overseas Vietnamese.

- Vietnamese organizations and units permitted to undertake the task of exporting and importing goods on behalf of foreigners.

c) Collection rate: Based on the mode of transport and distance traveled as follows:

d) Time limit for payment:

The person coming to handle procedures must pay the fee immediately upon arrival to handle the shipment.

5. Fees for goods and luggage requesting Customs to reconfirm documents:

a) Objects subject to fees:

- Types of documents that the person requests to be reconfirmed after being issued by the Customs authority according to current regulations.

b) Fee levels:

For each type of document requested to be reconfirmed by Customs, a fee of 10,000 VND (for domestic consignors) and 1 USD (for foreign consignors or overseas Vietnamese) must be paid.

c) Payment deadline:

Before receiving the documents reconfirmed by Customs.

III. IMPLEMENTATION AND USE OF CUSTOMS FEES

1. Implementation organization:

- The direct unit collecting Customs fees is the Customs authority of provinces and cities, border gates, mobile inspection teams, and cargo return stations under provincial and city Customs authorities.

- All fees mentioned in this Circular shall be collected in Vietnamese dong.

Except for fees for goods, luggage, postal items, and transport vehicles transiting through Vietnam and fees for goods and luggage requesting Customs to reconfirm documents for domestic consignors, which shall be collected in Vietnamese dong, and for foreign consignors and overseas Vietnamese, which shall be collected in US dollars (USD). In case there is no USD, the head of the direct fee collection unit shall report to the provincial or city Customs director for approval to collect in Vietnamese dong at the current exchange rate for import and export taxes. - Customs fees shall be collected using the following documents:

+ Notice of Customs fee payment.

+ Customs fee receipt issued by the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation).

2. Use of Customs fees:

The Customs sector is entitled to retain 35% of the collected fees to cover direct costs incurred during the process of collecting fees, to purchase management equipment for goods storage, to provide allowances for staff involved in transporting goods, guarding warehouses, and to supplement bonuses for outstanding staff directly involved in collecting Customs fees.

The remaining amount (after retaining the above percentage) must be deposited into the state budget at local treasuries according to item 35 of the state budget classification.

The General Administration of Customs will guide and inspect provincial and city Customs authorities in implementing the collection and expenditure system of fees in accordance with current policies and settle accounts with the Ministry of Finance by the end of the year.

Besides the fees uniformly stipulated by the Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Customs in this Circular, provincial and city Customs authorities are not allowed to establish any additional fees.

This Circular replaces Circular No. 1010 TTLB-TCHQ dated December 31, 1991, issued by the Ministry of Finance - General Administration of Customs, and takes effect from April 1, 1993.