Decision No. 56/2003/QD-BTC on customs declaration documents and customs procedures for exported and imported goods under purchase contracts.

DECISION OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Regarding the customs declaration documents and customs procedures for exported goods under sales contracts

for exported goods under sales contracts

 

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

 

Pursuant to the Customs Law No. 29/2001/QH10 adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its tenth session, ninth meeting on June 29, 2001;

Pursuant to Decree No. 101/2001/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2001 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Customs Law concerning customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision systems;

Pursuant to Decree No. 86/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 5, 2002 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

Considering the proposal of the General Director of the General Department of Customs,

 

DECISION:

 

Article 1. Issued with this Decision are the regulations on customs declaration documents and customs procedures for imported and exported goods under sales contracts.

Article 2. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. Decree No. 1494/2001/QĐ-TCHQ dated December 26, 2001, Clause 3 of Decree No. 19/2002/QĐ-TCHQ dated January 10, 2002 of the General Director of the General Department of Customs, and other guiding documents inconsistent with this Decision are hereby abolished.

Article 3. The General Director of the General Department of Customs, Heads of units under the Ministry of Finance, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decision./.

 

REGULATIONS ON CUSTOMS DECLARATION DOCUMENTS AND CUSTOMS PROCEDURES

FOR EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS UNDER SALES CONTRACTS

(Issued together with Decision No. 56/2003/QĐ-BTC dated April 16, 2003)

of the Minister of Finance)

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1. To avoid duplication, contents clearly and specifically provided in the Customs Law and Decree No. 101/2001/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2001 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Customs Law concerning customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision systems will not be repeated herein. When implementing these Regulations, reference must be made to the Customs Law and Decree No. 101/2001/NĐ-CP mentioned above.

2. The customs procedures stipulated in Part III and Part IV of these Regulations are basic procedures applicable to exported and imported goods under sales contracts. For consignments exempted from physical inspection, goods with a zero tax rate, or goods eligible for tax exemption, some steps in the basic procedure may be omitted. At ports where the volume of imported and exported goods is small, to avoid wastage of manpower, one customs officer may concurrently handle two to three procedural stages.

3. The Head of the Customs Branch is responsible for organizing and directing the implementation of these Regulations. A Leader of the Branch directly oversees the customs procedures to decide on the form and proportion of physical inspections of goods and to resolve any issues arising during the process that exceed the authority of subordinate officers.

4. At each stage of declaration registration and tax assessment, each stage is assigned to one customs officer who is responsible for it, without dividing it into smaller tasks handled by multiple people to minimize the need for customs declaration documents to circulate among many customs officers. The Team Leader directly manages the stages within the procedure. Physical inspection of goods and tax assessment stages are directly managed by a Team Leader who performs certain tasks specified below. The Team Leader does not perform tasks that should be carried out directly by subordinate officers. During the management process, if the Team Leader discovers errors or violations by customs officers at the operational stages, they must immediately stop them and report to the Branch Leader overseeing the resolution process. In Branches without Teams, the Branch Leader directly manages the stages within the procedure.

5. The customs officer tasked with registering declarations, physically inspecting goods, and assessing taxes for a consignment must be responsible for their actions regarding that consignment. If there are issues beyond their authority, they must report to their direct leader for resolution.

6. Exported and imported consignments are cleared when they have been confirmed and stamped with the "Customs Procedures Completed" stamp in Box 38 of the Import Goods Declaration Form (Model HQ2002 NK issued with Decision No. 1257/2001/QĐ-TCHQ dated December 28, 2001) or Box 26 of the Export Goods Declaration Form (Model HQ2002 XK issued with Decision No. 1257/2001/QĐ-TCHQ dated December 28, 2001) by the Branch Leader or Team Leader.

The confirmation of completion of customs procedures and clearance of goods is as follows:

a) For consignments requiring physical inspection but with a zero tax rate or eligible for tax exemption, after completing the physical inspection, the Team Leader directly managing the physical inspection stage shall confirm it.

b) For consignments eligible for tax exemption, with a zero tax rate, and exempted from physical inspection, the Branch Leader overseeing the procedure shall confirm it immediately after deciding on the exemption from inspection.

c) For consignments subject to tax, the Team Leader directly managing the tax assessment stage shall confirm it.

The decision to clear non-trade goods for export and import also follows the provisions of this section.

