Circular No. 76/2007/TT-BTC guiding financial regulations and customs procedures applicable at the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on financial regime and customs procedures applicable to

Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province

Pursuant to the State Budget Law;

Pursuant to laws and ordinances on taxes, fees, and charges;

Pursuant to Decision No. 253/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 6, 2006 of the Prime Minister on the establishment and issuance of regulations for the operation of Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province;

After receiving the unified opinion of the People's Committee of Quang Nam Province at Circular No. 1434/UBND-KTTH dated May 29, 2007, the Ministry of Finance issues guidelines on the financial regime and customs procedures applicable to Chu Lai Open Economic Zone as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

Article 1. Scope of Application:

The financial regime and customs procedures stipulated in this Circular (hereinafter referred to as the financial regime) shall be applied within the territory of Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam Province (hereinafter referred to as the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone).

The financial regime stipulated in this Circular shall only apply to business activities conducted within the territory of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone. In cases where organizations and individuals conduct business both within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone and in the domestic territory of Vietnam, they must separately account for their business activities within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone as the basis for determining the applicable financial regime.

Foreign-invested enterprises and foreign parties participating in joint venture contracts that have been granted investment licenses; domestic business establishments that have been granted Investment Preference Certificates at the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone before Decision No. 253/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 6, 2006 of

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

The subjects to which this Circular applies are investors belonging to various economic sectors operating in accordance with the Investment Law, Enterprise Law, Cooperative Law, individual business households, and independent practitioners, as well as organizations and individuals engaged in business activities in accordance with the law in Vietnam.

3. Definitions:

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

- Duty-free zone: is a geographic area separated by a physical barrier from other functional zones of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone as provided for in Articles 8 and 9 of Decision No. 253/2006/QĐ-TTg.

- Free Trade Zone: is a geographic area within the duty-free zone, connected to part of the Kỳ Hà port as provided for in Article 8 of Decision No. 253/2006/QĐ-TTg.

- Functional zones: include industrial zones, port and post-port service zones, tourism and entertainment service zones, residential areas, etc., within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (excluding export processing zones) as determined in the General Master Plan of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone approved by the Prime Minister.

- Domestic territory of Vietnam: includes functional zones within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone and the remaining territory of Vietnam (excluding duty-free zones defined in Clause 1, Article 5 of the Export Tax, Import Tax Law 2005, and Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 149/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2005, hereinafter referred to as other duty-free zones).

- Customs control gate: The duty-free zone has two customs control gates: the customs control gate at the junction between the non-tariff port and the sea, abbreviated as Gate A; the customs control gate at the junction between the non-tariff port and the domestic territory, abbreviated as Gate B.

- List of goods originating from the duty-free zone: Is a list of goods issued periodically by the Management Board of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (referred to as the Management Board), including goods produced, processed, recycled, or assembled in the duty-free zone without using imported raw materials or components from abroad.

4. Conditions for applying the financial regime related to the duty-free zone:

Financial mechanisms prescribed for the duty-free zone within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone shall only apply when the duty-free zone satisfies the following conditions simultaneously:

- There is a physical barrier ensuring isolation of activities within the duty-free zone from other functional zones within the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone;

- Within the duty-free zone, there are no residential areas or permanent or temporary residents (including foreigners);

- There is a customs authority supervising and inspecting people, goods, and means of transport entering and exiting the duty-free zone.

5. Some general provisions on customs procedures for the duty-free zone:

a) Organizations and individuals operating within the duty-free zone are permitted to export to and import from abroad all goods and services not prohibited by Vietnamese law. Export and import policies are implemented according to the Prime Minister's regulations on managing exports and imports of goods during different periods and the implementing guidelines issued by relevant ministries and agencies. The export and import of goods listed in the conditional export-import list and restricted trade goods shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance of the Ministry of Commerce; b) Every six months, enterprises in the duty-free zone are responsible for submitting to the customs authority a report on the settlement of materials, raw materials, exported and imported goods for the period, and a report on production inventory. The customs authority will check and reconcile these reports and send them to the tax authority for verification and determination of tax liabilities;

c) Goods, luggage for export, import, transit; means of transport for departure, entry, and transit through the duty-free zone are subject to customs procedures according to the type of goods or means of transport;

d) Goods for export, import, transit; means of transport for departure, entry, and transit through the duty-free zone may only pass through and undergo customs procedures at Gate A and Gate B as specified in Point VI, Section 2, Part B, Circular No. 112/2005/TT-BTC dated December 15, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance guiding customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision.

