Circular No. 05/2022/TT-BCT

CIRCULAR

PROVIDING RULES OF ORIGIN UNDER THE REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 98/2017/ND-CP dated August 18, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 31/2018/ND-CP dated March 8, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding origin of goods;

In implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed online on November 15, 2020;

At the proposal of the Director of the Import-Export Department;

The Minister of Industry and Trade promulgates the Circular providing rules of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular provides the rules of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the RCEP Agreement).

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Circular applies to:

1. Certificate of Origin (C/O) issuing authorities and organizations.

2. Traders.

3. Agencies, organizations and individuals concerned with the origin of exported and imported goods.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

For the purposes of this Circular, the following terms are construed as follows:

1. Aquaculture means the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans, other aquatic invertebrates and aquatic plants, from seedstock such as eggs, fry, fingerlings and larvae, by intervention in the rearing or growth processes to enhance production such as stocking, feeding or protection from predators.

2. CIF means the value of the imported goods inclusive of the cost of freight and insurance up to the port or place of entry into the importing member country.

3. Competent authority means the government authority or the organizations designated by a member country and notified to the other member countries.

4. FOB means the value of the goods free on board, inclusive of the cost of transport (by whatever mode) to the port or final place of shipment before the carrying vessel leaves.

5. Identical and interchangeable goods or materials means goods or materials that are interchangeable for commercial purposes and whose properties are essentially identical.

6. Generally accepted accounting principles means the principles recognised by consensus or applied in a member country with respect to the recording of revenues, expenses, costs, assets and liabilities; the disclosure of information; and the preparation of financial statements. These principles may encompass broad guidelines as well as specific standards, practices and procedures.

7. Goods means any merchandise, product, article or material.

8. C/O issuing authority or organization means the body designated or authorised by a member country to issue C/O, which must be notified to the other member countries in accordance with this Circular.

9. Material means goods used in the production of other goods.

10. Non-originating goods or non-originating material means goods or material that do not satisfy the rules of origin provided in this Circular.

11. Originating goods or originating material means goods or material that satisfy the rules of origin provided in this Circular.

12. Producer means a natural or legal person engaged in the production of goods.

13. Production means the methods of obtaining goods, including growing, mining, harvesting, cultivating, farming, raising, extracting, gathering, collecting, capturing, fishing, aquaculture, trapping, hunting, manufacturing, producing, processing or assembling goods.

Article 4. Certification and verification of origin of goods in Viet Nam

1. Issued together with this Circular are the following Appendices:

a) Appendix I: Product Specific Rules.

b) Appendix II: Minimum information requirements of the proof of origin.

c) Appendix III: Form of the export RCEP C/O and form of the supplementary C/O declaration sheet.

d) Appendix IV: List of goods subject to conditional tariff differentials.

2. The list of Viet Nam's RCEP C/O issuing authorities and organizations is updated on the electronic origin certification and management system of the Ministry of Industry and Trade at https://ecosys.gov.vn. Viet Nam's RCEP C/O issuing authorities and organizations shall register their specimen seals and signatures and update those specimen seals and signatures as guided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

3. The procedures for certifying and verifying the origin of goods shall comply with the Government's Decree No. 31/2018/ND-CP dated March 8, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding origin of goods, the legal provisions on origin of goods and this Circular.

Chapter II

DETERMINATION OF THE ORIGIN OF GOODS

Article 5. Originating goods

Goods are considered originating where:

1. The goods are wholly obtained or produced entirely in a member country under Article 6 of this Circular.

2. The goods are produced in a member country exclusively from originating materials from one or more member countries.

3. The goods are produced in a member country using non-originating materials and satisfy Appendix I issued together with this Circular.

Article 6. Wholly obtained goods

For the purposes of Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular, goods are considered wholly obtained or produced entirely in a member country in the following cases:

1. Plants and plant products (including fruit, flowers, vegetables, trees, seaweed, fungi and plants) grown, harvested, picked or gathered in that member country.

2. Live animals born and raised in that member country.

3. Products obtained from live animals raised in that member country.

4. Products obtained from hunting, trapping, fishing, farming, aquaculture, gathering or capturing in that member country.

5. Minerals and other naturally occurring substances, not included in Clauses 1 to 4 of this Article, extracted or taken from the soil, waters, seabed or subsoil beneath the seabed.