7. Regulations on recording the results of physical inspections on customs declarations:

Recording the results of physical inspections on customs declarations must be clear, specific, and contain sufficient information so that the customs officer conducting the tax assessment can verify the self-assessment of the declarant without requiring additional documents from the enterprise or further explanations from the declarant and the inspector.

a) Before recording specific inspection results, the inspector must record the following items on the declaration:

- Inspection ratio (what percentage);

- Packaging method: Whether uniform or non-uniform (specifically noting whether the entire consignment is uniform or non-uniform, or according to the declarant's declaration, how many packages of each type...);

- Sealing status (if any) and packaging condition (for example: Is the seal intact, what is the condition of the packaging...).

b) Method of recording inspection results:

- If the goods are exempted from inspection, it should be recorded as: "Goods cleared based on the declaration of the declarant."

- If the basis for the result of the appraisal organization's appraisal/result of the competent state agency's inspection is recorded as: "based on the appraisal certificate/Government Inspection Result Certificate number ... dated ..., issued by ...", and record the conclusion of the appraisal organization/state inspection agency onto the customs declaration form; the customs department that decides to clear the goods shall record these results onto the customs declaration form.

c) Goods subject to probability inspection:

- If inspecting the entire container, clearly record the container number, seal number, lead seal of the inspected container. If only inspecting some items within the container, clearly record the item numbers inspected, the position of the item within the container (for example: outer side, inner side, right side, left side... of the container) and the code mark of each item. In cases where the items do not have code marks and cannot be distinguished from each other, they must be sealed or marked with the inspected items. The Director of the Provincial/City Customs Service shall specify the marking format to be applied by their unit;

- If it is bulk cargo, clearly indicate that it is bulk cargo and the position of the inspected portion (for example, inspect the inner part, outer part, upper part, lower part...);

- If the goods are uniformly packaged, randomly select items for inspection or items suspected of issues. If the items are not uniform, choose representative items for each type of item or suspected items for inspection, but still ensure the inspection ratio;

- If inspecting a percentage but the goods are single units (for example, one car), inspect the single unit. If the percentage of the number of goods is a fraction, round up the number for inspection (for example, 3% of 50 items is 1.5 items, then round up to 2 items for inspection);

- During the inspection process, if the inspector determines that changing the inspection ratio is necessary to ensure high representativeness for the entire consignment, report to the Branch Director to change the inspection ratio. The change in the inspection ratio and the reasons for the change must be clearly recorded in the customs declaration form;

- When deciding the form and ratio of inspection, if there is suspicious information about specific containers, items, or portions of goods, the Branch Director may decide specifically which containers, items, or portions of goods the inspector must inspect. This decision must be fully reflected on the customs declaration form.

For consignments subject to probability inspection, the inspector is responsible for the quantity of goods inspected, while the enterprise is responsible for the remainder. Probability inspection must have high representativeness for the entire consignment. Therefore, Branch Leaders and inspectors must take responsibility seriously, effectively utilize all available information and experience, and be very sensitive in deciding the form, ratio, measures, and methods of inspection.

- Record the conclusion regarding the actual export/import goods:

+ If the quantity of goods inspected matches the declaration of the declarant, record: "Based on the actual inspection results of the above items, the conclusion is: Exported/imported goods inspected match the declaration";

+ If the quantity of goods inspected differs from the declaration of the declarant, conduct a full inspection of the consignment. When recording the inspection results, clearly specify the name (code) of the goods, quantity, origin, quality... of the actual exported/imported goods (what is incorrect should be recorded accordingly). Other goods that match the declarant's declaration should be recorded as "Other goods exported/imported match the declaration".

d) Goods subject to full inspection:

- If the inspection results match the consignor's declaration, record: "Exported/imported goods match the declaration";

- If the quantity of goods inspected differs from the declarant's declaration, clearly specify the name (code) of the goods, quantity, origin, quality... of the actual exported/imported goods (what is incorrect should be recorded accordingly). Other goods that match the declarant's declaration should be recorded as "Other goods exported/imported match the declaration".

