Circular No. 36/2012/TT-BTC guiding import tax for goods subject to preferential tariff rates under the Vietnam-Laos agreement

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on import duties for goods subject to preferential tariff rates under the Vietnam-Laos Agreement

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2010/NĐ-CP dated August 13, 2010 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Export Duties and Import Duties;

_____________________

Pursuant to the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax dated June 14, 2005;

Implementing the Agreement dated December 1, 2011 between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on goods subject to preferential tariff rates under the Vietnam-Laos Agreement (the Vietnam-Laos Agreement 2012); and the guidance of the Prime Minister in Circular No. 8634/VPCP-QHQT dated November 5, 2011 of the Office of the Government;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

The Ministry of Finance issues guidelines on import duties for goods subject to preferential tariff rates under the Vietnam-Laos Agreement as follows:

Article 1. List of imported goods eligible for reduced tariffs and List of imported goods not eligible for reduced tariffs

1. Attached hereto is the list of imported goods eligible for a 50% reduction in the special preferential tariff rate specified in the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) Tariff Schedule issued pursuant to Circular No. 161/2011/TT-BTC dated November 17, 2011 of the Minister of Finance (Annex I). In cases where goods listed in Annex I attached hereto are not included in the ATIGA Tariff Schedule, they shall be eligible for a 50% reduction in the preferential tariff rate specified in the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) Tariff Schedule issued pursuant to Circular No. 157/2011/TT-BTC dated November 14, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance. Where the tariff rate specified in the ATIGA Tariff Schedule is higher than that in the MFN Tariff Schedule, the reduction shall be applied at 50% of the tariff rate specified in the MFN Tariff Schedule.

2. Attached hereto is the list of imported goods not eligible for a reduction in the preferential tariff rate under the Vietnam-Laos Agreement 2012 (Annex II).

Article 2. Goods eligible for a 0% import duty rate

Imported goods originating from the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) which are not included in the two lists set forth in Article 1 of this Circular shall be eligible for a 0% import duty rate (zero percent).

Article 3. Conditions for imported goods to be eligible for a 50% reduction in the import duty rate and a 0% import duty rate

1. Imported goods to be eligible for a 50% reduction in the import duty rate as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 1 and a 0% import duty rate as stipulated in Article 2 of this Circular must satisfy all of the following conditions:

a) Imported through customs declarations registered with the customs authority from January 1, 2012.

b) Goods must be imported directly from Lao PDR into Vietnam and must have a Certificate of Origin in Form S (C/O Form S) issued by the competent authority of Lao PDR in accordance with the regulations.

c) Cleared through the border gates listed in Annex III attached hereto.

2. The difference in tax amount between the tax already paid and the tax calculated according to the import duty rate specified in this Circular will be refunded.

2. The amount of tax difference between the tax already paid and the tax calculated at the import tax rate specified in this Circular shall be refunded.

Article 4. Goods subject to tariff quotas

1. Goods subject to tariff quotas under the Vietnam-Laos Agreement 2012 include: rice of all kinds; tobacco leaves and tobacco stems, as specified in Appendix IV attached hereto.

2. Import duty rates for goods subject to tariff quotas:

a) Goods imported within the quantity of the quota set forth in Appendix IV attached hereto, meeting the conditions stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular and Article 2 of Circular No. 44/2011/TT-BCT dated December 26, 2011 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on importation under tariff quotas in 2012 with a zero percent import duty rate for goods originating from the Lao People's Democratic Republic shall be subject to a zero percent import duty rate.

b) In the case where goods imported exceed the quantity of the tariff quota for imports in 2012 specified in Appendix IV and meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular, the excess portion shall be subject to a reduced duty rate of fifty percent as provided for in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular for goods listed in Appendix I.

c) In the case where goods imported exceed the quantity of the tariff quota for imports in 2012 specified in Appendix IV and do not meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular, the excess portion shall be subject to the duty rate specified in the ATIGA Tariff Schedule or the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) Tariff Schedule.

d) Specifically, for tobacco leaves and tobacco stems, the following shall apply:

- In the case where the quantity of tobacco leaves and tobacco stems imported exceeds the quantity of the tariff quota for imports in 2012 specified in Appendix IV but still falls within the total quantity of the tariff quota for imports in 2012 and complies with the conditions stipulated in Vietnamese legal regulations on tariff quotas, the excess portion shall be subject to the MFN Tariff Schedule.

- In the case where the quantity of tobacco leaves and tobacco stems imported exceeds the quantity specified in Appendix IV and surpasses the total quantity of the tariff quota for imports in 2012 or does not comply with the conditions stipulated in Vietnamese legal regulations on tariff quotas, the excess portion shall be subject to the out-of-quota duty rate for tobacco leaves and tobacco stems as prescribed in Circular No. 188/2009/TT-BTC dated September 29, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance on the list of goods and import duty rates applicable to tariff quotas and related documents on import duty rates applicable to tariff quotas issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 5. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2012 until December 31, 2012.

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 80/2009/TT-BTC dated April 22, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the import duty rates for goods imported from Laos.

3. This Circular will apply in subsequent years if the Agreement between the Governments of Vietnam and Laos signed on December 1, 2011 is extended./.