6. Principles of investment incentives:

Investment projects in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone shall enjoy maximum incentives for investment projects in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions as provided for by laws on investment, corporate income tax, value-added tax, and incentives under international treaties, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements to which Vietnam is a party.

Investment projects in the Chu Lai Export Processing and Tourism Zone shall enjoy the maximum incentives for investment projects in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions as prescribed by laws on investment, corporate income tax, value-added tax, and incentives under international treaties, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements to which Vietnam is a party.

In cases where legal regulatory documents provide different levels of incentives for the same issue, the level of incentive provided in the document with higher legal validity shall be applied.

In cases where legal regulatory documents issued by the same authority provide different regulations on the same issue, the regulation of the later issued document shall be applied.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Tax policy for Chu Lai Industrial Zone:

1.1. Corporate Income Tax:

a) Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals' investment projects to establish new production and business establishments in the Chu Lai Industrial Zone shall enjoy a corporate income tax rate of 10% for 15 years from the date the investment project begins operations; they shall be exempted from corporate income tax for 04 years from the date taxable income is generated; and they shall have their tax payable reduced by 50% for the next 09 years;

b) Investment projects of domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in the Chu Lai Industrial Zone in high-tech fields that meet the provisions of Clause 2, Article 5 of Decree No. 99/2003/NĐ-CP dated August 28, 2003 of the Government on the issuance of the High-Tech Zone Regulation; Investment projects of domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in the Chu Lai Industrial Zone with large scale and significant importance to industry development, sectoral development, or regional economic and social development shall enjoy a corporate income tax rate of 10% throughout the implementation period of the project;

c) Production and business establishments investing in building new production lines, expanding scale, updating technology, improving ecological environment, and enhancing production capacity shall comply with current laws;

d) Income subject to tax from land use rights transfer activities or land lease rights transfer activities must be taxed according to Decree No. 24/2007/NĐ-CP dated February 14, 2007 of the Government detailing corporate income tax and related guiding documents;

đ) During operation, if a loss is determined after settlement with the tax authority, the enterprise may carry forward the loss to subsequent years to offset against taxable income, while simultaneously notifying the tax authority in writing at the time of submitting the annual corporate income tax declaration. The carry-forward period shall not exceed 5 years;

e) To benefit from corporate income tax incentives, organizations and individuals with investment projects in the Chu Lai Industrial Zone must submit copies of the Business Registration Certificate (for domestic enterprises) or Investment License (for foreign-invested enterprises) to the tax authority where the enterprise declares and pays taxes;

f) Enterprises are responsible for registering with the tax authority where the enterprise declares and pays taxes regarding the period during which tax exemptions and reductions are implemented as stipulated herein. The above corporate income tax incentives and loss carry-forwards apply only to production and business establishments that have fully complied with financial-accounting systems and have registered to pay taxes based on declarations.

1.2. Export Duties, Import Duties:

a) Goods exported or imported under the following circumstances are not subject to export duties or import duties:

- Goods exported from the Free Trade Zone to outside the country; Goods imported from outside the country into the Free Trade Zone and only used within the Free Trade Zone;

- Goods transferred from the Free Trade Zone to other Free Trade Zones or vice versa.

- Other goods not subject to export duties originating from Vietnam's domestic market entering the Free Trade Zone.

b) Goods subject to export duties originating from Vietnam's domestic market entering the Free Trade Zone must pay export duties and follow current procedures for export.

c) Goods imported from the Free Trade Zone into Vietnam's domestic market must pay import duties according to the following rules:

- Goods with foreign origin must pay import duties according to current regulations.

