PROVIDING FOR CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR GOODS THAT ARE IMPORTED, TRANSITED THROUGH INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS DELIVERY SERVICE

This Circular provides for customs procedures for goods exported, imported, transited through international express delivery service (hereinafter referred to as goods).

1. Any enterprise providing international express delivery service (hereinafter referred to as express delivery service provider).

2. Any organization/individual using the express delivery service.

3. Any enterprise operating warehouse and site for concentrated customs examination of goods sent through express delivery service.

4. Any customs authority; customs officials.

1. Sub-departments of Customs at checkpoints.

2. Sub-departments of Customs in charge of the site for concentrated customs examination for goods sent through express delivery service that satisfy regulations specified in this Circular.

3. Sub-departments of Customs managing goods produced by an export-processing enterprise in form of processing and manufacturing serving export sent through express delivery service according to regulations in Article 58 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 by the Minister of Finance on customs procedures, customs supervision and inspection, export tax, import tax, and tax administration applied to exported and imported goods (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC).

1. Customs declarants are:

a) Any express delivery service provider;

b) Any goods owner;

c) Any person authorized by the goods owners, in case goods are presented by another person; luggage that is consigned before and after a trip of a person who enters/exits a country;

dd) Any person providing the service of transit of goods;

dd) Any customs brokers not being an express delivery service provider.

2. An express delivery service provider shall carry out the customs declaration by:

a) Electronic method;

b) A written customs declaration sheet in case the electronic transaction or the customs declaration cannot be performed via Customs electronic data processing system (hereinafter referred to as System).

c) Non-commercial declarations, documents, applicable to goods specified in point a Clause 1 and point a Clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular.

3. Any customs declarant specified in points b and c clause 1 of this Article may carry out customs declaration using written declaration for cases specified in Clause 2 Article 25 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015 by the Government providing specific provisions and guidance on enforcement of the Customs Law on customs procedures and customs examination, supervision and control procedures (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP).

Express delivery service providers shall perform responsibilities of customs declarants according to regulations in the Law on Customs, Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC, Circular No. 120/2015/TT-BTC dated August 14, 2015 by the Minister of Finance on forms, printing, issuance, management and use of customs declarations for entering/exiting passengers (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 120/2015/TT-BTC) and Circular No. 42/2015/TT-BTC dated March 27, 2015 by the Minister of Finance on customs procedures for entering/exiting/transiting vehicles (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 42/2015/TT-BTC) Besides, an express delivery service provider shall:

1. Access to current law provisions, provide goods owners with notification and guidance on regulations on management policies for exported, imported and transited goods.

2. Request goods owners to provide sufficiently information about goods and refuse to transport goods on the list of goods banned from export, banned from import, suspended from export or suspended from import according to regulations.

3. Classify goods according to regulations in Article 6 of this Circular.

4. Pay taxes, customs fees and other duties according to regulations in Chapter III of this Circular.

5. Initiatively cooperate with customs authority in handling undelivered goods. If the goods have been granted customs clearance and the export/import tax (if any) has been paid but the goods are not sent to the address on the bill of lading, the express delivery service provider shall submit the tax refund dossier and follow the procedures for tax refund prescribed in section 4 Chapter VII Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

6. Ensure that specialized vehicles and specialized packages satisfy requirements on customs sealing.

7. Provide prior information about manifest of imported goods for customs authorities according to regulations in Article 18 and Article 20 of Circular No. 42/2015/TT-BTC.

8. Provide the written manifest of imported goods to customs authorities, applicable to service providers who have not accessed to the System.

9. Connect the product code management system (if any) with the customs supervision division for management and supervision of goods transported through customs controlled area (CCA).

10. Any express delivery service provider wishing to carry out customs procedures over office hours shall priorily register with customs authorities the expected time of customs procedures according to regulations in Clause 4 Article 23 of the Law on Customs

The express delivery service provider shall depend on the commercial invoices or shipping documents (in case the commercial invoices are unavailable) of the goods to classify goods. To be specific:

1. Imported goods are classified as follows:

a) Group 1 includes imported goods being non-commercial documents/invoices;

b) Group 2 includes imported goods eligible for tax exemption according to current regulations of the Prime Minister, excluding goods that must have the import permit and goods subject to specialized inspection;

c) Group 3 includes imported goods other than those specified in points a and b of this Clause.

2. Exported goods are classified as follows:

a) Group 1 includes exported goods being non-commercial documents/invoices;

b) Group 2 includes exported goods assessed at under VND 5,000,000 and are not subject to export tax, excluding goods that must have the export permit and goods subject to specialized inspection;

c) Group 3 includes exported goods other than those specified in points a and b of this Clause.

1. Export/import letters that are sent through international express delivery service must fully comply with laws and must bear the customs supervision; such letters must be packed in specialized wrappings that are sealed off.

