Review operation of bonded warehouse in the whole country

	Streghthen the inspection, supervision and control of goods stored in bonded warehouse
	Quang Ninh Customs deploys VASSCM in bonded warehouses
	315 enterprises connect the automated system for seaport customs management

Bonded warehouses at North Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi). Photo: N.Linh

This is the recent direction by Deputy Director General of Vietnam Customs Mai Xuan Thanh related to bonded warehouse management.

Currently, regulations and operational processes on the management of goods stored in bonded warehouse are issued sufficiently. Customs units have implemented the customs inspection and supervision, prevented smuggling, and trade fraud in the scope of functions and tasks and management area.

However, there are some enterprises abusing preferential policies for bonded warehouse regime for smuggling and trade fraud such as failing to declare or incorrectly declare name, HS code, quantity, weight of goods smuggle goods into inland for tax fraud and evade regulations on goods management policies.

They are also failing to declare and take goods which are not allowed to be stored at bonded warehouse, to bonded warehouse; abusing the form of storing in bonded warehouse for temporary import and re-export of goods to avoid the regulations on temporary import for re-export business.

In addition, illegally transshipping goods during transportation, registering to deposit goods into bonded warehouses but actually failing to take goods into bonded warehouses.

Leaders of the General Department of Vietnam Customs direct provincial and municipal Customs departments to evaluate the operation of bonded warehouses in localities, propose to suspend or terminate operation of bonded warehouses which do not meet conditions in Decree 68/2016/ND-CP; to assess difficulties and propose solutions for bonded warehouse management.

Provincial and municipal Customs departments must request their subordinate units to strengthen the inspection and control for goods stored in bonded warehouses, to focus on coordination with customs units in monitoring the transportation and delivery of goods; to identify a number of key shipments to conduct physical inspection; to suddenly inspect books and bonded warehouse management systems for compliance assessment; strengthen the customs supervision by sealing, GPS navigation devices, camera systems. They should also strictly handle cases abusing policies for smuggling and trade fraud.

Leaders of the General Department of Vietnam Customs assigned the Customs Control and Supervision Department to research and propose contents into the circular supplementing and amending Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC to improve legal basis and reform management processes for goods stored in bonded warehouses, ensuring consistency and tightness from goods are approved for transportation to store in bonded warehouses until the customs procedures are completed, confirming the actual export, which focuses on the following:

Goods in and out of bonded warehouse must be registered with customs declarations; the declaration must ensure sufficient information of each shipment, name, HS code, category and quantity of goods.

Specifying requirements and measures for customs supervision goods during transportation such as: Sealing, marking, taking photos, recording, GPS navigation devices, electronic seals and journey cameras.

Specifying procedures for certifying actual export to ensure feasibility, define responsibilities and strict manage cases where a shipment is exported in many time and changes export border gate or is proposed to return to a bonded warehouse.

Enterprises still do not meet conditions for operation of warehouses and sites VCN- Decree 68/2016/ND-CP which took effect on 1st July 2017, stipulates conditions for duty-free business, warehouses, sites for ...

Customs units should develop operational processes for goods in bonded warehouse to ensure compliance with regulations of the law and operational process of the Customs sector; warehouse management software consistent with data standards issued by the General Department of Vietnam Customs; meet the search, statistics on the volume of goods imported, exported, inventory according to each declaration, enterprise, HS code, time; connect and share data in real time with the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The specialised units need to study sanctions for administrative violations related to goods stored in bonded warehouses and include them in the Decree amending and supplementing Decree 45/2016/ND-CP, Decree 127/2013/ND-CP on sanctioning Customs administrative violations.

In additions, leaders of the General Department of Vietnam Customs also direct to strengthen the risk management, investigation and anti-smuggling for goods stored in bonded warehouse and install equipment for customs supervision.