- Goods produced, processed, recycled, or assembled in the Free Trade Zone can be subject to preferential import duty rates under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (CEPT) if they meet current conditions.

- Goods listed in the Free Trade Zone Origin List entering Vietnam's domestic market are exempt from import duties.

- Goods produced, processed, recycled, or assembled in the Free Trade Zone in the Chu Lai Industrial Zone using imported raw materials and components directly from abroad (excluding goods imported from Vietnam's domestic market using imported raw materials and components from abroad), when imported into Vietnam's domestic market, only need to pay import duties on the portion of imported raw materials and components from abroad constituting the goods.

The basis for determining the import duties payable on the portion of imported raw materials and components from abroad constituting goods imported into Vietnam's domestic market is:

The dutiable value determined according to current regulations; the quantity of goods imported into Vietnam's domestic market; the import duty rate applicable to each type of raw material and component. The dutiable value and duty rate are applied at the time of declaring importation into the domestic market. Organizations and individuals engaged in production and business have the responsibility to register with the Customs Authority regarding the list of imported goods used as raw materials for production and the quota of raw materials and components used to produce imported goods before importing them into Vietnam's domestic market.

The value of imported raw materials and components constituting each unit of goods imported into Vietnam's domestic market is determined according to the regulations on the dutiable value of imported goods at the time of importation into Vietnam's domestic market.

d) Investment production projects in the Chu Lai Industrial Zone of domestic and foreign organizations and individuals are exempt from import duties on raw materials for production, supplies, components, and semi-finished products that cannot be produced domestically for 05 years from the start of production.

Procedures, documents for exemption from tax, declaration, and settlement of import duties for this case are carried out according to the Law on Export Duties and Import Duties; Decree No. 149/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2005, and Circular No. 113/2005/TT-BTC dated December 15, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance on guiding the implementation of export duties and import duties.

đ) Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities within the Duty-Free Zone who import raw materials for production, supplies, goods from abroad but do not use them up and by-products that still have commercial value are permitted to sell them into the domestic market of Vietnam after completing customs procedures and paying import duties as prescribed.

1. 3. Special consumption tax:

a) Goods and services subject to special consumption tax produced and consumed within the Duty-Free Zone or imported from abroad into the Duty-Free Zone and vice versa are exempt from special consumption tax. However, passenger cars with less than 24 seats must pay special consumption tax according to current general regulations;

b) Goods and services subject to special consumption tax exported from the domestic market of Vietnam into the Duty-Free Zone are exempt from special consumption tax. However, passenger cars with less than 24 seats must pay special consumption tax according to current general regulations;

c) Goods and services subject to special consumption tax transferred from the Duty-Free Zone to other duty-free zones or sold to other export processing zones and vice versa are exempt from special consumption tax;

d) Goods subject to special consumption tax imported from the Duty-Free Zone into the domestic market of Vietnam must pay special consumption tax on imported goods according to current regulations;

1. 4. Value-added tax:

Enterprises operating in the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone shall use value-added tax invoices in accordance with current regulations, register, declare, and pay value-added tax as stipulated in this Circular for cases where value-added tax is payable. For goods and services that are not subject to value-added tax, the value-added tax column in the invoice shall be crossed out (x). Specifically, as follows:

a) Goods and services produced and consumed within the Duty-Free Zone and imported from abroad into the Duty-Free Zone and vice versa are exempt from value-added tax;

b) Goods and services transferred from the Duty-Free Zone to export processing zones and vice versa are exempt from value-added tax;

c) Goods and services exported from the domestic market of Vietnam into the Duty-Free Zone are subject to a zero percent value-added tax rate;

d) Goods and services imported from the Duty-Free Zone into the domestic market of Vietnam must pay value-added tax on imported goods at the applicable rates under current regulations. Specifically, enterprises in the Duty-Free Zone when selling to domestic enterprises, organizations, and individuals shall issue invoices without value-added tax, crossing out the tax rate and value-added tax columns. Domestic enterprises, organizations, and individuals (or enterprises in the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone in the case of self-importation for sale domestically) only need to pay value-added tax on imported goods based on the customs declaration when importing into the domestic market;