6. Marine products and other products taken by vessels of that member country (vessels registered in and entitled to fly the flag of that member country), and other products taken by that member country or by a natural or legal person of that member country from the waters, seabed or subsoil beneath the seabed outside the territorial waters of the member countries and of non-member countries, in accordance with international law, provided that, in the case of marine products and other products taken from the exclusive economic zone of member countries or non-member countries, that member country or the natural or legal person of that member country has the right to exploit that exclusive economic zone and, in the case of other products, that member country or the natural or legal person of that member country has the right to exploit that seabed and subsoil, in accordance with international law.

7. Marine products and other products taken by vessels of that member country from the sea in accordance with international law.

8. Products processed or produced on board a factory ship of that member country from the products referred to in Clause 6 or Clause 7 of this Article.

9. Products that are waste and scrap derived from production or consumption in that member country, provided that they are fit only for disposal, for the recovery of raw materials or for recycling purposes; or used products collected in that member country, provided that they are fit only for disposal, for the recovery of raw materials or for recycling purposes.

10. Goods obtained or produced in that member country exclusively from the products referred to in Clauses 1 to 9 of this Article or from products derived from them.

Article 7. Cumulation

Goods and materials referred to in Article 5 of this Circular that are used in another member country as materials to produce other goods or materials are considered to originate in the member country where the final goods or materials were produced or processed.

Article 8. Regional value content

1. The regional value content (RVC) referred to in Appendix I issued together with this Circular is calculated using one of the following methods:

a) Indirect formula:

b) Direct formula:

Where:

RVC is the regional value content expressed as a percentage.

FOB is the FOB price as defined in Clause 4, Article 3 of this Circular.

VOM is the value of originating materials, parts or products acquired or self-produced and used in the production of the goods.

VNM is the value of non-originating materials used in the production of the goods.

Direct labour cost includes wages, remuneration and other employee benefits.

Direct overhead cost is the total allocated overhead.

2. The value of goods under this Circular is determined on the basis of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and the Customs Valuation Agreement. All costs are recorded and maintained in accordance with the Generally accepted accounting principles applicable in the member country where the goods are produced.

3. The value of non-originating materials:

a) In the case of imported materials, it is the CIF price of the materials at the time of importation.

b) In the case of domestically produced materials, it is the selling price of the producer of those materials.

4. Materials whose origin cannot be determined are considered non-originating materials.

5. The following costs may be deducted from the value of non-originating materials or materials of undetermined origin:

a) The costs of freight, insurance, packing and other costs related to transport incurred in transporting the materials to the premises of the producer of the goods.

b) Duties, taxes and customs brokerage fees, other than duties that are waived, refunded or otherwise recoverable.

c) The cost of waste and spoilage, less the value of reusable scrap or by-products.

6. Where the costs referred to at Points a to c of Clause 5 of this Article are unknown or there are no documents evidencing them, those costs may not be deducted.

Article 9. Country of origin

1. The country of origin is the member country in which the goods satisfy Article 5 of this Circular.

2. Where the goods are produced in a member country exclusively from originating materials of one or more member countries under Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular, the country of origin of the goods is the exporting member country, provided that the production of those goods goes beyond the minimal operations and processes provided in Clause 3, Article 10 of this Circular.

3. Where the goods fall within the list subject to tariff differentials with additional rules of origin under Appendix IV issued together with this Circular, the country of origin of the goods is the exporting member country, provided that the goods satisfy Article 5 of this Circular and the domestic value content (DVC) is not less than 20%.

4. Where the exporting member country is not determined to be the country of origin under Clauses 1 to 3 of this Article, the country of origin is the member country with the highest total value of originating materials used in the production of the goods in the exporting member country.

5. DVC is calculated using the RVC formula referred to in Article 8 of this Circular. Originating materials imported from other member countries are treated as non-originating materials when calculating DVC.

Article 10. Minimal operations and processes

1. “Minimal” means an operation that requires no special skill, or machines, apparatus or equipment especially produced or installed to carry out the operation.

2. “Slaughtering” means only the killing of animals.

3. The following operations are considered minimal operations and processes:

a) Preserving operations to ensure that the goods remain in good condition during transport or storage.

b) Packaging or presenting goods for transport or for sale.

c) Simple operations consisting of sifting, screening, sorting, classifying, filing, cutting, slitting, grinding, bending, coiling or uncoiling.

d) Affixing or printing marks, labels, logos or other like distinguishing signs on goods or their packaging.

d) Mere dilution with water or another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the goods.

e) Disassembly of products into parts.

g) Slaughtering of animals.

h) Simple painting and polishing operations.

i) Simple peeling, stoning or shelling.

k) Simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds.

l) Any combination of two or more of the operations referred to at Points a to k of this Clause.

