Customs policies on facilitating clearance amid peak period of Covid-19

	A series of customs policies cut and reduce documents and costs for businesses
	Support people and businesses in tax and customs policies
	MoF accompanies businesses to overcome difficulties

Quang Ngai Customs officers at work. Photo: D.D

Imported goods for pandemic prevention and control are non-taxable

Deputy Director of Customs Control and Supervision Department Dao Duy Tam said the General Department of Customs has carried out six groups of solutions to boost the customs clearance of goods, especially goods for anti-pandemic.

The six groups of solutions include facilitation to customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision for import and export goods; support export of agricultural products through northern border provinces; fast customs clearance for imported medical supplies and equipment, medicines, vaccines and medical biological products for pandemic prevention; policies on tax, tax collection and the payment for imported and exported goods; arrangement of human resources to ensure the clearance of goods; guidelines and policies to support import and export activities amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notably, the General Department of Customs reported to the Ministry of Finance to submit to the Government to issue Resolution 106 dated September 11, 2021 on tax policies applicable to goods imported for use as aid for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, goods imported by Vietnamese organisations and individuals to be provided as aid to the Government, the Ministry of Health, provincial-level People's Committees and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees to serve prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic, shall be subject to import duty and value-added tax policies applicable to goods imported for use as humanitarian aid and non-refundable aid

As of September 23, the Customs authority has exempted VND 34.18 billion of tax and value added tax for imported goods used for Covid-19 prevention

The General Department of Customs has guided the facilitation and fast clearance of shipments of medical supplies and equipment, medicines, vaccines, biological tests, aid and donation goods and gifts from foreign countries or goods imported by domestic organisations and individuals to support or donate to the Government, the Ministry of Health, the People's Committees of the provinces and cities, the People's Committees Fatherland Front Committees of provinces and cities to serve the urgent requirements of the pandemic prevention and control, medical examination and treatment.

Develop policies to support import and export activities

During the peak period of the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure smooth import and export activities and realise the dual goals of ensuring customs clearance while controlling pandemic under the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister, the country’s customs agency has proposed and developed many guidelines and policies to aid import and export activities

Customs has proposed amendments and supplements to several articles of the Customs Law.

Articles 47 and 61 of the Customs Law on the storage period for goods at duty-free shops and imported goods stored in bonded warehouses are revised as below: storage period for goods at duty-free shops and imported goods stored in bonded warehouses will be extended during the pandemic until the pandemic is controlled and applied for extension once the pandemic is brought under control. Other special cases arising shall be decided by the Government.

For export goods stored in bonded warehouses, they can only be exported through international border gates or main border gates.

The resolution has been issued to solve difficulties and problems in the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic. It allows extension of the operation suspension of duty-free shops and allows export processing firms to rent bonded warehouses to store goods.

The General Department of Customs is urgently implementing the direction of the leaders of the Ministry in drafting two circulars, namely a circular on customs supervision for border-gate transfers of imported goods stuck at seaports where social distancing is being implemented under Directive 16 of the Prime Minister and a circular on customs procedures for imported goods to serve urgent requirements of the Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control; submission of documents required in the customs dossier and physical inspection of imports and exports amid the pandemic.

In addition, the General Department of Customs advised the Ministry of Finance guidelines and policies in disease prevention and control of import and export goods to support businesses.