Circular No. 62/2019/TT-BTC amends and supplements certain provisions of Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018, of the Minister of Finance on the determination of origin of export and import goods.

CIRCULAR

AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE CIRCULAR NO. 38/2018/TT-BTC DATED APRIL 20, 2018 ISSUED BY THE MINISTER OF FINANCE ON THE DETERMINATION OF THE ORIGIN OF EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

Pursuant to the Customs Law dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Export Duties and Import Duties dated April 6, 2016;

Pursuant to the Law on Foreign Trade Management dated June 12, 2017;

Pursuant to Decree No. 08/2015/NĐ-CP dated January 21, 2015 of the Government detailing and providing implementation measures for the Law on Customs regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision, and control; Decree No. 59/2018/NĐ-CP dated April 20, 2018 amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 08/2015/NĐ-CP dated January 21, 2015 of the Government detailing and providing implementation measures for the Law on Customs regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision, and control;

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 53/2013/QĐ-TTg dated September 13, 2013 of the Prime Minister on temporary importation, re-exportation, destruction, and transfer of motor vehicles and motorcycles with engines for beneficiaries enjoying privileges and immunities in Vietnam

Pursuant to Decree No. 31/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 8, 2018, of the Government detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding the origin of goods;

Pursuant to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership signed on March 8, 2018 in Chile;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 26, 2017, issued by the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

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

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to amend and supplement certain provisions of Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018 of the Minister of Finance on the determination of the origin of exported and imported goods.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular number

1. Point b, Clause 4, Article 4 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“b) In cases where the declarant does not submit the certificate of origin of goods as prescribed in point b, point c, Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, the goods shall not be cleared and shall be handled according to the provisions of the law.”

2. Point h, Clause 6, Article 15 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“h) Differences in HS code on the certificate of origin of goods compared with the HS code on the import declaration form:

In case there are differences in HS code on the certificate of origin of goods compared with the HS code on the import declaration form but the description of goods on the certificate of origin of goods is consistent with the description of goods on the import declaration form, actual imported goods, the customs authority has grounds to determine the goods according to the HS code on the import declaration form, the supplementary import declaration form meets the criteria for origin as prescribed, then the certificate of origin of goods shall be accepted.

In case there are differences in HS code on the certificate of origin of goods compared with the HS code on the import declaration form and the description of goods on the certificate of origin does not match the description of goods on the import declaration form, actual imported goods, the customs authority has grounds to determine that the imported goods are not the goods on the certificate of origin of goods, then the customs authority shall reject the certificate of origin of goods and notify on the Electronic Data Processing System for Customs in accordance with Clause 2, Article 22 of this Circular.

In case there are differences in HS code on the certificate of origin of goods compared with the HS code on the import declaration form but the description of goods on the certificate of origin of goods is consistent with the description of goods on the import declaration form, actual imported goods, and the customs authority has no grounds to determine that the goods according to the HS code on the import declaration form meet one of the criteria for origin prescribed in Decree No. 31/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 8, 2018 of the Government detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management on the origin of goods and related guiding documents, including: pure origin criterion (WO); regional value content (RVC); chapter-level tariff item conversion (CC), heading-level tariff item conversion (CTH), subheading-level tariff item conversion (CTSH); goods produced entirely within the territory of the exporting member country, goods produced from materials of original origin of one or more member countries (PE); specific processing operation (SP); non-compliance rate of materials not meeting the criteria for tariff item conversion (De Minimis) then the customs authority shall carry out verification procedures in accordance with Articles 19 and 21 of this Circular.”

3. Supplement point d, Clause 1, Article 22 as follows:

“d) In cases where there is a certificate of origin of goods at the time of importing procedures but the declarant does not declare the reference number, date of issue or in cases where there is no certificate of origin of goods at the time of importing procedures but the declarant does not declare late submission of the certificate of origin of goods on the import declaration form as prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular, the customs authority shall reject the certificate of origin of goods in accordance with the regulations.

In cases where the declarant declares late submission of the certificate of origin of goods as prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular but supplements and submits the certificate of origin of goods beyond the prescribed deadline in Article 7 of this Circular, the customs authority shall reject the certificate of origin of goods in accordance with the regulations.”