8. Goods imported must take samples and retain samples in the following cases:

a) When the declarant requests to take samples for customs declaration purposes, the Head of the Port Customs Branch decides whether to allow the declarant to view the goods before taking samples based on the declarant's request.

b) Processed goods and goods required by regulations to be sampled compulsorily;

c) When imported goods require actual inspection, but the customs officer responsible for the actual inspection cannot determine the quality and code of the goods, samples must be taken for analysis, classification, or appraisal. The sampling procedure is as follows:

c1) In cases where analysis, classification, or appraisal is solely to determine the amount of tax payable, if the consignor agrees to comply with the customs authority's decision, after taking samples according to regulations, the Head of the Customs Branch may decide to release the goods without waiting for the appraisal results. This agreement must be signed and clearly stated by the consignor in box number 31 of the import customs declaration form HQ/2002-NK, or box number 22 of the export customs declaration form HQ/2002-XK, stating: "Goods awaiting appraisal results to determine the tax payable, agree to comply with the customs authority's decision." The customs office will provide the declarant with one customs declaration form (not yet confirmed "Customs procedures completed") as proof for presentation to other authorities during transportation. The customs authority will only confirm clearance on the customs declaration form when the formal analysis, classification, and appraisal results are available;

c2) In cases where analysis, classification, or appraisal is to determine whether goods can be imported/exported, after taking samples according to regulations, the Head of the Customs Branch may decide to allow the consignor to store the goods if they meet the customs supervision requirements (specifically sealing). The goods must be sealed by customs and stored at the designated location, and will only be cleared when the analysis, classification, and appraisal results are available.

c3) For goods that Customs cannot determine through manual inspection but are regularly imported by enterprises for their own production purposes (such as chemicals for leather and shoe production, cosmetics, soap, etc.), and which have previously been appraised with results accepted by the Customs authority, the subsequent imports within the next six months shall not be required to undergo appraisal. To prevent abuse, the Head of the Customs Sub-Department requires the enterprise to submit a written commitment stating that the imported goods are indeed the same goods previously appraised. When deemed necessary, the Customs authority may decide to conduct random inspections and appraisals.

c4) For imported goods subject to national quality inspection requirements: Implement according to the guidelines set forth in Circular Joint Circular No. 37/2001/TTLT/BKHCNMT-TCHQ dated June 28, 2001, issued by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment and the General Department of Customs.

d) If the declarant disagrees with the actual inspection results of the goods, the declarant is permitted to take samples of the goods for appraisal.

e) The procedures for sampling and retaining samples shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

9. The customs officer is responsible for guiding the declarant on customs procedures and related matters in compliance with the relevant provisions.

10. The implementation of customs procedures for exported and imported goods under this Regulation must be closely linked to customs control and supervision operations and post-clearance inspections.

11. This process must be integrated with the application of information technology. Customs Sub-Departments applying computerization in customs procedures must use the multi-functional information technology system of the General Department of Customs.

II. PROVISIONS ON CUSTOMS PROCEDURE DOCUMENTATION:

When handling customs procedures for export and import consignments, the declarant must submit the customs documentation at the Customs Sub-Department office and bear legal responsibility for the legality and validity of the customs documentation and the accuracy of the declared contents in the customs declaration form.

1. Customs Documentation for Exported Goods:

a) Documents to be submitted:

- Export goods customs declaration form: 02 original copies;

- Sales contract or equivalent document: 01 copy;

- Commercial invoice (if the goods are subject to taxation): 01 original copy.

b) Additional documents to be submitted in the following cases:

- Detailed list of goods (for non-uniformly packed goods): 02 original copies;

- Permit for export issued by the competent state agency (for goods listed in the prohibited export or conditionally permitted export list): 01 original copy (if exporting once);

In case this document is used for multiple exports, a copy should be submitted and the original presented. The first-time processing Customs Sub-Department will issue a tracking deduction certificate, stamp it with business seal number 02 (annexed to Decision No. 1200/2001/QĐ-TCHQ dated November 23, 2001), and note: "Tracking deduction certificate issued, date, month, year." The original will be returned to the consignor and the copy retained by Customs.

- Entrusted export contract (if acting as an entrusted exporter): 01 copy.

c) Documents to be presented:

- Business registration certificate for import and export activities: 01 copy (original or copy).

2. Customs Documentation for Imported Goods:

a) Documents to be submitted:

- Import goods customs declaration form: 02 original copies;

- Sales contract or equivalent document: 01 copy;

- Commercial invoice: 1 original;

- Transport document: 01 copy from the original (original) or surrendered (port delivery bill of lading) or original copy marked "copy" (copy);

b) Additional documents to be submitted in the following cases:

- Detailed list of goods (for non-uniformly packed goods): 01 original copy and 1 copy;

- Import valuation declaration form (for cases where valuation declaration is required): 2 original copies;

- Permit for import issued by the competent state agency (for goods listed in the prohibited import or conditionally permitted import list): 01 original copy (if importing once);

In case this document is used for multiple imports, a copy should be submitted and the original presented. The first-time processing Customs Sub-Department will issue a tracking deduction certificate, stamp it with business seal number 02 02 (annexed to Decision No. 1200/2001/QĐ-TCHQ dated November 23, 2001), and note: "Tracking deduction certificate issued, date, month, year." The original will be returned to the consignor and the copy retained by Customs.

