Business conditions for duty-free goods

Duty free store

Regulations on conditions for duty-free business are specified in Decree 68/2016/NĐ-CP of the Government on the condition for duty-free businesses, warehouses, and sites for customs procedures and customs supervision. Specifically, to be certified eligible, companies must satisfy these requirements such as; located in the region of an international border road, international railway station, habour type 1; quarantined area or restricted area at the airport. On international aircraft flights established and operated under Vietnam’s law. Duty-free warehouses located in the same position as duty-free shops or in the isolated areas, restricted areas or in the area of customs operations.

In addition, companies must have management software that meet these requirements: managing imported & exported goods, storage, inventory, purchasing objects, customs declaration, requirement for backup and output data for the report, statistics, storage and connected directly to customs office management software.

Simultaneously, they must have camera systems at every corner of duty-free shops, warehouses and keep images of all activities during the operating time of the shop.

The Decree also stipulated to shut down the business operation if the business is in the list of revocation of certificates of eligibility for duty-free shop.

During the stoppage time, customs agencies will supervise the inventory at the duty-free shop and the warehouse. The business is responsible for guaranteeing all items in duty-free shop and the warehouse. The suspension time of business activities will be solved within 6 months from the time of announcement.

The cases for revocation of business certificate include: a proposal to terminate the business activities in duty-free shop; more than 6 months since the date of certification as an eligible business, duty free shops do not go into operation; Duty-free shops, duty-free warehouses fail to maintain the conditions of certification as a business eligible for tax exemption; Within 12 months, the company violates customs administration three times for related business activities and duty-free goods in the form of fines.

The Decree about the conditions for certification as eligible business tax exemption is valid from 1-7-2016.