1. 5. Regarding prices, fees, charges, and other taxes:

a) The land rental price and the price for renting land that has been developed with technical infrastructure, the cost of using technical infrastructure projects, public service facilities, and public utilities in the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone shall be determined by infrastructure businesses after negotiating with the Management Board of the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone;

b) The Management Board of the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone may collect fees for the use of infrastructure projects and public utilities within the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone in accordance with current laws to cover maintenance, protection costs of infrastructure, and management expenses approved by authorized authorities. Collection and expenditure of fees for the use of infrastructure projects and public utilities within the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone shall be carried out in accordance with current laws;

c) Other types of taxes, fees, and charges shall be implemented in accordance with current laws on taxes, fees, charges, the Investment Law, and guiding legal documents;

2. Customs procedures for goods entering and exiting the Duty-Free Zone:

2. 1. For goods imported from abroad into the Duty-Free Zone:

a) Importing into the Duty-Free Zone through Gate A:

- Organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities importing goods are responsible for declaring customs, submitting customs documents in accordance with current regulations for each type of import as stipulated in Clause 5, Section I of this Circular.

- The customs authority at Gate A shall handle necessary procedures in accordance with current regulations for each type of goods.

b) Importing into the Duty-Free Zone through Gate B: Shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations on transshipment imports;

2. 2. For goods imported from abroad into the domestic market of Vietnam through Gate A and goods exported from the domestic market to abroad through Gate A: Shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations;

2. 3. For goods exported from the domestic market to the Duty-Free Zone:

a) In the case where organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities in the domestic market register customs procedures at the customs authority at Gate B, they must declare customs and submit customs documents in accordance with regulations for each type of export. In the case of internal transportation between enterprises and branches inside and outside the Duty-Free Zone, sales contracts can be replaced by warehouse release documents. The customs authority at Gate B is responsible for fully handling export customs procedures for organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities in the domestic market in accordance with regulations for each type of export;

b) In the case where organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities in the domestic market declare export declarations at the domestic customs office: Customs procedures shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations for transshipment exports. The customs authority at Gate B shall perform the functions of the export customs office for transshipment exports (except for confirming actual export);

2. 4. For goods exported from the Duty-Free Zone to abroad:

a) Through Gate B: Shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations for transshipment exports;

b) Through Gate A: Shall register customs procedures at the customs authority at Gate A. The customs authority at Gate A shall handle customs procedures in accordance with current regulations for exports;

2. 5. For goods brought into the domestic market from the Duty-Free Zone:

a) For goods listed in the Catalogue of Goods of the Duty-Free Zone that are exempt from customs procedures but must be declared regarding quantity to the customs authority and subject to supervision by the customs authority;

b) For other goods, full customs procedures must be carried out as follows:

- Organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities in the duty-free zone (seller) shall provide organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities within the domestic territory (buyer) with all necessary certificates, invoices, and documents as prescribed by the customs authority for the domestic enterprise to declare customs and submit customs documents in accordance with the regulations applicable to each type of import at Customs Gate B;

- Customs Gate B shall be responsible for processing customs procedures for imported goods of domestic enterprises in accordance with the regulations. In case it is found that foreign goods have been brought into the duty-free zone to continue importing into the domestic territory, which are of the same type as goods listed in the Catalogue of Goods of Origin of the Duty-Free Zone announced by the Management Board of Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone, but the enterprise has not declared customs, then the customs authority at Customs Gate B shall request the presentation of documents proving the origin of the consignment; proceed to handle violations and process the importation of the consignment according to the provisions of the law; and simultaneously inform the Management Board of Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone to take management measures or remove such goods from the Catalogue of Goods of Origin of the Duty-Free Zone.