4. Supplement Article 7a as follows:

“Article 7a. Determining the origin of exported and imported goods to apply preferential tariff rates under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (hereinafter referred to as the CPTPP Agreement)

1. The declaration, submission, inspection, verification, and rejection of certificates of origin for exported and imported goods to implement the CPTPP Agreement shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

2. The time limit for submitting certificates of origin for goods to apply preferential tariff rates:

a) The declarant submits to the customs authority at the time of making import customs procedures one of the following types of certificates:

a.1) A certificate of origin issued by the exporter or producer (self-certified certificate of origin): one original copy;

a.2) A Certificate of Origin (C/O) issued by the authorized agency of the exporting member country: one original copy.

b) In cases where the application for preferential tariff rates has not been declared at the time of making import customs procedures, to be eligible for preferential tariff rates, the declarant shall have the responsibility to:

b.1) Clearly declare the origin of the goods and declare late submission of the certificate of origin on the import customs declaration at the time of making customs procedures;

b.2) Supplement and submit one original copy of the certificate of origin within twelve months from the date of registering the import customs declaration.

The procedure for handling excess tax payments shall be implemented in accordance with the laws on tax administration.

3. Minimum requirements for certificates of origin:

a) Certificates of origin must contain the following minimum information:

a.1) Exporter or producer: clearly state whether the certifier is the exporter or the producer;

a.2) Name, address (including country), telephone number, and email address of the certifier;

a.3) Name, address (including country), telephone number, and email address of the exporter if the exporter is not the certifier;

This information is not mandatory if the producer issues the certificate of origin and does not know the exporter's information. The exporter's address is the place of export of goods belonging to a CPTPP member country;

a.4) Name, address (including country), telephone number, and email address of the producer if the producer is not the certifier or the exporter, or if there are multiple producers, then write "Various" ("Multiple producers") or provide a list of producers. If confidential information needs to be kept, it can be noted "Available upon request by the importing authorities" ("Provided upon request by the competent authority of the importing party"). The producer's address is the place of production of goods belonging to a CPTPP member country;

a.5) Name, address, email address, and telephone number of the importer (if there is information about the importer). The importer's address must belong to a CPTPP member country;

a.6) Description and HS code of the goods;

Clearly state the description and HS code at the six-digit level of the goods: The description must correspond to the certified goods. In case the certificate of origin is used for a batch of imported goods, the relevant invoice number related to the export (if known) must be specified;

a.7) Origin criteria: Specifically state the origin criteria that the goods meet;

a.8) Validity period (Blanket Period)

In cases where a single certificate of origin is used for multiple identical batches, the certificate of origin must indicate the applicable period but not exceeding twelve months;

a.9) Date and authorized signature:

The certificate of origin must be signed by the certifier, dated, and accompanied by confirmation: I confirm that the goods described in this document meet the origin conditions and the information contained in this document is accurate and true. I am responsible for proving this declaration and agree to store and present supporting documents for this certification upon request or during verification at the office;

b) Certificates of origin must be issued in paper form or electronic form;

c) In cases where the certificate of origin is not in English, the declarant must translate it into Vietnamese or English and bear responsibility for the content of the translation.

4. In cases where a CPTPP member country notifies that only certificates of origin issued by authorized agencies or approved exporters and producers self-certifying origin will be applied, within one working day from receiving complete notification information from the exporting member country, the General Department of Customs will notify the Customs Departments of provinces and cities about the application of the above forms of certificates of origin, the list of authorized agencies issuing certificates of origin for goods of the exporting member country, the list of approved exporters and producers, and other related information (if any).

5. Customs procedures applicable to cases where certificates of origin are issued for multiple identical batches imported repeatedly within the validity period indicated on the certificate of origin as stipulated in Point a.8, Clause 3, Article herein are as follows:

aCustoms procedures for cases where the certificate of origin does not specify the quantity of imported goods:

When processing the first batch of imported goods under a certificate of origin issued for multiple identical batches, the declarant submits one original copy of the certificate of origin to the customs authority.

The customs authority compares the consistency between the import customs declaration, the certificate of origin, the documents in the customs file, and the rules of origin to apply preferential tariff rates as prescribed.