2. Exported and imported diplomatic bags and consular bags that are sent through international express delivery service:

a) Are exempted from customs procedures (including exemption from customs declaration, exemption from customs inspection);

b) When there is foundation for asserting that a diplomatic bag/consular bag violates the policies on diplomatic immunity and privileges according to law provisions, the Director of the General Department of Customs shall decide according to regulations in clause 3 Article 57 of the Law on Customs.

Customs dossiers applied to goods are specified in Article 24 of the Law on Customs and Article 16 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC. To be specific:

1. A customs dossier for goods specified in point a clause 1 and point a clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular includes the manifest and a non-commercial document/invoice declaration (hereinafter referred to as the document/invoice declaration) according to Form HQ 01-TKTLCT in Appendix I enclosed with this Circular.

2. A customs dossier applicable to goods specified in point b clause 1 and point b clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular shall include:

a) A declaration of low-value imported goods or a declaration of low-value exported goods specified in Appendix I enclosed with this Circular;

b) The bill of lading (only applicable to imported goods, excluding goods imported by road vehicles);

c) Commercial invoices (if any).

3. Customs dossiers for goods specified in point c clause 1 and point c clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular are provided for in Article 16 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

1. Responsibilities of express delivery service providers:

a) Declare fully information of each consignment being documents and/or invoices of the same goods owners on the document/invoice declaration;

b) Submit 02 (two) document/invoice declarations that bear the seal and signature of the service provider’s representative.

If the manifest in which goods are classified according to regulations in Article 6 of this Circular is sent to the customs authority through the System, regulations in point a and point b of this clause shall not be applied.

2. Responsibilities of Sub-departments of Customs:

a) Receive and check the dossiers; compare the declared information;

b) The physical inspection of goods is not required. If the Law on Customs is likely to be violated, the Director of the Sub-department shall decide the inspection by scanner of not more than 5% of the goods on the document/invoice declaration:

b.1) If goods are determined conformable to the declaration, the Sub-department of customs shall grant the site clearance and retain documents according to regulations;

b.2) If the result of the inspection with scanners is not sufficient for determining the violation, a physical inspection shall be conducted and the violation (if any) shall be transferred to a regulatory body for handling.

3. Regarding written declaration, the customs procedures shall be carried out according to regulations for customs declaration prescribed in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

1. Responsibilities of customs declarants:

a) Determine the goods value according to the commercial invoices or the shipping invoices (in case the commercial invoices are unavailable) of the consignment to make the declaration of low-value imported/exported goods;

b) Declare sufficiently information on the declaration of low-value imported/exported goods according to the guidance in part A of Appendix II enclosed with this Circular;

c) Receive the response from the customs authority and:

c.1) Comply with regulations in point d of this Clause for goods being granted customs clearance;

c.2) Present documents to the customs authority for inspection of yellow-lane and red-lane goods;

c.3) Present goods to the customs authority for inspection of red-flow goods;

c.4) Comply with decisions of the customs authority.

d) Move the goods granted customs clearance through the CCA:

d.1) Any express delivery service provider shall:

d.1.1) Send the customs authority the List of declarations of low-value imported/exported goods that are granted customs clearance according to the Form HQ 02-BKTKTGT in Appendix I enclosed with this Circular for specific trip moved through the CCA via the System;

If the access to the System is unavailable, the express delivery service provider shall make a declaration of low-value imported goods that are granted customs clearance (02 original copies) and present them to customs supervision officials when moving goods through the CCA;

d.1.2) Take legal responsibility for the transport of goods granted customs clearance through the CCA.

d.2) Any customs declarant specified in points b, c and d clause 1 Article 4 of this Circular shall present the declaration of low-value imported/exported goods or the written customs declaration when moving goods through the CCA.

dd) Make additions to customs dossiers:

Any customs declarant may make additions to criteria of the electronic customs declaration, excluding information that is banned from addition specified in Part B Appendix II enclosed with this Circular.

dd.1) If the additions to the declaration are made before the time the customs authority completes customs inspection (before CEA/CEE), the added information shall be sent through the System by MID/MIE or MED/MEE operations

dd.2) If information is added when the customs authority has completed the customs inspection (after CEA/CEE) or the information is declared on paper: 02 original copies of the application for additional declaration according to the Form No. 03/KBS/GSQL in Appendix V enclosed with Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC shall be submitted;

dd.3) Regulations in points c and d of this Clause shall be complied with;

e) Comply with other decisions of customs authorities according to laws;