4. The operations referred to in Clause 3 of this Article, when carried out on non-originating materials to produce goods, are considered insufficient to determine the origin of the goods.

Article 11. De Minimis

1. Goods that do not satisfy the change in tariff classification criterion under Appendix I issued together with this Circular are nevertheless considered originating if they satisfy the other provisions of this Circular and fall within one of the following cases:

a) For goods of Chapters 01 to 97 of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, the value of all non-originating materials used in the production of the goods that do not satisfy the change in tariff classification criterion does not exceed 10% of the FOB value of those goods. The value of the non-originating materials is calculated in accordance with Clause 3, Article 8 of this Circular.

b) For goods of Chapters 50 to 63 of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, the weight of all non-originating materials used in the production of the goods that do not satisfy the change in tariff classification criterion does not exceed 10% of the total weight of the goods.

2. The value of the non-originating materials referred to in Clause 1 of this Article is counted as the value of non-originating materials when applying the regional value content formula.

Article 12. Packing materials and containers

1. Where packing materials and containers are used for the transport of the goods, they are not taken into account in determining the origin of the goods.

2. Where packing materials and containers are used to package the goods for retail sale and are classified together with the goods, they are not taken into account in determining the origin of the goods, provided that:

a) The goods are wholly obtained or produced entirely in a member country under Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular.

b) The goods are produced in a member country exclusively from originating materials of one or more member countries under Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular.

c) The goods satisfy the change in tariff classification criterion or the specific production or processing operation under Appendix I issued together with this Circular.

3. Where the goods are assessed under the regional value content criterion, the value of the packing materials and containers used to package the goods for retail sale is treated as originating or non-originating, as the case may be, when calculating the regional value content of the goods.

Article 13. Accessories, spare parts and tools

1. Accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other informational materials presented with the goods are considered part of the goods and are not taken into account in determining whether all the non-originating materials used in the production of the goods satisfy the change in tariff classification criterion or the specific production or processing operation under Appendix I issued together with this Circular, provided that:

a) The accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other informational materials presented with the goods are not invoiced separately from the goods.

b) The quantity and value of the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other informational materials presented with the goods are customary for the goods.

2. Where Clause 1 of this Article does not apply and the regional value content criterion applies to the goods, the value of the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other informational materials presented with the goods is treated as originating or non-originating, as the case may be, when calculating the regional value content of the goods, provided that:

a) The accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other informational materials presented with the goods are not invoiced separately from the goods.

b) The quantity and value of the accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other informational materials presented with the goods are customary for the goods.

Article 14. Indirect materials

1. An indirect material is treated as an originating material regardless of where it is produced, and its value is the cost recorded in the producer's records in accordance with the Generally accepted accounting principles.

2. An indirect material is goods used in the production, testing or inspection of other goods but not physically incorporated into those other goods, or goods used in the maintenance of buildings or the operation of equipment associated with the production of goods, including:

a) Fuel and energy.

b) Tools, dies and moulds.

c) Spare parts and materials used to maintain equipment and buildings.

d) Lubricants, greases, compounding materials and other materials used in production or used to operate equipment and buildings.

d) Gloves, glasses, footwear, clothing, safety supplies and equipment.

e) Equipment, machinery and supplies used to test or inspect the goods.

g) Catalysts and solvents.

h) Any other materials not incorporated into the product but whose use in the production can be demonstrated to be part of that production.

Article 15. Identical and interchangeable goods or materials

The determination of whether identical and interchangeable goods or materials are originating is made by physically segregating each of the identical and interchangeable goods or materials, or by applying the inventory management accounting principles recognised in the Generally accepted accounting principles of the exporting member country and applied throughout that financial year, where identical and interchangeable goods or materials are commingled.

Article 16. Materials used in production

Non-originating materials that have undergone production satisfying this Circular are treated as originating materials when used in the production of a subsequent product, regardless of whether those materials were produced by the producer of that subsequent product.

Article 17. Unit of qualification

1. The unit of qualification under this Circular is a particular product and is regarded as the basic unit when classifying under the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System.

2. Where a consignment consists of a number of similar products classified under one tariff line, each product is considered separately in determining whether it is originating.

