Consultations for Southern Customs on draft Circular amending Circular 38

	Consultation on the draft Circular amending and supplementing Circular 38/2015 / TT-BTC
	Apply Decree 134 if the provisions are not consistent with Circular 38

The conference. Photo: T.D

The Deputy Director General Hoang Viet Cuong said that the implementation of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance is in line with the general requirements of national administrative reform; elucidates and simplifies Customs procedures and facilitates import-export activities; and is consistent with the law, minimizes documents, and facilitates the implementation organization. The circular also provides the legal basis for the effective implementation of the Automated Cargo Clearance System (VNACCS / VCIS), whereby 100% of basic Customs procedures are automated nationwide and attracting more than 63,000 enterprises, accounting for 99.52% of the total number of importing and exporting enterprises.

The Deputy Director General of General Department of Customs Hoang Viet Cuong. Photo: T.D

However, the process of implementation still has shortcomings and does not fit the actual situation, leading to obstacles which have been guided to be supplemented in documents by the General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Finance. In addition, the implementation of the Government's Directions to further deploy the measures of administrative procedures reforms to further facilitate the improvement of the business environment imposed requirements on amending and supplementing Circular 38 / 2015 / TT-BTC on inspection and determination of the origin of imported and exported goods in accordance with the actual situation.

Accordingly, to complete the draft Circular, Deputy Director General Hoang Viet Cuong suggested that Customs agencies should provide comments on new provisions such as: Customs dossiers, time of notification of goods channel classification; additional declaration of Customs dossiers; conditions on transport of goods to storage; cases obliged to submit documents certifying the origin; Customs procedures sites for goods and raw materials imported for production as well as sanctions. Consulting at the conference, the Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, Dinh Ngoc Thang stated that Article 16 stipulated that Customs dossiers when carrying out the Customs procedures should add: Packing List in the case of heterogeneous packaging and many types to support the actual inspection of goods; specialized inspection documents on goods; Letter of introduction for the person doing procedures under the authorization of the goods owner. Also, the draft amended and supplemented Circular should review the provision on goods temporarily imported for re-export when carrying out procedures must provide copies of sale contracts. Because this provision does not fit the reality and was previously abandoned. Enterprises cannot have export contracts when doing temporary import procedures because they have not found customers.

Similarly, point d1, clause 2, in article 19 of the draft amended and supplemented Circular stipulates that imported and exported goods subject to permits of specialized management agencies must have permits before registration, being contrary to the regulations of the ministries and branches. At present, the automatic import permits of the enterprises were submitted at the time of Customs procedure implementation and not limited the time of submission. The automatic permit is a form to notify the amount of imported goods of enterprises to the Ministerial agencies and branches about the import turnover for the operational policies of the Government rather than permit imported and exported goods.

Regarding the provision on transport of goods to storage, the representative of Binh Duong Customs Department noted that the regulation on that the specialized checkpoints must be equipped with a camera system to monitor warehouses and yards, and share images with the Customs agencies, and must be inspected and certified by the General Department of Customs, will cause difficulties for enterprises. Besides, local Customs also do not have enough staff to monitor the entire camera system. The Leader of Binh Duong Customs Department recommended that we should let enterprise continue to comply with the Circular No. 38/2015 / TT-BTC. At the same time, enterprises which were permitted to take goods to storage as before should continue to follow Circular No. 38/2015/TT_BTC. In order to facilitate enterprises, it is proposed to assign the competence to certify the warehouses and yards which are eligible for supervision conditions for provincial and municipal Customs Departments.

Of the same opinion, the representatives of Binh Dinh Customs Department and Dak Lak Customs Department stated that the installation of a camera system to supervise warehouses and yards as well as the construction of solid barriers to separate the specialized checkpoints is very difficult to implement, especially for Customs agencies having many small and medium sized enterprises implementing import and export procedures. On the other hand, if applying the draft amended and supplemented Circular, means that enterprises have to lease qualified warehouses, raising costs and creating burden for enterprises.

Regarding the declaration on the change in the purpose of use and transfer of domestic consumption of imported goods, representatives of some Customs departments propose to remove provisions: the "Permits of the ministries and branches for the change in purpose of use", because it is not clear the issuing authority and all cases of transfer of type must apply for permission to change the purpose of use, causing difficulties for both enterprises and Customs.

20th March 2017: Online exchange on amendment and supplementation of Circular 38/2015 / TT-BTC VCN- From 9 am to 11 am on 20th March 2017, the Customs Newspaper will hold an ...

In addition, at the conference, the delegates also commented on the contents, such as handling tax amount, late payments, overpaid fines; inspection for processing and manufacturing facilities of exported goods, processing and manufacturing capacity, and submission of settlement report.