- Certificate of origin (C/O) (as required): 01 original copy;

- Entrusted import contract (if acting as an entrusted importer): 01 copy;

- Quality inspection registration certificate or notification of exemption from inspection issued by the state quality inspection agency (for goods requiring state quality inspection): 01 original copy;

- Quarantine registration certificate issued by the quarantine agency (for goods requiring quarantine): 01 original copy.

When handling customs procedures for imported goods through seaports, the declarant must also submit the Delivery Order (D/O). If the customs clearance is handled by a Customs Sub-Department outside the port, the declarant may submit the D/O to the Customs Sub-Department handling the customs clearance or to the port Customs Sub-Department.

c) Documents to be presented:

- Business registration certificate: 01 copy (original or copy);

- Business registration certificate for import and export activities: 01 copy (original or copy).

3. Other Provisions Regarding Documentation in Customs Procedures:

a) Provisions regarding late submission, supplementary, replacement, and correction of documents, and waiting for appraisal results are implemented in accordance with Point 2, Article 7 of Decree No. 101/2001/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2001, detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Customs concerning customs procedures and customs control and supervision systems.

b) If the documents in the customs documentation are specified as copies, they must be certified true copies by the Director or Deputy Director of the enterprise or a person authorized by the Director of the enterprise, signed and stamped, and the enterprise bears legal responsibility for the legality of these documents.

III. CUSTOMS PROCEDURE PROCESS FOR EXPORTED GOODS UNDER A SALES CONTRACT:

Step 1: Receiving and registering the customs declaration form and determining the method of physical inspection of goods.

1. Responsibilities of the customs officer receiving and registering the customs declaration form:

The acceptance, registration of customs declaration for one consignment of goods shall be carried out by one customs officer who shall be responsible for performing the following tasks:

a) Checking the consistency and completeness of the customs documents in accordance with regulations. In case of refusal to accept the registration of customs documents, report to the direct supervisor and subsequently inform the declarant of the reasons;

b) Verifying the declaration on the customs declaration form and documents within the customs dossier, ensuring the conformity between the declared contents and the documents within the customs dossier;

c) Comparing the export management policy with the exported consignment;

d) Entering the data from the customs declaration into the computer system and registering the customs declaration;

e) Transferring the customs dossier to the Head of the Customs Branch;

f) Preparing the violation record (if any) and:

- Proposing measures to handle violations within the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch; or:

- Completing the dossier for the Head of the Customs Branch to report to higher authorities for handling cases exceeding the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch.

g) Issuing a tax notification based on the self-calculated and self-declared tax amount by the declarant in the following cases:

- Goods exempted from physical inspection;

- Goods transferred at border gates.

2. Responsibilities of the Head of the Customs Branch overseeing the export procedures:

a) Deciding on the form and ratio of physical inspections of goods;

b) Administering administrative penalties for violations within the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch; or confirming in the penalty dossier to report to higher authorities for cases exceeding the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch (if any);

c) Signing confirmation that the customs formalities have been completed and the goods have been cleared for export in accordance with Point 6(b) Part I; or:

Transferring the dossier to the department responsible for conducting physical inspections and calculating taxes (for export goods subject to taxation and requiring physical inspections);

d) Resolving issues beyond the authority of subordinate customs officers.

Step 2: Physical Inspection of Goods and Tax Calculation.

