Strictly handling illegal transportation of gemstones by air

	Hanoi Customs proposes several solutions to tackle drugs smuggling by air
	Destroying a "huge" drug trafficking network from Europe to Vietnam by air
	Looking for owners of more than 30 tons of goods imported by air

Officials of Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch count smuggled diamonds discovered in October 2024

On January 14, answering questions from some readers about identifying and handling the act of transporting gemstones seized by the Customs agency in the recent time, the Ministry of Public Security said that according to regulations, the luggage of persons on entry and exit and customs procedures for the luggage must comply with the provisions of law, including:

Clause 7, Article 4 of the 2014 Customs Law stipulates "7. Luggage of people on exit or entry means essentials for their daily needs or trips, including carry-on luggage and luggage consigned before or after trips.";

Article 54 of the 2014 Customs Law stipulates: " 1. Luggage of persons on exit or entry is subject to customs inspection and supervision at border checkpoints. 2. Luggage of persons on exit or entry which exceeds duty-exempt quotas must go through customs formalities like exported or imported goods. Persons on exit or entry may consign luggage in border checkpoint warehouses and receive them back upon entry or exit.3. Quotas for tax-exempt luggage must comply with the law on taxation.

Clause 30, Article 1 of Decree 59/2018/ND-CP dated April 20, 2018 stipulates: "2. The outbound, inbound persons are not required to complete customs declaration if they do not keep luggage that exceeds the duty-free limit according to the law on taxation, or do not have luggage that is shipped before or after their trips. Any commodity carried by inbound, outbound persons which exceeds the duty-free limit but still go through the customs checkpoint without completing the customs declaration shall be considered as illegal imports or exports and shall be handled in accordance with the laws. While completing customs declaration, the customs declarant shall not combine the duty-free limits of different inbound persons to declare the duty-free limit of one inbound person only, except the case where he/she declares for luggage of different persons within his/her family who are on the same trip. The customs declaration for duty-free limit shall be completed for each entry.”

Tax exemption for luggage of persons on entry and exit is stipulated in Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP dated September 1, 2016 of the Government detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the law on export tax and import tax " 1. Each time a person immigrates under a passport or a passport substitute (except for laissez-passers) issued by a Vietnamese authority or foreign authority, he/she shall be granted duty-free allowance for his/her luggage, whether it is accompanied luggage or sent before or after his/her arrival:

a) 1.5 liters of alcohol of ≥20% ABV or 2.0 liters of alcohol of <20% ABV or 3.0 liters of other alcoholic drinks or beer. If the traveler carries a bottle or can of alcohol whose volume exceeds the limit by not more than 01 liter, the whole bottle will be duty-free. If the volume exceeds the limit by more than 01 liter, the exceed amount shall be dutiable;

b) 200 cigarettes or 250 gram of shredded tobacco or 20 cigars;

c) Reasonable quantity and categories of personal belongings;

d) Other items other than those mentioned in Point a through c of this c (not on the List of goods banned from import, suspended from import or subject to conditional import) whose total customs value does not exceed VND 10,000,000; Where the aforementioned allowance is exceeded, the traveler may decide which items are within the allowance and which are not.

Based on the regulations at each time to determine the luggage standards, the tax-exempt limit according to the provisions of the law on taxation. In case, luggage of persons on entry and exit which exceeds the tax-exempt quota but still goes through the customs checkpoint without completing the customs declaration shall be considered as illegal imports or exports and shall be handled in accordance with the laws.

Thus, in case travelers buy diamonds or other precious which exceeds the tax-exempt quota without declaring to customs, they are considered illegal export and import goods and will be handled according to the provisions of law. The sanction methods will be based on act of violations in each specific case.