Customs strictly controls tax evasion tricks in steel imports

	Vietnam’s iron and steel imports from China record US$4 billion
	Warnings as HRC steel imports continue to increase rapidly

Inspecting import steel products at Dong Dang International Railway Station (Lang Son). Photo: H.Nu

The General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) has issued a number of official dispatches to instruct and request local customs departments to strengthen inspection and control of fraud in declaring goods names and codes, including many documents warning of risks for imported iron and steel products.

However, the GDVC continues to receive a number of warnings about acts of false declaration of goods names, types, and codes of imported steel products to evade import tax and self-defense taxes and anti-dumping taxes.

The GDVC has pointed out some signs of risk in declaring goods names and codes such as: false declaration of goods names, types, codes to evade import tax, taking advantage of the difference in preferential import tax rates for the non-alloy steel product between hot-rolled and cold-rolled steels, between the not clad, plated or coated products, or clad, plated and coated products.

False declaration of goods names, types, codes to evade import tax, taking advantage of the difference in preferential import tax rates between non-alloy steel products and stainless steel, other alloy steel products.

False declaration of the name, type, and code of products that are not subject to trade defense measures or excluded from the list to evade additional import tax.

False declaration of the name, type, and code of goods to evade import tax, taking advantage of the difference in special preferential import tax rates between goods codes...

Specifically, the declared product is non-alloy steel, hot-rolled under heading 72.08 (MFN tax rate of 0%) but the nature of the product is non-alloy steel, cold-rolled under heading 72.09 (MFN tax rate of 7%); the declared item is non-alloy steel, not clad, plated or coated, hot-rolled under sub-heading 7211.1x (MFN tax rate of 0%) but the nature of the product is non-alloy steel, not clad, plated or coated, cold-rolled or other types under subheading 7211.2x or subheading 7211.90 with a higher preferential import tax rate (MFN tax rate of 7%).

The declared products is flat-rolled, uncoated, plated or coated non-alloy steel under heading 72.08 (MFN tax rate of 0%) but the nature of the products is flat-rolled, clad, plated or coated non-alloy steel under heading 72.10 with a higher preferential import tax rate (MFN tax rate of 5% to 15%); the declared product is flat-rolled other alloy steel under heading 72.25 or 72.26 (MFN tax rate of 0%), but the nature of the goods is flat-rolled, clad, plated or coated non-alloy steel under heading 72.10 (MFN tax rate of 5% to 15%).

The declared products of flat-rolled products of non-alloy steel, hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated, imported from China, under the subheading 7211.13 or 7211.14 (MFN tax rate 0%), but the nature of the products is non-alloy steel, cold-rolled under HS code 7211.23.20 or 7211.23.30 (anti-dumping 4.43% to 25.22%) subject to anti-dumping measures under Decision No. 3390/QD-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The declared goods of non-alloy steel, angle, mold and other shapes, not further processed than hot-rolled, hot-drawn or extruded through a mold, imported from China under subheading 7216.50 (ACFTA 0%) but the actual products are L-shaped non-alloy steel, not further processed than hot-rolled, hot-drawn or extruded under subheading 7216.21 or subheading 7216.40. (ACFTA 15%).

To strengthen the customs management, promptly detect and handle violations in declaring names, types, codes of imported goods to evade import and self-defense, anti-dumping taxes, the GDVC requests local customs departments to strengthen inspection and review of imported steel shipments on the basis of risk management to select targeting shipments/declarations for inspection and control.

During the process of inspection and review of goods, if local customs departments face any problems or discover additional risk information, they must report and propose a solution for unified control of the entire Customs industry.