Many regulations on customs dossiers continued to research for amending

Customs officials of Mong Cai Customs Branch (Quang Ninh Customs Department) inspected imported goods. Photo: Q.Hùng

Removing current shortcomings

Regarding import and export licenses in the customs dossier, according to current regulations, the import and export license lodged in the form of paper to the customs authorities must be the original. If the licenses have been exchanged by ministries and sectors through the national single window portal, customs declarants do not have to submit them to customs authorities.

However, most legal documents of specialised management ministries stipulate that when carrying out customs procedures, the originals of the permits must be submitted to customs authorities. However, there are still have specialised management ministries that regulated the enterprises do not need to lodge originals of permits to customs authorities when carrying out customs procedures.

Therefore, current regulations need to be amended to ensure and cover all cases of permits that do not need to submit originals in paper form in customs dossiers. The General Department of Vietnam Customs proposed to supplement the provisions of Article 16 so that the customs declarants must present and submit to customs authorities in accordance with the provisions of specialised laws. If specialised laws do not require the customs declarant to submit to customs authorities the original license in the form of paper, they must be present the original for comparison.

Along with amending some contents relating to customs dossier, the draft circular amending Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC also amended regulations on customs declaration (Point a, Point e, Point g, Clause 1, Article 18). At Point a, Clause 1, Article 18, the responsibility of the customs declarant must fully declare all the information on the customs declaration in accordance with regulations and stipulated cases like customs declaration of imported goods for processing and export production.

Current regulations create problems in the implementation process. Specifically, according to provisions at Point b, Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP regulating tax exemption dossiers for import goods as presents and gifts, in case of organisations and individuals from abroad sending gifts to Vietnamese individuals, the recipient must accurately and truthfully declare the customs declaration the goods exported or imported as gifts; information about names and addresses of consignors and consignees of gifts and donations in foreign countries and take responsibility before the law for declaration. According to Clause 4, Article 80 of the Law on Tax Management No. 38/2019/QH14, “The Minister of Finance stipulated specifically the tax exemption and reduction dossier as specified in this article”.

Besides that, Article 16 of the draft circular supplemented regulations on tax exemption dossiers when carrying out customs procedures for tax-exempt subjects. Therefore, the draft circular supplementing provisions on duty-free imported goods that are presents and gifts of foreign organisations and individuals for Vietnamese individuals as specified in Article 8 of Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP on declaring accurately and truthfully information on customs declarations of export and import goods being presents and gifts; information about names and addresses of consignors and consignees of gifts and donations in foreign countries and take responsibility before law for declaration.

Amending regulations on customs declaration

Regarding customs declarations of export and import goods as means of transport on sea, river, air and rail (Point e, Clause 1), according to current regulations, in case the ship is self-propelled, it needed to implement two procedures: entry and import. In fact, it has arisen a case where an enterprise buys a ship from abroad to Vietnam and only implemented entry procedures. However, this enterprise did not carry out import procedures, or carrying out import procedures but did not follow the time limit as prescribed by law for imported goods. So when detecting the case, compared with the provisions of the law on handling of administrative violations in the customs field, the violation was determined not to declare (import). However, according to the enterprise, the enterprise made a customs declaration (entry). Thus it caused difficulty for handling violations in this case.

Therefore, to overcome the above shortcomings, besides regulations on entry procedures before carrying out procedures for importing ships, it should supplement provisions on the time limit for carrying out import procedures at the first entry after signing a contract on purchase and sale of seagoing ships and aircraft to ensure the first entry can be determined for carrying out import procedures. Therefore, the General Department of Vietnam Customs proposed amending Point e, Clause 1, Article 18 in the direction: "Imported and exported goods that are means of transport by sea, river, air, railway, customs declarations must have declared and completed export procedures before carrying out exit procedures, except the case of sales after means of transport leaves the country; declaration and implementing entry procedures before carrying out import procedures, time limit for submitting customs dossiers when carrying out import procedures should comply with regulations; in cases where export or import goods are means of transport on road or vehicles brought by other means of transport through border gates, it would only carry out declaration and export and import procedures and not required to go through exit and entry procedures.”

Besides that, customs declarants may use notices of analysis and classification results of customs authorities on previously cleared consignments to declare goods names and codes for subsequent cargo shipment that have the same name, composition, physical and chemical properties, features, utilities, packing specifications, imported from the same manufacturer; except for cases where the codes on the List of Exports and Imports of Vietnam, the Export Tariffs and Import Tariffs are changed.