HCMC: Companies are interested in one-time ruling

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Leaders of HCMC Customs Department at the dialogue conference with Dutch companies . Photo: T.H

One-time ruling

At the conference, although the questions raised by the companies were not significant, but companies were particularly interested in taxable value, especially new regulations on the use of one-time ruling results.

According to Nguyen Huu Nghiep, Deputy Director of the HCMC Customs Department, the use of one-time ruling results is usually only applicable for imported goods with long-term stable prices, but not for goods with unstable prices.

When a customs authority issues a notice to accept the price after ruling, the company may apply this price for the next import. When the imported goods’ price fluctuates, the company must inform the customs authority for price ruling.

According to Nguyen Quoc Toan, Deputy Head of the Import-Export Tax Division, when a company raises questions on price or code, the Customs authority will immediately provide answers if the company sends all dossiers and documents related to the shipment, especially new goods.
Regarding the questions by some companies on the customs response time for the pre-classification of imported goods, a representative of HCMC Customs Department said that if the customs authority receives full and legal dossier, it shall inform the result within 30 days (for 60 days for complicated cases). If the dossier is invalid, the customs authority shall notify the refusal to the company within 5 days.

Philips Vietnam Company raised a question, “If the Circular stipulates not to apply the specialized inspection for goods used for sample, advertisement and display, whether a company needs to conduct the inspection or apply for certification of inspection exemption like Customs courier’s requirements or not?”

Answering the above question, HCMC Customs Department said that pursuant to Item p, Point 7, Clause 3, Article 1 of Government’s Decree No.74 / 2018 / ND-CP dated May 15th, 2018, other goods which are not for commercial purpose (non-commercial type) as prescribed by law "are exempt from quality inspection upon import”. Therefore, if the imported goods are not for commercial purpose, they shall be exempt from state inspection on quality and the importer shall not need to apply for state inspection exemption on quality.

Notes on new regulations

According to Nguyen Huu Nghiep, Deputy Director of HCMC Customs Department, over the past few years, Dutch companies have significantly contributed to the Finance and Customs sectors to develop legal documents related to import and export activities. Most Dutch companies engaging in import-export activities in HCMC comply well with the customs laws. HCMC Customs shall continue to propagate and support them with new information and documents so that the companies can understand and comply with the regulations.

Imported goods with stable prices shall be applied the one-time ruling result. Photo: T.H

At the conference, the representatives of the Import-Export Tax Division and the Supervision and Control Division informed the companies of some new points of customs procedures and policies, such as one-time ruling, implementation of automated system for Customs management at seaports, warehouses.., etc.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan, Deputy Head of Import-Export Tax Division said that in recent years, many companies made mistakes in HS code declarations, leading to wrong tax code. Thus, to avoid this mistake, he noted that if the company does not know the HS code for the imported goods, they should send a written request for ruling to the Customs for specific instructions.

Regarding the automated system for customs management, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long, Deputy Head of Supervision and Control Division noted that the company needs to accurately declare bill of lading number, port code, unique consignment reference (URC) for export goods container number, especially for containerized goods, they must be declared on customs declarations.

At the conference, representatives of HCMC Customs Department also answered some questions on procedures of scrap imports and specialized inspection for food products.

Answering the question on quality inspection for imported paper scrap, Mr. Nguyen Huu Nghiep explained that recently, Customs authorities have introduced many solutions to inspect and manage massive scrap imports to Vietnam. However, Customs authorities always carry out quick clearance for shipments that are eligible for imports, and only strictly inspected shipments with suspicious signs and unclear dossiers. "Companies that have plans to import scrap should contact the customs authority where customs declaration is opened for maximum support and facilitation," - Mr. Nghiep shared.

The HCMC Customs removes many obstacles for Dutch companies VCN - On September 27, 2017, at the Dialogue conference with Dutch companies, the Ho Chi Minh ...

Answering a number of questions on authorized inspection, Deputy Director of Investment Customs Branch Dang Thai Thien, said that HCMC Customs Department has received the questions and reported to the General Department of Customs, and now, the Ministry of Finance is considering to provide specific written guidance.