2. Responsibilities of Sub-departments of Customs:

a) Receive customs dossiers from customs declarants and:

a.1) Check and process customs dossiers according to regulations in Articles 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC;

a.2) If the declaration is suspected of being unconformable with regulations in point b clause 1 and point b clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular, the sub-department of customs shall compare the goods declaration value with the database of the customs authority:

a.2.1) If the declaration is conformable, regulations in points b and c of this Clause are applicable;

a.2.2) If the declaration is unconformable, the sub-department of customs shall comply with regulations in Article 11 of this Circular and shall cancel the declaration on the System.

b) Grant customs clearance for goods according to regulations.

c) Grant verification of goods passing control area:

c.1) If the express delivery service provider sends the List of declarations of imported/exported goods that are granted customs clearance via the System, the customs official shall verify on the System that the goods have passed the supervision area;

If the express delivery service provider submits 02 (two) copies of the List of declarations of imported/exported goods that are granted customs clearance, the customs official shall state on 02 (two) copies of the List of declarations of goods that are granted customs clearance that the goods moved through the CCA; 01 (one) original copy shall be returned to the express delivery service provider, the other one shall be retained;

c.2) Declarations other than those specified in point c.1 of this Clause shall be verified according to regulations in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

3. Regarding written declaration, customs procedures shall be carried out according to regulations applied to written customs declarations prescribed in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

Customs procedures for goods specified in point c clause 1 and point c clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular are specified in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

1. Regarding goods which are mistakenly delivered (goods transported to a country other than the country of destination):

a) Responsibilities of express delivery service providers:

a.1) Formulate and submit an application for sending goods which are mistakenly delivered to the country written on the bill of lading and a list of goods which are mistakenly delivered;

a.2) Register independent transport declaration for goods which are mistakenly delivered according to regulations in Article 17 of this Circular.

b) Responsibilities of Sub-departments of Customs:

b.1) Receive and check the application of the express delivery service provider;

b.2) Carry out the supervision procedures according to regulations in Article 17 of this Circular.

2. Regarding exported goods that are not sent to the recipient and must be re-imported to be returned to the sender.

a) Responsibilities of express delivery service providers:

a.1) Carry out customs procedures like the ones for imported goods specified Article 9, Article 10 and Article 11 of this Circular;

a.2) Apart from customs dossiers specified in Article 8 of this Circular, any express delivery service provider shall submit to the customs authority:

a.2.1) Documents of foreign express delivery service provider notifying that goods are returned because there is no recipient: 01 photocopy;

a.2.2) The initial export customs declaration: 01 photocopy, applicable to written declaration.

a.3) Carry out the procedures for tax refund, tax cancellation (if any) according to regulations in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

b) Responsibilities of Sub-departments of Customs:

b.1) Receive the application of the express delivery service provider;

b.2) Carry out customs procedures for goods specified in Article 9, Article 10 and Article 11 of this Circular (excluding the import permit, written notification of results of the specialized inspection);

b.3) Carry out the procedures for tax refund, tax cancellation (if any) according to regulations in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

3. Regarding imported goods that are not sent to the recipient and must be re-exported to be returned to the sender:

a) Responsibilities of express delivery service providers:

a.1) Carry out customs procedures like the ones for exported goods specified Article 9, Article 10 and Article 11 of this Circular;

a.2) Apart from customs dossiers specified in Article 8 of this Circular, any express delivery service provider shall submit to the customs authority the initial import customs declaration: 01 photocopy, applicable to written declaration.

a.3) Carry out the procedures for tax refund, tax cancellation (if any) according to regulations in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

b) Responsibilities of Sub-departments of Customs:

b.1) Receive the customs dossier of the express delivery service provider;

b.2) Carry out customs procedures like the ones for exported goods specified Article 9, Article 10 and Article 11 of this Circular;

b.3) Carry out the procedures for tax refund, tax cancellation (if any) according to regulations in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

1. A declaration shall be cancelled in these following cases:

a) Cancellation of the declaration at the request of the customs declarant:

a.1) The declaration has been registered but the customs clearance has not been granted due to an error in the System;

a.2) Multiple declarations are made for the same consignment of imported/exported goods (information on declaration is repeated);

a.3) Goods on the declaration of exported goods have been brought into the CCA but are not actually exported;

a.4) The declaration of imported goods has been registered but goods are not actually imported;

a.5) Information not allowed to make addition as prescribed in Part B Appendix II of this Circular is incorrectly provided.

b) After 15 days from the day on which the declaration is registered, goods are exempted from physical inspection but imported goods have not been transported to the importing checkpoint or exported goods have not been brought into CCA at the exporting checkpoint;

c) After 15 working day from the day on which the declaration is registered, the customs declarant fails to present customs dossiers for goods subject to presenting the customs dossiers to the customs authority and imported goods have been transported to the importing checkpoint;

d) If the express delivery service provider has registered the customs declaration sheet but the customs authority discovered that goods are classified unconformably with regulations in Article 6 of this Circular.

