What is included in the dossier for requesting the handling of tax for goods damaged by fire?

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Clause 1, Article 156 of Law on Promulgation of Legislative Documents No. 80/2015/QH13 stipulates: “Legal documents are applied to acts occurring at the time that the document is valid. In case provisions of legal documents take effect retroactively, that provisions should be applied.”

Article 18 of the Law on Import and Export Tax stipulates the reduction of tax on imported and exported goods; Article 32 of Decree 134/2016/ND-CP of the Government stipulates: “Import and export goods are in the process of supervision by the customs authority in accordance with the provisions of Law on Customs and guiding documents if goods are damaged or lost due to objective causes, it shall be entitled to tax reduction under the provisions of Clause 1, Article 18 of the Law on Import and Export Tax.”

Customs officer of Hai Phong port area 3 Customs Branch checks goods. Photo: N.Linh

The dossier is included one original letter of request for tax reduction of taxpayer, according to form No. 08 in Appendix 7 issued together with Decree 134/2016/ND-CP; one photocopy (with the stamp of certified true copy of the original of the professional agency) of the insurance contract, the notice of payment of indemnity from the insurance receiving organization (if any), in case the insurance contract does not include the contents of tax compensation, it must be certified by the insurance organization; contracts or written agreements on compensation of the carrier for the case of loss caused by the carrier (if any); one original copy of the record certifying the cause of the damage, issued by the competent authority in the area where the damage occurred (the record of certifying the fire issued by the local fire prevention and fighting police agency where the fire occurred; the district-level People's Committee's certification that natural disasters, fires or unexpected accidents cause damage to imported raw materials, machinery and equipment).

Furthermore, a record and a document certifying the cause of the damage must be made within 30 days from the date of occurrence of damage; one original the assessment certificate of the trader providing assessment services on the number of lost goods or the actual loss rate of the goods; the assessment certificate must be made within 30 days from the date of occurrence of natural disaster, fire or unexpected accident.

Decree 134/2016/ND-CP also stipulates the procedures and authority for tax reduction. Accordingly, taxpayers shall submit dossiers to the customs branch where customs procedures are carried out at the time of implementing customs procedures or within 30 working days from the date of receipt of a record certified the extent of damage and loss.

In the case that, at the time of carrying out customs procedures, the taxpayer submits sufficient dossiers as prescribed, the customs branch shall check dossiers of actual goods, tax reduction conditions and apply tax reduction within the time limit for carrying out the customs procedures following the provisions of Article 23 of the Law on Customs.

For cases where the taxpayer submits the dossier after the time of implementing customs procedures, there will be two cases. Firstly, if the dossier is complete as prescribed, the customs department is responsible for establishing, checking information, verifying the accuracy and completeness of the dossier and sending it to the General Department of Vietnam Customs for submission to the Ministry of Finance for issuing a decision to reduce tax or notifying taxpayers of the reasons for not being eligible for tax reduction and the payable tax amount within 15 days from the date of receipt of a complete dossier. Secondly, if the dossier is incomplete, the customs office shall notify the taxpayer within three working days from the date of receipt of the dossier.

For cases where it is necessary to carry out a physical inspection of goods that have passed customs supervision area in order to have sufficient grounds for tax reduction, customs authority should issue a decision on conducting post-clearance audit at the taxpayer's office. On that basis, performing the specified tasks within a maximum of 40 days from the date of receipt of a complete dossier.

Compared with the regulations, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, due to a fire that occurred at Nam Sinh Company Limited on September 26, 2020 under the effective time of Decree 134/2016/ND-CP. According to Clause 1, Article 156 of Law No. 80/2015/QH13 on the application of legal documents, the tax reduction shall comply with the provisions of Article 18 of the Law on Import and Export Taxes; Article 32 Decree 134/2016/ND-CP.