A company prosecuted for illegally exporting aluminum ingots

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A shipment of smuggled aluminum was seized by HCM City Customs. Photo of T.H

The declaration was automatically classified into the Yellow Channel. However, through the documentary check, the Export Cargo Procedures Team - Saigon Port Zone 1 Customs Branch carried out aphysical inspection and took samples for verification.According to the Saigon Port Zone 1 Customs Branch, Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd (District 3, HCM City) opened customs clearance No. 303540301801/B11 on customs branch. Goods were declared as 13.5tonnes of unprocessed aluminum alloy made from cans by the melting and casting method with size of 65cm x 75cm x 5cm and weight of 10kg per ingot, composition AL min 97%, weight tolerance 3%, brand new 100%, made in Vietnam; HS code 76012000; and 5% export tax rate. The declared value of goods was more than VND486 million.

According to the notice of inspection results No. 0560/N1.20/TD dated January 11, 2020 of the Technical Center for Standards, Metrology and Quality 3, the actual goods included more than 24 tonnes of "Master copper alloy in raw ingot form which is not considered as slag, copper ore or copper scrap", with corresponding HS code 74050000 and an export tax rate of 15%.

Thus, Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. committed a false declaration of goods names, codes, and quantity, leading insufficient tax payable.

Pursuant to Article 10 of the 2014 Customs Law, the Export Procedures Team made a record of administrative violations against Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. for the violation. The value of infringing goods was over VND3.8 billion; the tax difference was more than VND550 million VND.

Through documentary checking, customs officers identified that Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. presented a written confirmation of this company with Hao Hung Business Household on January 20, 2021. The confirmation stated "On October 20, 2020, Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. ordered Hao Hung Business Household aluminum alloy ingots, quantity 13.5 tonnes, unit price VND 33,000.000 per tonne” but “after packing the goods, Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. did not check the goods and hired trailer to carry the goods to Cat Lai port for export procedures”.

It is unreasonable for Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. to not re-check the goods after packing them, because these goods are for export abroad and have large quantity. If goods are not those in the contract, Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. may harm its reputation or be fined

Another unreasonable point in this export shipment is that on November 11, 2020, the Notice of inspection results No. 0560/N1.20/TD issued by the Technical centre for Standards, Metrology and Quality 3 stated that the goods are, “Master copper alloy in raw ingot form which is not considered as slag, copper ore or copper scrap” but unprocessed aluminum alloy ingot" as declared by the firm.

However, on January 20, 2021, Thao Khoa Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. made a confirmation of Hao Hung Business Household. In which, the actual export weight of the shipment was 24.08 tonnes, nearly two times higher than the initial declared weight by the company (13.5 tonnes) with a difference of more than VND3 billion that Hao Hung business household did not discover.

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From the above information, the Saigon Port Zone 1 Customs Branch suspects that the firm intentionally declared the wrong name, quantity and code of goods for the purpose of tax evasion with the big tax difference ofmore thanVND550 million. After working with the HCM City People's Procuracy, the Saigon Port Zone 1 Customs Branch has put the company on a trial for the crime of “smuggling", and transferred the case to the HCM City Police for investigation.