2. Procedures for cancellation of declaration of goods specified in point b, point c clause 1 and point b, point c clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular:

a) Responsibilities of customs declarants:

a.1) Submit the application form for cancellation of declaration using the Form No. 04/HTK/GSQL in Appendix V enclosed with Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC to the Sub-department of Customs of local area where the declaration is registered: 01 original copy;

a.2) Provide justification and comply with decisions of the customs authority.

b) Responsibilities of customs authorities:

b.1) Receive and grant approval for the application for cancellation submitted by the customs declarant;

b.2) Cancel the declaration on the System.

3. Procedures for cancellation of declaration of goods specified in point a clause 1 and point a clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular:

a) Responsibilities of express delivery service providers:

a.1) Send the written application for cancellation the declaration to the customs authority: 01 original copy;

a.2) Provide justification and comply with decisions of the customs authority.

b) Responsibilities of Sub-departments of Customs:

b.1) Receive and grant approval for the application for cancellation submitted by the express delivery service provider;

b.2) Cancel the declaration according to regulations on cancellation of written customs declaration sheet prescribed in Article 22 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

b.3) If the application is rejected, a written notification containing explanation shall be sent to the applicant.

4. Procedures for cancellation of written declaration:

Procedures for cancellation of written declaration are specified in Article 22 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC

1. Forms of payment of taxes and customs charges are specified in Circular No. 126/2014/TT-BTC dated August 28, 2014 by the Minister of Finance.

2. If the express delivery service provider pays taxes on behalf of the goods owner, the expected arising payable customs fees shall be paid to the deposit account at the State Treasuries of the customs authority of where the declaration is registered.

3. If the express delivery service provider/the customs broker has the common guarantee of the taxpayer, the letter of common guarantee shall be permitted by the credit institution.

4. Responsibilities of customs declarants:

a) Any express delivery service provider shall:

a.1) Make declaration, calculate taxes and customs fees themselves and take responsibility for customs declaration subject to paying taxes/fees that have been carried customs procedures; calculate the amount of taxes and customs fees that must be priorily paid to the deposit account at State Treasuries of customs authority of where the declaration is registered;

a.2) Pay customs fees according to regulations in Article 45 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC;

a.3) If taxes/fees are paid to the deposit account of a customs authority specified in clause 2 of this Article, when completing the customs declaration, write “2” in “người nộp thuế” (“taxpayer”) box; write “D” in “mã xác dịnh thời hạn nộp thuế” (“tax period”) box. The amount of payable tax for each customs declaration sheet arising on a day shall be deducted from the prior payment to the deposit account of customs authority of where the declaration is registered for customs clearance of goods.

a.4) Regarding the common guarantee specified in clause 3 of this Article, regulations in clause 4, clause 5, Article 43 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT the Ministry of Finance shall apply;

a.5) If the express delivery service provider uses the peculiar receipts:

a.5.1) The service provider may issue the tax receipts and the receipts of customs fee to the goods owner;

a.5.2) The printing, issuance, management and use of the tax receipts and the receipts of customs fee shall comply with regulations of the Ministry of Finance on the printing, issuance, management and use of the tax prints;

a.5.3) The express delivery service provider shall cooperate with Sub-department of Customs in comparing the invoices, ensuring the conformable payment of taxes and customs fees.

b) Responsibilities of other customs declarants (other than express delivery service providers): pay taxes and fees according to regulations in Section 5 Chapter II of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC

c) Regarding written declaration, customs declarants shall pay taxes and customs fees according to regulations in Section 5 Chapter II of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

5. Responsibilities of Sub-departments of Customs:

a) Regarding payment by cash:

a.1) Issue the tax receipts and the receipts of customs fee to any customs declarant who has paid taxes and customs fees and fulfilled regulations in Section 5 Chapter II of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

a.2) Within every working day, Sub-departments of Customs shall formulate documents of remittance to the State budget to sent to State Treasuries according to regulations, including: 01 original copy remittance bill according to regulations and the Form HQ 03-BKTK-Circular in Appendix I enclosed with this Circular (01 original copy).

b) Regarding express delivery service provider paying priorily to the deposit account of the customs authority of where the declaration is registered at State Treasuries:

b.1) Customs officials shall pursuant to the tax on the customs declaration sheet to determine the payable tax amount of each customs declaration sheet on the day deducting the priorily paid amount.

b.2) Once a day or once a week, the Sub-department of Customs where the declaration is register shall formulate a State budget remittance bill according to regulations, enclosed with a Report on tax extracted from the deposit account sent to the State budget using the Form HQ 04-BTH-Circular in Appendix I enclosed with this Circular and 01 copy of the Report shall be also sent to the express delivery service provider on request for comparison with the paid amount;

c) Regarding express delivery service provider using common guarantee:

Sub-departments of Customs shall comply with regulations in clause 1, clause 2, clause 4, clause 5 Article 43 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