2. 6. For processed goods:

Customs procedures for goods produced and processed by organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities in the duty-free zone for foreign traders or hired organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities within the domestic territory to process and vice versa shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations.

2. 7. Temporary export-reimport; temporary import-reexport; transshipment; transit and transportation:

Exported, imported, transited goods, means of transport exiting, entering, transiting and transporting through the duty-free zone can only pass through gates equipped with customs checkpoints. Customs procedures for temporarily exported-reimported; temporarily imported-reexported; transshipped; transited and transported goods in the duty-free zone shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

2. 8. In addition to the guidelines set forth in this Circular, enterprises must comply with other obligations stipulated in the Law on Customs, the Law on Export Duties and Import Duties, and other guiding documents on customs.

3. Reward system for persons who contribute to attracting investment both domestically and internationally

3. 1. Based on the budget capacity and effectiveness of capital mobilization, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Nam Province shall decide to reward organizations and individuals who contribute to attracting Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds, promoting foreign direct investment projects and domestic investment projects into Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone after obtaining the agreement of the Ministry of Finance according to the principle that rewards for non-refundable capital mobilization forms should be higher than other forms of capital mobilization. The payment of rewards shall be made after the project starts operation, produces products circulating in the market, and the investor has contributed at least 50% of the committed statutory capital.

3. 2. The funds used to reward organizations and individuals who contribute to attracting investment (excluding investment capital from the state budget) for investing in economic and social works in Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone shall be drawn from the local government's reward fund and recorded under extraordinary reward expenses.

4. Preferential development system for infrastructure

4. 1. State budget support for infrastructure investment:

a) Scope and target of state budget investment

- The state budget will support the construction of technical and social infrastructure projects and important public service facilities serving the entire Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone according to programs and targets approved in the budget estimates by competent authorities. The state budget will only support the construction of common infrastructure projects for the entire Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone, excluding infrastructure dedicated to individual functional zones within the Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone, except for supporting the construction of centralized wastewater treatment and waste disposal facilities for functional zones and compensation and land clearance in functional zones and resettlement for families whose land has been expropriated.

- State budget support for the construction of Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone's infrastructure shall be carried out strictly in accordance with approved projects consistent with the planning approved by competent authorities.

- The Management Board of Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone shall be the local planning entity responsible for balancing basic construction funds from the state budget to build Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone's infrastructure; directly managing investment construction projects funded by the state budget within the Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone in accordance with current national regulations on investment management.

b) State budget support for infrastructure construction

- Annually, based on approved economic and social infrastructure investment projects, the progress of implementation of the projects, and the central government's supplementary budget for Quang Nam Province, the central government will allocate funds to Quang Nam Province's budget to invest in the economic and social infrastructure projects of Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone as provided for in the State Budget Law.

- Central government funds allocated to Quang Nam Province's budget for investment in economic and social infrastructure projects, public service facilities, and public utilities of Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone shall be clearly stated in the annual state budget estimate allocated to Quang Nam Province. Along with central government support, Quang Nam Province will annually allocate its local budget to invest in economic and social infrastructure, public service facilities, and public utilities of Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone as stipulated in point 4.1.a of this Clause.

c) Revenue generated on the territory shall be paid into the state budget. The division of revenue sources between the central government budget and the local government budget shall be in accordance with current laws.

d) Management and use of funds supported by the state budget for the construction of Chu Lai Duty-Free Zone's infrastructure:

The state budget capital supporting investment for infrastructure construction at the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone shall be managed and utilized in accordance with regulations on basic construction investment management, the State Budget Law, and current guiding documents. The preparation of the budget estimate shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law.

4.2. Mechanism for using land funds to generate development capital:

The Management Board is the focal point responsible for receiving annual targets and plans and directly managing the investor of projects utilizing capital from land funds at the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone; organizing bidding to select units with sufficient financial capacity, experience, and reputation to implement infrastructure construction projects funded by land funds at the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone. The Management Board compiles a list of infrastructure construction projects that utilize land funds to generate capital and the area of land used to generate capital for project implementation, which is sent to the Department of Finance and the Department of Planning and Investment for consolidation according to the provisions of the State Budget Law for the People's Committee of Quang Nam Province to submit to the Provincial People's Council for decision within its authority.