Article 18. Direct consignment

1. Goods are considered to retain their origin under Article 5 of this Circular where one of the following conditions is met:

a) The goods are transported directly from the exporting member country to the importing member country.

b) The goods are transported through one or more member countries other than the exporting member country and the importing member country (hereinafter referred to as intermediate member countries), or through non-member countries, provided that:

b1) They do not undergo any production or processing operation in the intermediate member countries or the non-member countries, other than logistics activities such as unloading, reloading, storing or other operations necessary to preserve the goods in good condition or to transport them to the importing member country.

b2) They remain under the supervision of the customs authorities of the intermediate member countries or the non-member countries.

2. Where the goods are transported as provided at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article, the customs documents of the intermediate member countries or the non-member countries, or any other appropriate documents required by the customs authority of the importing member country, must be presented to the customs authority of the importing member country.

3. The appropriate documents referred to in Clause 2 of this Article include delivery documents or transport documents such as an air waybill, a bill of lading (B/L), a multimodal or combined transport document, a copy of the original commercial invoice for the goods, financial statements, a non-manipulation certificate, or other relevant documents required by the customs authority of the importing member country.

Chapter III

CERTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION OF ORIGIN OF GOODS

Article 19. General provisions on the origin certification mechanism

1. Goods originating in Viet Nam and exported to member countries are considered for tariff preferences under the RCEP Agreement where a C/O has been issued in accordance with this Circular.

2. Goods originating in member countries and imported into Viet Nam are considered for tariff preferences under the RCEP Agreement upon submission of one of the following proofs of origin:

a) A C/O issued by a C/O issuing authority or organization under Articles 21 and 22 of this Circular.

b) A self-certification of origin document issued by an approved exporter under Articles 20 and 22 of this Circular.

3. The self-certification of origin document referred to at Point b, Clause 2 of this Article:

a) Is issued in writing or in another form, including electronic form.

b) Contains the minimum information provided in Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

c) Is valid for 01 year from the date of issuance.

d) Is in English and bears the signature and name of the self-certifying person and the date of issuance.

Article 20. Approved exporter

1. The competent authority of the exporting member country applies the self-certification of origin mechanism to approved exporters in accordance with the regulations of that exporting member country. An approved exporter must satisfy the following conditions:

a) Being registered in accordance with the regulations of the exporting member country.

b) Having knowledge of the rules of origin.

c) Having export experience as required by the exporting member country.

d) Keeping export documents and having a risk management system.

d) Where the approved exporter is a trader, having origin declaration information from the producer to ensure that the goods are originating, and providing it in the event of a verification of the origin of the goods as prescribed.

e) Having a book-keeping system and an information storage system in accordance with the regulations of the exporting member country.

2. The competent authority of the exporting member country shall grant the approval to the approved exporter in writing or electronically, provide the approved exporter with an authorisation code and notify the information on the approved exporter under Clause 4 of this Article.

3. An approved exporter may itself issue self-certification of origin documents for the goods for which self-certification of origin is permitted and provide the documents relating to that export consignment.

4. The competent authority of the exporting member country shall notify the following information on the approved exporter to the database:

a) The legal name and address of the approved exporter.

b) The authorisation code of the approved exporter.

c) The date of issuance and, if any, the expiry date of the authorisation code.

d) The list of goods for which self-certification of origin is permitted, at least at chapter level.

5. Any change to the items referred to at Points a to d of Clause 4 of this Article, or the withdrawal or suspension of self-certification of origin, must be notified immediately to the other member countries. Where the competent authority of the exporting member country maintains a secure website accessible to the other member countries, such notification is not required.

6. The competent authority of the exporting member country must supervise approved exporters, including verifying the origin of the goods of approved exporters, and shall terminate the validity of the self-certification authorisation code if the exporter no longer satisfies the conditions in Clause 1 of this Article.

7. The approved exporter is responsible for complying with the origin verification process of the customs authority of the importing member country, providing the relevant documents to prove that the goods are originating, including information on the supplier or the producer as required by the importing member country, and complying with this Circular.

8. This Article applies to approved exporters self-certifying the origin of goods imported into Viet Nam from other member countries.

Article 21. C/O

1. The C/O is issued by the C/O issuing authority or organization of the exporting member country on the application of the exporter, the producer, or a representative of the exporter or producer.

2. The exporter, the producer, or a representative of the exporter or producer shall submit the C/O application in writing or electronically to the C/O issuing authority or organization in accordance with the regulations of the exporting member country.