1. Tax/fine amounts of goods sent through express delivery service are considered overpaid in the following cases:

a) Cases specified in clause 1 Article 49 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC;

b) If the declaration of imported goods has been granted customs clearance and has been verified moving through the CCA but goods are not sent to the destination written on the bill of lading and according to the notification of the express delivery service provider of the approval for returning to the origin country;

c) Other cases shall be treated according to law provisions

2. Documents and procedures for settling the overpaid tax/fine amounts are specified in Article 49 and Article 132 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC The overpaid tax/fine amounts shall be balanced by the tax amounts that the express delivery service provider has paid on behalf of the goods owner for carrying out customs procedures for the next tax-payable goods or shall be sent to the priority payment account of the customs authority.

1. Regarding goods that the express delivery service provider carries out the customs procedures on behalf of the goods owner, the express delivery service provider shall pay the taxes imposed on the goods.

2. If the goods owner makes declaration of goods himself/herself, he/she shall pay the taxes imposed on the goods.

3. Cases subject to tax imposition and procedures for tax imposition are specified in Article 48 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

1. Customs dossiers:

a) The independent transport declaration formulated according to information specified in Section 6 Appendix II enclosed with Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

If the number of goods on the declaration exceeds the limit of the independent transport declaration (the number of imported, transited or exported goods on the independent transport declaration having more than 05 bills of lading or more than 50 exporting declarations), the following documents shall be enclosed with:

a.1) 02 lists of bills of lading/exporting declarations using the Form No. 01-BKVD/TKXK in Appendix III enclosed with this Circular, applicable to goods having more than 05 bills of lading or more than 50 exporting declarations but the number of packages in bulk is less than 100;

a.2) 03 lists of goods using the Form No. 02-BKHH in Appendix III enclosed with this Circular, applicable to goods having at least 100 packages in bulk (regardless of the number of bills of lading/exporting declarations); the List of bills of lading/exporting declarations is not required.

b) Bills of lading, unless goods are transported passing the road border without a bill of lading: 01 photocopy.

If all of goods have been declared on the electronic manifest (e-Manifest system) and the customs declarant writes the code notified by the customs authority on the e-manifest system at “Số hàng hóa (Số B/L/AWB)” box, and write “Chi tiết số vận dơn, người xuất khẩu, người nhập khẩu và tên hàng theo thông tin khai báo trên Hệ thống e-Manifest” in “Ghi chú 1” box, copies of the bill of lading may be excluded from the customs dossier;

c) The transit permit, applicable to transited goods subject to having the permit: 01 original copy. If the National Single Window System has been accessed to, the permit is not required.

2. Responsibilities of express delivery service providers:

a) Make customs declaration:

a.1) About information on the independent transport declaration according to guidelines in Appendix III enclosed with this Circular.

a.2) Regarding exported goods that are transported from sites for customs procedures to the exporting checkpoint; imported goods that are transported from importing checkpoint to sites for customs procedures and transited goods with different transport purposes, information shall be provided on different independent transport declarations;

a.3) Goods transported from importing checkpoint on different bills of lading having the same destination or goods on different exporting declaration having the same departure (port of departure) may be on the same independent transport declaration, regardless of the number of bills of lading and the number of bulk cargos enclosed with the independent transport declaration.

b) If the declaration is classified as flow 1 and the transport of goods has been approved by the System, the customs declarant shall make printed copies of the Notification of approval for the transport declaration, 02 Lists of bills of lading/exporting declaration (if any), 03 Manifests (if any) and shall present goods to customs authority from which goods are transported for affixing seals and verifying departed goods;

c) If the declaration is classified as lane 2, the customs declarant shall present the customs dossiers prescribed in clause 1 of this Article to the customs authority from goods are transported so that the customs authority can inspect, approve the transport, affix seals and verify departed goods;

d) If goods are suspected of violating law provisions, the express delivery service provider shall present goods to the customs authority from which goods are transported at its request so that the customs authority can conduct physical inspection;

dd) Provide additional information on the transport declaration according to notification of the customs authority;

e) For cases of modification of information on the List of bills of lading/exporting declaration or the Manifest, the customs declarant shall submit a writing containing justification for such modification within 24 hours since the supervision official verifies on the List of bills of lading/exporting declaration or the Manifest and update such modified information on the HYS file enclosed therewith.

3. Responsibilities of Sub-department of Customs from which goods are transported:

a) Check the dossier upon the request of the System and provide the customs declarant with guideline for making additional declaration (if any).