For subsequent batches, the declarant shall enter the first import declaration number that applied the certificate of origin according to Point a.8, Clause 3, Article herein in the "Notes" section of the import customs declaration. Point a.8, Clause 3, of this Article.

bThe customs procedures for cases where the origin certificate specifies the quantity of imported goods:

The declarant submits one original copy of the origin certificate identical to the consignment to the customs authority and requests its application to multiple identical import consignments.

CThe customs authority must record this origin certificate on the system and deduct the quantity of imported goods specified on the origin certificate according to each importation. The deduction procedure shall be carried out in accordance with Article 23 of this Circular.

c) The customs authority at the place where the first import declaration is opened shall check the form and content of the origin certificate; for subsequent imports, the customs authority shall verify the validity period of the origin certificate; the description and HS code of the imported goods must meet the condition of identical goods.

6. The customs authority accepts the origin certificate to apply the special preferential tariff rate in the case where the commercial invoice is issued by a non-member country.

In the case where the commercial invoice is issued by a non-member country, the origin certificate must be issued separately from that commercial invoice.

7. In the case where goods transit through the territory of one or more non-member countries as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 21 of Circular No. 03/2019/TT-BCT dated January 22, 2019, issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade specifying the Rules of Origin of Goods under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 03/2019/TT-BCT),the declarant shall submit the proof document as prescribed in point a, Clause 3, Article 18 of this Circular.

8. The customs authority rejects the origin certificate in the following cases:

a) Determining that the imported goods do not meet the conditions for applying preferential tariffs as prescribed;

b) When conducting verification but not receiving sufficient information to determine the origin of the goods as prescribed;

c) Exceeding the 180-day period from the date when the General Department of Customs sends the request for verification, but the exporter or producer or the competent authority issuing the origin certificate does not respond to the verification request or does not provide verification information as prescribed;

d) Exceeding the 30-day period from the date of receipt of the request of the General Department of Customs to conduct direct verification in the exporting country, but the exporter or producer or the competent authority issuing the origin certificate does not send a written response accepting or rejecting the inspection request;

đ) The case prescribed in point d, Clause 1, Article 22 of this Circular.

9. Before making a decision to reject the origin certificate of imported goods, the General Department of Customs shall notify the content of the verification results as prescribed in Article 27 of Circular No. 03/2019/TT-BCT to the importer, exporter, producer, or competent authority issuing the origin certificate which has provided verification information. The exporter or producer or the competent authority of the exporting country shall provide or supplement additional information related to the origin of the goods within a maximum of 90 days from the date the General Department of Customs sends the notification.

10. In the case of refusing to apply the special preferential tariff rate, the customs authority shall notify the reasons in writing to the importer. knowledge thereof.

Article 2. Amend and supplement the "Description" column in Item III of Appendix II of the List of Import Goods Required to Submit Origin Certificates to Customs Authorities issued together with Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC.

"Automobiles with HS code belonging to Chapter 87, except:

Special purpose vehicles; tractor units for containers;

Temporarily imported automobiles of persons entitled to preferential treatment or exemption;

Imported automobiles for gifts, donations, movable property; foreign aid; scientific research purposes;

Imported automobiles under temporary import re-export, transfer, storage in bonded warehouses, transit procedures;

Imported automobiles for security and defense purposes according to permits or confirmations from the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security or units authorized and delegated by these ministries."

Article 3. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from October 21, 2019.

2. For import and export customs declarations registered from January 14, 2019 to before the date this Circular takes effect, the rules on origin and tariff rates under the CPTPP Agreement, Decree No. 57/2019/NĐ-CP dated June 26, 2019 of the Government promulgating the Export Tariff and Preferential Import Tariff for Implementing the CPTPP from 2019 to 2022, and Clause 4 of Article 1 of this Circular shall apply, except for the requirement to declare reference number, issuance date, or late submission of origin certificates on import customs declarations. The declarant who has overpaid taxes may submit a request to the customs authority where the declaration was registered for refund according to regulations.

3. Customs authorities with jurisdiction shall implement verification and determination of origin for exported and imported goods in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC, this Circular, and related legal documents. In case of difficulties during implementation, customs authorities, declarants, and taxpayers shall report, reflect, and propose specific solutions to the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Customs) for consideration and guidance.

4. During implementation, if the related documents referred to in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented according to the new amended, supplemented, or replacedpolicies./.