3. The C/O must satisfy the following conditions:

a) Bearing its own reference number.

b) Being in English.

c) Bearing the signature and seal of the C/O issuing authority or organization of the exporting member country. The signature and seal may be manual or electronic.

d) It may declare two or more commercial invoices for one consignment.

dd) It may cover several kinds of goods, provided that each kind of goods satisfies the corresponding rules of origin.

e) It identifies the goods as originating and satisfying this Circular.

g) It contains the minimum information provided in Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

4. The form of the RCEP C/O provided in Appendix III issued together with this Circular applies to goods exported from Viet Nam to other member countries.

5. Where a C/O contains incorrect information, the C/O issuing authority or organization of the exporting member country shall take one of the following two courses of action:

a) Issue a new C/O and cancel the original one.

b) Alter the information on the original C/O by striking out the error and adding the necessary information. Such alterations must be certified by the signature and seal of the C/O issuing authority or organization of the exporting member country.

6. In exceptional cases where a C/O is not issued at the time of shipment due to an involuntary error, omission or other valid reason, or in the case referred to at Point a, Clause 5 of this Article, the C/O may be issued retroactively but no later than 01 year after the date of shipment. In such a case, the C/O must be ticked in the “ISSUED RETROACTIVELY” box.

7. Where the original C/O is lost, stolen or damaged, the exporter, the producer, or a representative of the exporter or producer may apply in writing to the C/O issuing authority or organization of the exporting member country for a certified true copy of the original C/O. The copy must satisfy the following conditions:

a) Being issued no later than 01 year after the date of issuance of the original C/O.

b) Being based on the application for the original C/O.

c) Containing the reference number and the date of issuance of the original C/O.

d) Bearing the words “CERTIFIED TRUE COPY”.

8. The C/O is valid for 01 year from the date of issuance.

Article 22. Back-to-back proof of origin

1. A C/O issuing authority or organization, or an approved exporter, of an intermediate member country may issue a back-to-back proof of origin, provided that:

a) A valid original proof of origin, or a certified true copy of the original proof of origin, is presented.

b) The validity period of the back-to-back proof of origin does not exceed the validity period of the original proof of origin.

c) The back-to-back proof of origin contains the information relating to the original proof of origin provided in Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

d) The consignment re-exported under the back-to-back proof of origin does not undergo any processing operation in the intermediate member country, other than repacking or logistics activities such as unloading, reloading, storing, splitting the consignment, or mere labelling as required by the importing member country, or other operations necessary to keep the goods in good condition or to transport them to the importing member country.

dd) For partial export consignments, the quantity of the partial export consignments must be stated instead of the total quantity on the original proof of origin, and the total quantity of the partial export consignments must not exceed the total quantity of goods stated on the original proof of origin.

e) The information on the back-to-back proof of origin includes the date of issuance and the reference number of the original proof of origin.

2. The verification of a back-to-back proof of origin shall be carried out in accordance with Article 24 of this Circular.

Article 23. Third-party invoicing

The customs authority of the importing member country shall not deny tariff preferences where the commercial invoice is not issued by the exporter or the producer, provided that the goods satisfy the rules of origin in this Circular.

Article 24. Verification of the origin of goods

1. To verify the origin of imported goods, the competent authority of the importing member country shall carry out the verification of the origin of the goods in the following forms:

a) Sending a written request to the importer for further information.

b) Sending a written request to the exporter or the producer for further information.

c) Sending a written request to the C/O issuing authority or organization or the competent authority of the exporting member country for further information.

d) A verification visit to the premises of the exporter or the producer in the exporting member country to observe the production facility and the production process of the goods and to examine the documents relating to the origin of the goods, including accounting records. A verification visit may be conducted only after the verification under Point c of this Clause has been carried out.

d) Other forms as agreed between the member countries.

2. The importing member country shall verify the origin of the goods as follows:

a) In the case of verification under Point b, Clause 1 of this Article, the importing member country shall send a letter of request accompanied by a copy of the proof of origin and stating the reason for the verification to the exporter or the producer and to the competent authority of the exporting member country.

b) In the case of verification under Point c, Clause 1 of this Article, the importing member country shall send a letter of request accompanied by a copy of the proof of origin and stating the reason for the verification to the C/O issuing authority or organization or the competent authority of the exporting member country.

c) In the case of verification under Point d, Clause 1 of this Article, the importing member country shall request the exporter or the producer and the competent authority of the exporting member country to send a letter of consent to the verification visit, stating the proposed working schedule, the place of verification and the purpose of the verification.