If goods denote violations against regulations, a physical inspection of goods prescribed in Article 29 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC shall be conducted. Results of the physical inspection shall be written on the Form No. 06/PGKQKT/GSQL in Appendix V enclosed with Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC shall be sent to Sub-department of Customs to which goods are transported for supervision and further procedures according to regulations;

b) Grant approval for the goods transport declaration on the System. Make printed copies of the Notification of approval for transport declaration upon the request of the customs declarants;

c) Seal the goods (if necessary) and record the customs seal number on the Notification of approval for the transport declaration or the Manifest; append signature and the official's seal, specify date of verification on the first page of the Approval notification or the Manifest (if any).

If goods cannot be sealed up, the customs official shall make a record containing names, quantity, types, marks and origins (if any) of the goods and take picture of goods (if necessary).

If any information on the List of bills of lading/exporting declarations or the Manifest is modified, depending on the actual conditions of goods, customs officials shall certify the modification on the Notification of approval for the transport declaration; or on the List of bills of lading/exporting declaration or the enclosed Manifest (if any)

d) Update information about departed goods to the System if the warehousing service provider fails to link synchronize the electronic customs database with the one of customs authority;

dd) Transfer goods and documents to customs declarants, including:

dd.1) 01 Notification of approval for the transport declaration, 01 List of bills of lading/exporting declaration (if any); 01 Manifest (if any) to present to the warehousing service provider or the customs officials when transporting goods out of the CCA;

dd.2) Seal up the dossier containing 01 Notification of approval for transport declaration, 01 Manifest (if any); 01 record and photos (if any) to present to the Sub-department of Customs to which goods are transported;

e) Supervise information about the goods bearing customs supervision;

g) Ferret for cargos in case the time limit for transport expires but the response of the Sub-department of Customs to which goods are transported has not been received.

h) Retain dossier including 01 Notification of approval for transport; 01 Manifest (if any); 01 List of bills of lading/exporting declaration (if any); 01 record and photos (if any).

4. Responsibilities of Sub-department of Customs to which goods are transported:

a) Customs official shall check the seal and compare the customs seal number with the one on the Notification of approval for transport or on the Manifest (if any) with the actual conditions of goods and verify on the System or the Manifest;

b) Update to the System information about goods that are sent to the destination.

c) Retain dossier including 01 Notification of approval for transport declaration, 01 Manifest (if any), 01 Record and photos (if any).

1. Consolidation principle

Imported goods or exported goods that are sent together with transited goods on the same specialized vehicles or specialized railway cars must satisfy the following conditions:

a) Goods are packed separately (in packages, boxes, etc) so as to distinguish between transited goods that are consolidated with imported goods and transited goods that are consolidated with exported goods, ensuring the supervision and management of customs authority and relevant functional agencies;

b) Goods are transited through Vietnam; excluding transited goods subject to having transit permit as prescribed in points a and b clause 1 Article 242 of the Law on Commerce;

c) Goods have the same departure point and the same destination. To be specific:

c.1) If imported goods are consolidated with transited goods, they must be departed from the same importing checkpoint and transported to the same destination which is the site for customs procedures for imported goods and also the place where transited goods are stored, split and consolidated;

c.2) If exported goods are consolidated with transited goods, they must be departed from the same point which is the site for customs procedures and must be transported to the same destination.

d) Goods are consolidated up in a specialized vehicle (container truck) or a railway car.

2. Customs procedures:

a) Responsibilities of enterprises:

a.1) Send the customs authority a written application for consolidating exported/imported goods with transited goods as prescribed in clause 1 of this Article: 02 original copies;

a.2) If the application is approved by the customs authority, the enterprise shall make an independent transport declaration according to regulations in Article 17 of this Circular, and:

a.2.1) If transited goods are consolidated with exported goods and are exported from the same checkpoint, 01 independent transport declaration is required;

a.2.2) If transited goods are consolidated with imported goods, 02 independent transport declarations are required. When transited goods are transported to the destination, customs declarant shall provider further information on the independent transport declaration for transporting goods to the exporting checkpoint.

a.3) State the number of the independent transport declarations of consolidated goods at the criterion “Ghi chú 2” (note 2).

b) Responsibilities of Sub-department of Customs of where goods are departed:

b.1) Receive and check conditions for consolidating goods prescribed in clause 1 of this Article as follows:

b.1.1) If the application and goods are unsatisfactory: the application shall be rejected or guidance for completion shall be provided;

b.1.2) If the application and goods are satisfactory: sub-department of customs shall grant approval for the application on writing and supervise the splitting and consolidating and shall comply with regulations in clause 3 Article 17 of this Circular;

b.2) Write the same customs seal number on the Notification of approval for transport declaration or on the Manifest (if any) of transited goods and imported/exported goods that are consolidated.

c) Responsibilities of Sub-department of Customs to which the goods are transported:

c.1) Comply with regulations in clause 4 Article 17 of this Circular;

c.2) Check the independent transport declaration specified in the box “Ghi chú 2” (Note 2) on the independent transport declaration for consolidating to verify the 02 declarations on the system according to regulations.

