Policies of goods quality inspection need to facilitate and prevent fraud

Officials of Moc Bai Customs Branch, Tay Ninh Customs Department inspect import and export goods. Illustrative photo: Thu Diu

This is one of the recommendations of the Ministry of Finance in the process of implementing the decrees guiding the Law on Product and Goods Quality. Specifically, regarding cases of exemption from quality inspection, according to the Ministry of Finance, the regulations on cases of exemption from quality inspection lack a basis for application, leading to the possibility that businesses can take advantage of it to cheat on policies.

Giving a specific example, the Ministry of Finance said that according to Point c, Clause 7, Article 7 of Decree 132/2008/ND-CP, amended and supplemented in Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree 74/2018/ND-CP: “c, Samples for advertising have no use value; samples for scientific research, research for production; samples for testing for appraisal, certification of conformity with national technical regulations, inter-laboratory testing”. With the above regulation, according to the Ministry of Finance, in case there is a plan to amend the decrees, the drafting committee needs to clearly supplement the appropriate number of samples and the basis for determining the purpose of research serving production.

In addition, in Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree 13/2022/ND-CP amending and supplementing Point p, Clause 7, Article 7 of Decree 132/2008/ND-CP amended and supplemented in Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree 74/2018/ND-CP stipulates that imported goods are exempted from quality inspection including: “p, Other types of goods not for business purposes (non-commercial types) according to the decision of the Minister of the sector management ministry”.

However, the sector management ministries have not yet provided specific instructions for importing organizations, individuals and Customs authorities to implement this regulation, leading to difficulties in implementation. According to the Ministry of Finance, the definition of goods not for business purposes is very diverse and rich in terms of types, quantities, and purposes of use, so it is difficult to manage if not specifically regulated. Moreover, the procedures for requesting exemption from state quality inspection for imported goods not for business purposes (non-commercial goods), the form of documents for exemption from inspection are also unclear. The documents and forms of documents that must be submitted to the Customs authority when carrying out import procedures for goods exempted from inspection are unclear.

Regarding this issue, at the end of 2022, the Ministry of Science and Technology has issued instructions on implementing regulations on exemption from quality inspection for other types of imported goods not for business purposes as follows: Based on the documents of each type of goods and the records of the importer, the Minister of the sector or field management will consider and decide whether the goods are goods not for business purposes (non-commercial type) to be exempted from quality inspection upon import; The decision of the Minister of the sector or field management is the basis for the Customs authority to clear goods according to regulations".

The Ministry of Finance believes that, in reality, with the strong development of international e-commerce, individuals in Vietnam can easily order goods through websites, from which the goods are shipped to Vietnam through express delivery companies. The types of goods on e-commerce sites are diverse and abundant, many products are constantly being renewed, with low to high value. Meanwhile, according to the guidance of the Ministry of Science and Technology, to consider and resolve customs procedures, the Customs authority shall base on the records and documents of the imported shipment, report to the Minister of the sector or field management for consideration and decision. This leads to delays and congestion of goods in express delivery warehouses as well as the time for customs clearance of shipments.

Therefore, in order to avoid taking advantage of the policy as well as to ensure the rights of organizations and individuals eligible for exemption from state quality inspection, the Ministry of Finance proposes that the drafting committee develop a unified management policy. Specifically, studying the case: imported goods not for personal business purposes (without tax codes), conducting transactions through international e-commerce platforms, there should be regulations on which cases are eligible for exemption from quality inspection (considering the factors of value and type of goods). In case goods need to carry out procedures for exemption from state quality inspection, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall, based on the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, submit to competent authorities to promulgate contents related to this procedure.