CIRCULAR

Guidelines for handling imported goods without valid documentation from before September 30, 1990

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Circular No. 255 dated September 27, 1990 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers stipulated that "all goods imported from September 30, 1990, and earlier without valid permits shall be considered as smuggled goods and confiscated; customs and trade agencies shall not allow temporary importation or storage pending permit issuance. Permits signed from September 30, 1990, and earlier for the aforementioned consignments to legitimize smuggling shall be deemed invalid..." The Ministry of Finance provides financial guidelines for handling consignments determined by competent authorities to be smuggled goods, in accordance with the directives of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers as follows:

I. DETERMINATION OF OBJECTS SUBJECT TO THE CONFISCATION OF SMUGGLED GOODS:

All imported goods are received at seaports or airports, so goods imported from September 30, 1990, and earlier without valid documentation must be identified and recorded by the port directors and airport directors. They are responsible for organizing inventory, preservation, and storage of these consignments without loss or damage, and they may not transfer them to anyone without an order from the Council of Ministers or the Central Anti-Smuggling Task Force.

In cases of goods imported via land or river routes through western or southwestern borders, border gate customs have the responsibility to identify and report to the Central Specialized Anti-Smuggling Task Force or the Market Management Board any consignments lacking valid documentation (if any).

II. ORGANIZATION FOR HANDLING SMUGGLED GOODS

1. After recording consignments without valid documentation, ports and airports, together with border gate customs, must accurately determine the legal status (without valid documentation) of each consignment and fully report this information to the Central Anti-Smuggling Task Force, provincial People's Committees, centrally-administered cities, and special administrative regions (local People's Committee).

2. Ports and airports must coordinate with border gate customs to uniformly classify consignments, distinguishing those with addresses (with owners) from those without addresses (without owners).

- For consignments with addresses, ports and airports must notify the owners. Subsequently, they must invite the owner, along with representatives from customs and the Central Specialized Anti-Smuggling Task Force (or local People's Committee representatives if the Central Task Force is unavailable), to establish a confiscation record for the smuggled goods (without valid documentation).

For consignments without addresses, ports and airports must coordinate with border gate customs, then invite the Central Specialized Anti-Smuggling Task Force (or local People's Committee representatives and local Finance Department representatives if the Central Task Force is unavailable) to establish a confiscation record for the smuggled goods (without valid documentation).

- The confiscation record must be sent to all participating agencies, and one copy must be sent to the Ministry of Finance.

3. After confiscating the goods, ports and airports must organize the sale of these consignments and deposit the proceeds into the state budget.

- For consignments with addresses, priority should be given to selling to the owners. If they do not purchase, then sell to state-owned trading units or other units.

- For consignments without addresses, priority should be given to selling to state-owned trading units. If they do not purchase, then sell to other units.

- Goods that are prone to spoilage must be sold quickly to avoid losses to the State.

- Regarding the selling price, apply the wholesale price: based on the local market price, minus a discount rate (fees, taxes, interest) for the business unit. The specific selling price must be determined by the local finance and price control agency and approved by the Central Anti-Smuggling Task Force.

- Proceeds from sales must be immediately deposited into the state budget account under Chapter 19, Type 5, Clause 09, Item 47, with 10% retained for covering expenses such as loading, transportation, storage, inspection, customs procedures, rewards for participating forces... This activity will be accounted for as supplementary business results for settlement with the state finance.

The above are financial guidelines for handling consignments determined to be smuggled goods (without valid documentation). To avoid future financial complications, ports and airports must closely cooperate with customs agencies and the Central Specialized Anti-Smuggling Task Force to accurately determine the legal status of consignments lacking valid documentation according to Circular No. 25 dated September 27, 1990, and the directives of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.