Based on the local land use plan, the ability to collect land use fees, land lease fees from auctions, revenues from land use and leasing without auctions, and the need for compensation and support payments to people whose land is being reclaimed, as well as the demand for investment in infrastructure works under the national budget as stipulated by law, the People's Committee of Quang Nam Province directs the finance department to consolidate these revenue and expenditure tasks into the annual state budget estimates for submission to the same-level People's Council for decision.

Based on the state budget estimates decided by the People's Council, the People's Committee assigns the finance department to coordinate with relevant units to organize the collection and disbursement from land use and lease revenues and settle accounts into the state budget according to the prescribed regulations.

In cases where organizations or individuals advance funds to compensate and support people whose land is being reclaimed for the purpose of investing in infrastructure works under the national budget, and then subsequently conduct auctions to collect land use and lease fees, the land use and lease revenues used to repay the organizations or individuals who advanced the funds must be fully recorded in the state budget according to the current laws.

The use of land funds to build infrastructure at the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone shall be implemented in accordance with Decree No. 181/2004/ND-CP dated October 29, 2004, of the Government on the enforcement of the Land Law, Decree No. 17/2006/ND-CP dated January 27, 2006, of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of decrees guiding the enforcement of the Land Law, Decision No. 216/2005/QD-TTg dated August 31, 2005,

4.3. Infrastructure investment from ODA and other sources of capital:

Technical and social infrastructure works, public utility service facilities necessary for the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone and other technical assistance are prioritized for inclusion in the ODA funding list and can be used in other forms of capital mobilization as stipulated in Article 21 of the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone Regulation issued together with Decision No. 253/2006/QĐ-TTg.

5. Financial regime applicable to the Management Board of the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone:

5.1. The Management Board is a local state budget unit. The operating expenses of the Management Board are guaranteed by the local state budget and from other sources of income as currently regulated. All revenues collected according to regulations by the Management Board must be deposited into the state budget as prescribed.

5.2. The Management Board is permitted to collect various fees and charges corresponding to the tasks entrusted by state management agencies as currently regulated. When authorized by a competent state agency to perform revenue collection tasks, the Management Board is responsible for notifying and registering with the tax authority where the Management Board is located to handle procedures for depositing the collected fees and charges resulting from the execution of the entrusted tasks.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The People's Committee of Quang Nam Province is responsible for ensuring the fulfillment of all conditions stipulated in Clause 4, Section I so that the Non-Tariff Zone can apply the financial regime prescribed in this Circular. If the conditions are not met, the application will not be made.

2. The General Department of Customs is responsible for:

Based on the customs procedures stipulated in this Circular and the customs procedures applied in the existing Non-Tariff Zone, to specify the customs procedures to be applied in the Non-Tariff Zone within the Chu Lai Export Processing Zone.

3. The Quang Nam Customs Office is responsible for:

- Organizing anti-smuggling, commercial fraud activities, preventing illegal importation of goods from the Non-Tariff Zone into Vietnam's mainland and other areas within the customs jurisdiction.

- Cooperating with the Management Board of the EPZ and related agencies (Tax, Police, Border Guard) to carry out anti-smuggling, commercial fraud activities, and prevent illegal importation of goods from the Non-Tariff Zone into Vietnam's mainland.

- Inspecting and supervising goods, transport vehicles, preventing smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across borders; implementing tax laws for exported and imported goods; organizing customs stations according to regulations, suitable to the geographical characteristics of the Non-Tariff Zone to effectively fulfill assigned tasks.

4. The Quang Nam Tax Department is responsible for guiding enterprises to comply with Point e, Clause 1.1, Section II, of this Circular and other tax-related contents.

5. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for research and supplementary guidance.

                                                                                                                  SIGNED BY THE MINISTER

VICE MINISTER

(signed)

TRAN VAN TA