Customs answers questions from enterprises

	Procedures to receive goods from abroad
	The Ho Chi Minh City dialogue system answers more than 1.200 questions of enterprises
	Answering over 30 questions on Tax - Customs policies for Southern enterprises

Customs officers at Vung Ang border gate Customs Branch (Customs Department of Ha Tinh province) are guiding Customs procedures for enterprise. Photo: Hong Nu

More methods of propaganda

At the recent business dialogue, Mr. Doan Duy Khuong reflected that recently, regulations on Customs procedures were constantly changing and there were too many new regulations on Customs procedures for enterprises to update in time; the connection between business and Customs was still limited. Therefore, enterprises sometimes delayed the progress of opening declarations. In addition, the documents to reply to problems of enterprises were general, mainly mentionedincirculars and decrees without specific instructions for enterprises.

Representing the business community, the VCCI also said that the Ministry of Finance needed to further review and amend legal documents and attached documents in the direction of accessing the actual operation of enterprises and written institutions; to provide clear explanations throughout the process of administrative procedures from central level to local level, and from department level to branch level in order to avoid the status that enterprises were confused with administrative procedures upon the approach and the implementation; not to change forms too much except for real necessity, and to keep them stable for a certain period; and to establish consulting teams at Tax and Customs Branches and Departments. Particularly, the enterprises thought that Customs authorities needed to have more methods of propaganda and training for enterprises so that they could access Customs procedures more easily.

From the National Business Dialogue 2016, the development legal documents on Customs was made towards more comprehensively reforming import-export management and policies in line with the process of economic integration in the direction of stability, publicity and transparency; creating a healthy economic environment; complying with international treaties and free trade agreements, the Customs Law, Law on import-export duties and other relevant laws; improving the legal basis to meet the requirements of the e-Customs model and implementing the national single window to reduce the Customs clearance time and save costs for enterprises and abide by the development of international trade, Mr. Vu Ngoc Anh, Deputy Director General of Customs emphasized.

Mr. Vu Ngoc Anh also noted that in the coming time, the Customs sector would focus on improving the institution, promoting Customs administrative reform, contributing to improving the business environment, encouraging start-ups, developing enterprises, raising productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises in the direction of accessing to the actual operation of enterprises. Accordingly, striving to shorten the clearance time of export goods to 70 hours and of import goods to 90 hours.

Clear explanation

In order to enhance inspection and supervision to put administrative reform into practice and to facilitate enterprises and Customs declarants, before the business dialogue 2017, the Customs authorities have actively solved some problems for enterprises

Regarding the complaint of Dat Thanh Phu Import-Export Joint Stock Company about many changes in export licenses, the General Department of Customs replied that according to the provisions of Article 4 of the Government's Decree No. 187/2013 / ND-CP dated 20th November 2013, for import and export goods under licenses, traders must have the license of the relevant ministries and sectors to import and export them. The goods must meet regulations on quarantine and food safety and quality standards, and must be inspected by competent agencies before Customs clearance. Goods which are not on the list of goods banned from export or suspended from export, not on the the list of goods banned from import or suspended from import and goods which are not described in the Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, shall only have to carry out the export and import procedures at border gate Customs Branch.

Under the provisions of Clause 1, Article 24 of the Customs Law of 2014, Customs declarants shall, depending on each case, submit or present sale contracts, commercial invoices, transport document, certificate of origin, import-export licenses, written notice of specialized inspection results or exemption from specialized inspection, and other related documents according to the provisions thereof.

Therefore, the presentation of the export license to the Customs authority is in accordance with the relevant laws, the Customs authority will handle the Customs clearance when the goods meet the requirements of relevant laws and Customs Law 2014.

Citizen Machinery Vietnam Company Limited recommended to abolish the procedure of "Notification of discarded materials import" as per Annex 12 "Form for Notification of imported discarded materials shipment for inspection and clearance (issued together with Circular No. 41/2015 / TT-BTNMT dated 9th September 2015 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment". Because actually, when importing discarded materials, the company must rely on the"Certificate of eligibility for environment protection in importing discarded materials as materials for production” to carry out the Customs clearance. The written notification of discarded materials imports is like a sub-license required to be submitted upon the Customs clearance. This affects the progress of the company’s production.

The Company also suggested shortening the deposit time of discarded materials imports from 15 days to fewer. In fact, this regulation has caused many difficulties and obstacles for the company when importing discarded materials as materials for production because imported shipments from Thailand and Singapore take only 4-5 days, if according to the above regulation, the company must pay a lot ofcosts for warehouses and container storage and meet many difficulties in the production.

The GDC said that concerning the contents of procedures for discarded materials imports requiring Certificate of deposit before 15 days of opening import declaration as stipulated in Decree 38/2015 / ND-CP of the Government, GDC also sent an Official Letter No. 6773 / TCHQ-GSQL dated 24th July 2015 to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. In the Official Letter No. 1820 / TCMT-KSON dated 27th August 2015 in response to the GDC, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment requested the GDC to guide the company to strictly abide by the Clause 1, Article 59 of the Decree. No. 38/2015 / ND-CP: "Organizations and individuals importing discarded materials must deposit prior to customs clearance procedures for imported discarded materials at least 15 working days”.

MOF answered many questions to enterprises VCN - At the business dialogue on Customs and tax procedures and policies 2017 with the Southern ...

The GDC has discussed and agreed with the Ministry of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to handle the company’s proposals. Accordingly, the GDC requested the company to closely comply with regulation. Any problems, please contact directly the specialized management agency, which is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, for consideration and settlement.