PROVIDING AMENDMENTS TO THE CIRCULAR NO. 72/2015/TT-BTC DATED MAY 12, 2015 BY THE MINISTER OF FINANCE ON APPLICATION OF PRIORITY POLICIES TO CUSTOMS PROCEDURES, CUSTOMS SUPERVISION AND INSPECTION OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

Pursuant to the Law on Customs dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Tax administration dated November 29, 2006, and the Law on amendments to the Law on Tax administration dated November 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Law on export and import duties dated April 06, 2016;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015 on guidelines for the Law on Customs in terms of customs procedures, customs supervision and inspection; the Government’s Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP dated April 20, 2018 on amendments to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015 on guidelines for the Law on Customs in terms of customs procedures, customs supervision and inspection;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP dated July 22, 2013 providing guidelines for the Law on Tax administration and the Law on amendments to the Law on Tax administration; the Government’s Decree No. 91/2014/ND-CP dated October 01, 2014 on amendments to Decrees on taxation; 

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP dated September 01, 2016 providing guidelines for the Law on export and import duties;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 87/2017/ND-CP dated July 26, 2017 defining functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the request of the Director General of General Department of Customs,

The Minister of Finance promulgates a Circular providing amendments to the Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC dated May 12, 2015 by the Minister of Finance on application of priority policies to customs procedures, customs supervision and inspection of imports and exports.

1. Head of Article 6 is amended as follows:

2. Clause 3 Article 7 is amended as follows:

“3. Imports or exports of eligible enterprises shall be given priority by customs authorities and warehousing service providers when following procedures for delivery of goods and during customs supervision and inspection”.

3. Article 8 is amended as follows:

1. Enterprises shall be entitled to keep imports stored in their warehouses while waiting for the result of specialized inspection, unless the law on specialized inspection allows such imports to be inspected at the border checkpoint.

2. In case imports must be sampled to serve the specialized inspection, such sampling shall be prioritized.

4. Article 9 is amended as follows:

1. Enterprises shall be entitled to tax refund before inspection. The application for tax refund shall be prepared according to regulations laid down in the Government’s Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CPdated September 01, 2016; procedures for submitting, receiving and processing applications for tax refund shall be carried out in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CPdated September 01, 2016, the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 and the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018 by the Minister of Finance. Customs authorities shall examine the suitability of received applications according to calculation results and declarations provided by enterprises. A decision on tax refund must be issued within a business day from the receipt of a valid application for tax refund.

2. Enterprises eligible for customs priority must pay taxes on their exports or imports within the time limit prescribed in Clause 2 Article 9 of the Law on export and import duties No. 107/2016/QH13 dated April 06, 2016.

3. Enterprises shall be given priority when following procedures for paying taxes on their imports or exports in accordance with the Law on taxation.".

5. Application-receiving authority mentioned in Clause 1 Article 18 is amended as follows:

“1. Enterprises that meet eligibility requirements laid down in this Circular and wish to be given customs priority shall submit physical applications to the General Department of Customs for consideration. A physical application shall be prepared according to Points a, b, c, d, dd, e Clause 1 Article 18 of the Circular No. 72/2015/TT/BTC by the Minister of Finance”.

6. Article 19 is amended as follows:

1. Within 30 business days from the receipt of a sufficient application from the enterprise as prescribed in Article 18 hereof, the General Department of Customs shall assess and draw conclusions on the enterprise’s eligibility for customs priority policies.

The time limit for assessing and processing a complicated application which requires opinions from relevant ministries and authorities may be extended provided such extension shall not exceed 30 business days.