This step is overseen by a Team Leader. The physical inspection of goods and tax calculation shall be conducted jointly by two customs officers (without division of labor). The customs officers performing duties at this step must complete and be responsible for the following tasks:

a) For consignments requiring inspection: Conducting physical inspections according to current regulations and the Head of the Customs Branch's decision on the form and ratio of inspections; confirming the results of the physical inspection on the customs declaration;

b) For goods subject to taxation: Verifying the self-calculated tax amount by the declarant; comparing the self-declared and self-calculated tax amount with the actual inspection results (if any) and tax policies; deciding on adjustments to the tax payable (if any); Issuing a tax notification or Tax Receipt. The tax notification process is as follows:

- Goods with inspection results already available (tax notification based on the actual inspection results of the goods);

- Goods awaiting analysis, classification, or appraisal results as a basis for tax calculation (tax notification based on the self-calculated and self-declared tax amount by the declarant);

- Goods not cleared on the same day (tax notification based on the self-calculated and self-declared tax amount by the declarant).

c) Transferring the customs dossier to the Team Leader directly overseeing the physical inspection and tax calculation steps for signing confirmation that the customs formalities have been completed;

d) For consignments requiring a violation record:

- Proposing measures to handle violations within the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch; or:

- Completing the dossier for the Head of the Customs Branch to report to higher authorities for handling cases exceeding the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch.

e) Entering the data on the results of the physical inspection and tax calculation into the computer;

f) Stamping the customs declaration for exported goods with the "Customs Formalities Completed" stamp and returning it to the consignor;

g) Transferring the dossier to the tax accounting team and consolidating the customs dossier.

(See Diagram 1 of the customs procedure for an export consignment under a sales contract).

IV. CUSTOMS PROCEDURE FOR IMPORTED GOODS UNDER A SALES CONTRACT:

Step 1: Receiving and registering the customs declaration form and determining the method of physical inspection of goods.

1. Responsibilities of the customs officer receiving and registering the customs declaration form:

The acceptance, registration of customs declaration for one consignment of goods shall be carried out by one customs officer who shall be responsible for performing the following tasks:

a) Checking the list of enterprises required to compulsorily perform customs formalities;

b) Tasks specified in Point 1 Step 1 Part III (from point a to point f).

2. Responsibilities of the Head of the Customs Branch overseeing import procedures:

a) Deciding on the form and ratio of physical inspections of goods;

b) Administering administrative penalties for violations within the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch; or confirming in the penalty dossier to report to higher authorities for cases exceeding the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch (if any);

c) Resolving issues beyond the authority of subordinate customs officers;

d) Signing confirmation that the customs formalities have been completed and the goods have been cleared for import in accordance with Point 6(b) Part I; or transferring the customs dossier to Step 2 for consignments requiring physical inspection; or transferring the customs dossier to Step 3 for consignments exempted from physical inspection.

Step 2: Physical Inspection of Goods.

This step is overseen by a Team Leader. The physical inspection of goods must be conducted by at least two customs officers who are responsible for the following tasks:

a) Conducting physical inspections according to regulations and decisions of the Head of the Customs Branch;

b) Confirming the results of the physical inspection on the customs declaration;

c) For consignments requiring a violation record:

- Proposing measures to handle violations within the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch; or:

- Completing the dossier for the Head of the Customs Branch to report to higher authorities for handling cases exceeding the authority of the Head of the Customs Branch.

d) Entering the data on the results of the physical inspection into the computer;

e) Transferring the dossier to the next operational stage as follows:

- Transferring to Step 3 for consignments subject to tax and customs fees for customs officers to verify the tax calculation by the consignor;

- Transferring to the Team Leader directly overseeing the physical inspection of goods for consignments not subject to tax to confirm that the customs formalities have been completed and the goods have been cleared for import in accordance with Point 6(a) Part I and returning the customs declaration to the consignor;

- Transferring to the Head of the Customs Branch responsible for resolving cases as specified in Point 2(b), (c) Step 1 Part IV.

Step 3: Tax Calculation.

This step is overseen by a Team Leader. The tax calculation for a consignment shall be conducted by one customs officer (except for the collection of money which is handled by the cashier). The customs officer responsible for tax calculation must complete and be responsible for the following tasks:

a) Based on current laws and regulations, the self-calculated tax results of the customs declarant and the actual inspection results of the goods (if any), to verify and determine the amount of tax payable for the consignment; Write the customs fee receipt; Issue a tax notification or tax receipt. The tax notification shall be carried out as prescribed in Step 2 of Part III above.

b) Transfer the tax receipt and customs fee receipt to the cashier;

c) Enter data into the computer;

d) Transfer the file to the Team Leader directly managing the tax calculation process to confirm that the customs procedures have been completed and the clearance has been conducted in accordance with point 6.(c) of Part I and return the customs declaration form to the consignor;

e) Transfer the customs file to the Tax Accounting Team and consolidate the customs file.

(See Diagram 2 of the customs procedures for an imported consignment under a sales contract).