1. Responsibilities of customs declarants:

a) Carry out customs procedures for exported goods according to regulations in Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC the destination of the transport shall be declared as the CFS.

b) Transfer goods to express delivery service providers at the site for customs procedures (the CFS);

2. Responsibilities of express delivery service providers

Comply with regulations in clause 2 Article 17 of this Circular.

3. Responsibilities of Sub-department of Customs of where goods are departed or transported to

Comply with regulations in clause 3 and clause 4 Article 17 of this Circular.

The site for concentrated customs inspection and supervision for goods sent through express delivery service (hereinafter referred to as site) shall satisfy the following conditions:

1. The site is located in planned area of an international airport according to the approval of the authority.

2. The site has an area of at least 5000 m².

3. Working conditions for activities of customs authority are satisfied, including office, goods inspection area, violation exhibits storage, area for location of camera equipment, electronic scales, and scanners.

4. There is a barrier between the site for customs inspection and supervision and the surrounding area that is equipped with camera system connected with the control system of the customs authority.

5. There is a system of computers and software for managing and controlling goods that are transported into or out of the site for customs inspection and supervision that is connected with the control system of the customs authority.

An application for establishment of the site shall include:

1. An application form for establishment of the site made by the enterprise containing the necessity for the establishment and proof of satisfying conditions specified in Article 20 of this Circular: 01 original copy.

2. A site plan, a map containing camera system, locations of scanners, network system, office of the customs authority, storage of impounded goods: 01 photocopy.

3. Approved written planning of international airport that contains the site; or the certificate of a competent authority affiliated to the Ministry of Transport that the site is within the planning of the airport: 01 photocopy;

4. Written evidence for lawful land use right: 01 photocopy.

5. The certificate of fire safety issued by a competent State management agency: 01 photocopy.

1. Any enterprise shall send an application for establishment of the site to Customs Department of province where the site is located.

2. Issuance the decision on establishment of the site:

a) The Customs Department of province where the site is located shall receive the application;

b) Within 10 working days from the day on which the satisfactory application is received, the Customs Department of province shall check the documents; conduct physical inspection at the site; assess the conformity with conditions for establishment of the site, the conditions of customs inspection and supervision according to regulations in Article 20 of this Circular, make a report and send it to the General Department of Customs, enclosed with the application prescribed in Article 21 of this Circular;

c) Within 05 working days from the day on which the report of the Customs Department of province and the application for establishment of the site is received, the Director of the General Department of Customs shall issue an establishment decision for the site. If the enterprise fails to satisfy the requirements, a written response shall be issued.

1. Shutdown of the site

a) A site shall be terminated in the following cases

a.1) The enterprise submits an application for shutdown;

a.2) After 06 months from the day on which the establishment decision is issued, the enterprise fails to bring the site into operation without a good and sufficient reason;

a.3) The site fails to satisfy requirements for customs inspection and supervision as prescribed in Article 20 of this Circular;

a.4) The enterprise commits 03 administrative violations related to customs in the same year and incurs a monetary fine for each violation that exceeds the competence of the Director of Sub-department of Custom;

a.5) The deadline for suspension specified in Point dd Clause 2 of this Article expires;

b) Competence to issue the decision on shutdown: the Director of the General Department of Customs is entitled to issuing the decision on shutdown of the site;

c) Procedures and deadline for shutdown of the site:

c.1) The Customs Department of province shall conduct inspection to make report and request the General Department of Customs to consider the shutdown of the site at the following time:

c.1.1) Five (05) working days from the day on which the application for shutdown sent by the enterprise is received;

c.1.2) Within 30 days from the expiry prescribed in point a.2 of this Clause or from the day on which the site operates, applicable to enterprises that fail to submit a written justification containing a good and sufficient reason. If the enterprise sends the Customs Department of province a written application for the time of operation, Director of the Customs Department of province shall consider deciding an extension for a period not exceeding the period proposed by the enterprise and not exceeding 6 months from the date of extension;

c.1.3) After determining cases specified in Points a.3 and a.4 of this Clause;

c.1.4) Within 30 days from the expiry of the period specified in point c.1.2 of this Clause;

c.2) Within five (05) working days from the day on which the report by the Customs Department of province is received, the Director of the General Department of Customs shall consider issuing the decision on shutdown of the site.