2. Application processing:

a) The General Department of Customs shall check the adequacy, legality and validity of the application submitted by the enterprise or documents about the key investment project as regulated in Clause 1 or Clause 2 Article 18 of this Circular; examine and compare the information provided by the enterprise, the enterprise-related information provided by the tax authorities and the customs authorities in charge of the area where the enterprise's headquarters is located and of the area where the enterprise’s import or export is carried out with eligibility requirements for customs priority policies laid down in Chapter III of this Circular.

b) If the application is insufficient, the General Department of Customs shall request the enterprise in writing to complete the application within 05 business days from the receipt of such application.

c) If the enterprise’s application for customs priority policies is unsatisfactory, the General Department of Customs shall provide written reasons thereof for the enterprise.

d) If the enterprise’s application for customs priority policies is satisfactory, the General Department of Customs shall carry out a physical inspection of the enterprise.

3. Physical inspection of the enterprise:

a) The General Department of Customs shall organize a physical inspection at the enterprise’s premises.  Contents of a physical inspection:

a.1) Compare the results of the physical inspection with the information provided by the enterprise.

a.2) Carry out a post-clearance inspection at the enterprise's headquarters in order to evaluate the enterprise's compliance with applicable laws if that enterprise does not bear any post-clearance inspection or supervision serving the evaluation of the enterprise’s compliance with the law on customs and the law on taxation within 24 consecutive months before the date on which the enterprise submits the application for customs priority policies.

b) A physical inspection at the enterprise or the investment project must be completed within 05 business days. The time limit for completing a post-clearance inspection at the enterprise’s headquarters shall comply with the Law on post-clearance inspection”.

7. Article 20a is added as follows:

At least 03 months before the deadline for extension of application of priority policies, the General Department of Customs shall make a decision on extension of application of priority policies based on the information collected from Departments of Taxation and Customs Departments of province or city where the enterprise’s headquarters is located and of province or city where the enterprise carries out import or export about post-clearance inspection and management (if any)".

8. Article 23 is amended as follows:

The Director General of the General Department of Customs shall take charge of making decisions on recognition, extension, suspension and termination of application of priority policies.”.

9. Article 25 is amended as follows:

The General Department of Customs shall:

1. Manage, monitor and assess the compliance with the law on customs and the law on taxation by enterprises given priority.  The General Department of Customs shall assist these enterprises in improving their capacity to comply with such laws at the enterprise's request.

2. Annually collect information about enterprises’ compliance with the law on customs and the law on taxation from Departments of Taxation and Customs Departments of provinces or cities where their headquarters are located and where their import/ export activities are performed.

3. Inspect the maintenance of satisfaction of eligibility requirements for application of priority policies by enterprises given customs priority, and key investment projects which are recognized and eligible to be granted customs priority when they are finished and put into official operation.

4. Apply priority policies mentioned in this Circular to eligible enterprises.

5. Announce and update the list of enterprises given customs priority and cooperate with warehousing service providers in applying priority policies to eligible enterprises.”.

10. Clause 3 is amended and Clause 7 is added to Article 26 as follows:

“3. Within 90 (ninety) business days from the ending day of a financial year, enterprises must provide the General Department of Customs with their financial statements and/or auditing reports of the previous year.”.

“7. Inform the General Department of Customs in writing of decisions on imposition of penalties for violations against the law on taxation or the law on account issued by competent authorities within 30 business days from the receipt of such decision.".

11. Forms enclosed with the Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC dated May 12, 2015 by the Minister of Finance are amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Form No. 02a/DNUT, form No. 03/DNUT, form No. 04/DNUT, form No. 05/DNUT, and form No. 06/DNUT are amended.

b) Form No. 03a/DNUT is added.

1. The phrase “phải được thực hiện bằng máy soi” (“using scanners”) at Clause 2 Article 5 of the Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC dated May 12, 2015 by the Minister of Finance is removed.

2. Clause 5 Article 7 of the Circular No. 72/2015/TT-BTC dated May 12, 2015 by the Minister of Finance is abrogated.

1. This Circular comes into force as from January 28, 2019.

2. During implementation of this Circular, if relevant documents referred to in this Circular are amended or replaced, the new ones shall apply./.