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

JOINT CIRCULAR

Prescribing the regime for collection, payment, and management and use of customs fees

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 Implementing Article 5 of the Regulations 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 prescribe in detail the regime for collection, payment, and management and use 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 prescribed in this Circular include:

- Customs storage fees.

- Customs procedure fees at locations other than those officially designated for customs inspection upon request of the consignor.

- Escort fees and sealing fees for goods.

- Goods fees (including postal items), baggage, conveyances transiting through Vietnam, exported and imported goods entrusted to foreigners.

- Fees for customs confirmation of documents.

2. The person subject to customs supervision (the owner of baggage, goods, conveyance) or their lawful representative hereinafter referred to as the person handling customs procedures must pay the customs fee once at the place where the customs authority receives the object, manages it, and implements necessary measures as stipulated in Points 1a, 2a, 3a1, 3b1, 4a, 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 under agreements in international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has acceded or recognized.

b) Humanitarian aid goods.

c) Goods undergoing inspection that need to be stored overnight to complete the procedures the next day.

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

4. Adjustment of customs fee rates:

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

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Customs storage fees:

a) Objects subject to collection:

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

b) Rates:

- Based on quantity, value, storage time of the goods, and the rate of customs fees to calculate the amount of fees to be collected.

- In exceptional cases, if the customs storage fee payable is equivalent to 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 ensure that the maximum rate does not exceed 60% of the value of the deposited goods or baggage.

- Goods stored in customs warehouses beyond six months (for perishable goods such as food, tobacco... two months) from the date of the third notice issued by the customs inviting the owner to collect the goods, but without response or no one coming to collect them, the 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, the funds will be remitted to the state budget (in both cases, incidental expenses will be deducted).

c) Payment deadline:

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

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

a) Objects subject to collection:

Goods (including postal items), baggage, conveyances for which the person handling customs procedures requests customs inspection at other locations approved by the customs authority.

b) Rates: Calculated based on the volume of goods, baggage, postal items, conveyances for one customs procedure. Specifically as follows:

c) Payment deadline: The person handling customs procedures must pay the fee before the customs inspector signs off on the completion of the customs procedure.

3. Escort fees and sealing fees for goods:

a) Escort fees:

a. 1) Objects subject to collection:

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

- Goods (including postal items), baggage, conveyances for transit through Vietnam (if they require customs escort).

a.2) Rate of escort fees: Calculated based on the mode of transport and distance to be escorted. Specifically as follows:

a. 3) Time limit for payment of escort fees

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

b) Sealing fees for goods:

b.1) Objectives of collection:

Goods (including postal items and parcels), luggage, means of transport for export and import must be subject to Customs sealing.

b.2) Collection rates:

- The rate for one seal (paper or lead seal) 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 wagon, etc., is 10,000 VND.

b.3) Time limit for payment of sealing fees:

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

4. Fees for goods (including postal items and parcels), luggage, means of transport for transit through Vietnam, goods for export and import entrusted to foreigners.

a) Objects subject to collection:

- Goods (including postal items and parcels), luggage, means of transport for transit and passage of state agencies, economic organizations or units of the requesting country not falling within the scope of point 3a part I of this Circular and foreign individuals and overseas Vietnamese transiting Vietnam.

- Goods for export and import entrusted to foreigners.

b) Payees:

- The person coming to handle procedures is a foreigner and a Vietnamese residing abroad.

- Vietnamese organizations and units permitted to undertake export and import agency services for foreigners.

c) Collection rates: Based on the mode of transportation and distance traveled as follows:

d) Time limit for payment:

The person coming to handle procedures must pay the fee immediately when handling the consignment.

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

a) Objects subject to collection:

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

b) Rates:

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 Vietnamese residing abroad) 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 cargo inspection teams, and 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 means of transport for transit and passage through Vietnam and fees for goods, luggage requesting Customs to reconfirm documents for domestic consignors which shall be collected in Vietnamese Dong, for foreign consignors and Vietnamese residing abroad, the fees 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 Director of the provincial or city Customs for approval to collect in Vietnamese Dong at the prevailing exchange rate for import and export duties. - Collection of Customs fees uses the following documents:

+ Notice of Customs fee payment.

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

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 officers escorting goods, guarding warehouses, and to supplement bonuses for officers and staff who have outstanding achievements in collecting Customs fees.

The remaining amount (after retaining the aforementioned percentage) must be deposited into the State Treasury at the local treasury according to item 35 of the State Budget Classification corresponding to chapter, type, section, and category.

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

Apart from 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.