2. Suspension of the site:

If the site no longer operates because no goods are transported to the site and the enterprise has a written application for suspension of the site;

b) Competence to issue decision on suspension of the site:

b.1) The Director of Customs Department of province shall issue a notification of suspension of the site for 06 months;

b.2) If the duration of suspension of the site exceeds 06 months, the Director of the General Department of Customs shall issue a decision on suspension of the site;

c) Procedures and deadline for suspension of the site:

c.1) Within 04 (four) working days from the day on which the application for suspension sent by the enterprise is received, the Director of Customs Department of province shall issue the notification of the suspension of the site;

c.2) Within 04 (four) working days from the day on which the report and request of Customs Department of province and the application of the enterprise for cases specified in Point b.2 of this Clause are received, the Director of the General Department of Customs shall consider issuing the notification of suspension of the site;

d) During the suspension, the site shall not bear the control of the customs authority;

dd) Within the period abovementioned, if the enterprise submit an application for continuing the operation of the site, the Director of the Customs Department of province shall check the requirements for establishment of the site and grant approval for the operation; for cases specified in Point b.2 of this Clause, the Director of the Customs Department shall report the case to the Director of the General Department of Customs for decision. If the site is not satisfactory or the enterprise fails to submit the application within 30 days after such period, the Director of Customs Department of province shall request the Director of the General Department of Customs to consider imposing shutdown of the site according to regulations in Clause 1 of this Article.

1. Any enterprise wishing to contract or extend the area or rearrange the site that is established upon the decision of the General Department of Customs and any enterprise wishing to relocate the site established upon the decision of the General Department of Customs to another location satisfying regulations in Article 20 of this Circular shall:

Regarding the extension, contraction or rearrangement of the site, 01 application shall be formulated and sent to the Customs Department of province; the application shall include:

a.1) An application form for the extension/contract/rearrangement of the site (01 original copy);

a.2) A map of the storage/area subject to relocation/extension/contraction/rearrangement of the site (01 original copy);

a.3) Lawful written evidence about the right to use the storage/area subject to relocation/extension; or written agreements on the relocation of the site with the land use right owner (01 photocopy).

b) Regarding the relocation of the site, an application shall be formulated, including:

b.1) An application form for relocation of the site (01 original copy);

b.2) Documents specified in clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 Article 21 of this Circular about the new location.

2. Within 15 working days from the day on which the satisfactory application is received, the Director of Customs Department of province shall check the application; conduct on-site inspection and issue the decision on approval for the extension/contraction/rearrangement of the site. If the application is unsatisfactory, a written response shall be sent to the enterprise. Regarding the relocation of the site, the Customs Department of province shall send the application enclosed with its proposal to the Director of the General Department of Customs.

3. Within five (05) working days from the day on which the proposal of the Customs Department of province is received, the Director of the General Department of Customs shall consider issuing to the enterprise a decision on approval for the relocation of the site or a writing on refusal of the application.

1. Procedures for transfer:

a) Any enterprise operating/trading the site according to the Decision of the General Department of Customs shall make an official application for transfer of the right to operate the site. All relevant customs procedures must be completed and all relevant taxes must be paid before the application is formulated;

b) The receiver of the right to operate the site shall carry out the procedures for transfer of the right to operate the site;

c) An application for transfer of the right to operate the site shall include:

c.1) A written application for transfer of the right to operate the site containing the agreements between the right transferor and receiver bearing the signature and a seal (if any) of the representative: 01 original copy;

c.2) Documents specified in clause 4 Article 21 of this Circular about the right receiver;

c.3) Documents specified in clauses 2 Article 21 of this Circular, applicable to the transfer with changes in the establishment documents;

d) Within 07 working days from the day on which the satisfactory application is received, the Customs Department of province shall request the General Department of Customs to issue a decision on approval for the transfer. If there is no change in the site in comparison with its condition when it was established.

2. Procedures for change of name of the owner:

a) Any enterprise operating the site according to the establishment decision of the General Department of Customs shall submit an official application for change of owner's name to the General Department of Customs, enclosed with documents proving that the change of name of the enterprise has been certified by the enterprise establishment licensing agency according to laws on investment and laws on enterprise (01 photocopy);

b) Within 05 days from the day on which the satisfactory applications is received, the Director of the General Department of Customs shall issue a writing recognizing the change of name on the establishment decision of the site.

1. This Circular comes into effect from January 01, 2016. Circular No. 100/2010/TT-BTC dated July 09, 2010 by the Minister of Finance and Circular No. 36/2011/TT-BTC dated March 16, 2011 by the Minister of Finance are annulled.

2. During the implementation, if a document referred to in this Circular is amended or replaced, the new one shall prevail.

1. The Director of the General Department of Customs shall direct Directors of Customs Departments of provinces that are relevant to control the implementation of regulations in this Circular.

2. Regarding customs declaration sheets registered before the effective date of this Circular, regulations in Circular No. 100/2010/TT-BTC dated July 09, 2010 by the Minister of Finance and Circular No. 36/2011/TT-BTC dated March 16, 2011 by the Minister of Finance shall be applied.

3. Any difficulties arising during the implementation of this Circular shall be reported to the Ministry of Finance (the General Department of Customs) for guidance./.