3. At the request of the importing member country, the verification of the premises of the exporter or the producer may be carried out with the consent and assistance of the exporting member country on the basis of an agreement between the importing member country and the exporting member country.

4. In the case of verification under Points a to d of Clause 1 of this Article, the importing member country shall:

a) Allow the importer, the exporter, the producer, or the C/O issuing authority or organization or the competent authority of the exporting member country from 30 days to 90 days from the date of receipt of the verification request letter under Points a to c of Clause 1 of this Article to respond.

b) Allow the exporter, the producer or the competent authority to accept or refuse the request within 30 days from the date of receipt of the verification request letter referred to at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article.

c) Make a determination within 90 days to 180 days from the date of receipt of the information necessary to make that determination.

5. For the purposes of Clause 1 of this Article, the importing member country must send a written notice of the verification result together with the reasons to the importer, the exporter, or the producer, or the C/O issuing authority or organization or the competent authority of the exporting member country.

6. The customs authority of the importing member country may suspend tariff preferences while awaiting the verification result. The importing member country shall allow the release of the goods but may make the release subject to its domestic regulations.

Article 25. Submission of the proof of origin to claim tariff preferences

1. To claim tariff preferences, the importer shall submit a valid proof of origin to the customs authority of the importing member country.

2. Goods originating in the exporting member country with a customs value not exceeding 200 (two hundred) US dollars, or an equivalent or higher amount in the currency of the importing member country, are exempt from the submission of a proof of origin, provided that the importation is not part of a series of importations or of a deliberate splitting of consignments carried out with the purpose of avoiding the submission of a proof of origin to the customs authority.

3. Where the goods are transported through one or more member countries other than the exporting member country and the importing member country as provided at Point b, Clause 1, Article 18 of this Circular, the customs authority may require the importer to submit the supporting documents provided in Clause 3, Article 18 of this Circular.

4. Where the proof of origin is submitted to the customs authority after the prescribed time limit, the proof of origin may nevertheless be accepted if the failure to observe that time limit is due to force majeure or other valid causes beyond the control of the exporter or the importer.

Article 26. Subsequent submission of documents to claim tariff preferences

Where tariff preferences were not claimed at the time of carrying out the import customs procedures, in order to claim tariff preferences the importer shall:

1. Clearly declare the origin of the goods and declare the late submission of the proof of origin on the import customs declaration at the time of carrying out the customs procedures.

2. Make a supplementary declaration and submit the proof of origin within the prescribed time limit.

Article 27. Denial of tariff preferences

1. The customs authority of the importing member country shall deny tariff preferences in either of the following two cases:

a) The goods do not satisfy this Circular.

b) The importer, the exporter or the producer of the goods cannot demonstrate that the goods satisfy this Circular so as to be eligible for tariff preferences.

2. Where the customs authority of the importing member country denies tariff preferences, it must provide the importer with a written determination stating the reason for the denial.

3. The customs authority of the importing member country shall deny tariff preferences in the following cases:

a) The customs authority does not receive sufficient information to determine that the goods are originating.

b) The exporter, the producer or the competent authority of the exporting member country does not respond in writing to the request for verification of the origin of the goods under Article 24 of this Circular.

c) A request for a verification visit under Article 24 of this Circular is refused.

Article 28. Transitional provisions for goods in transit

On the date of entry into force of the RCEP Agreement, goods in transit to, or not yet imported into, the importing member country that satisfy this Circular are considered for tariff preferences. The importer shall declare and submit the proof of origin within 180 days from the date of entry into force of the RCEP Agreement.

Article 29. Treatment of minor discrepancies or errors

Where there is no doubt as to the origin of the goods, the discovery of minor discrepancies such as typographical errors between the information on the proof of origin and the information on the documents submitted to the customs authority of the importing member country for the import procedures does not invalidate the proof of origin if those discrepancies still correspond to the goods actually imported.

Article 30. Record keeping

1. The exporter, the producer, the C/O issuing authority or organization, or the competent authority shall retain the documents relating to the proof that the goods are originating for at least 03 years from the date of issuance of the proof of origin, or longer as required by each member country.

2. The importer shall retain the documents relating to the proof that the goods are originating for at least 03 years from the date of importation of the goods, or longer as required by each member country.

3. The records referred to in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article may be kept in any medium that allows prompt retrieval, including in digital, electronic, optical, magnetic or written form, in accordance with the regulations of that member country.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 31. Organization of implementation

1. Guidance and common understandings relating to the rules of origin agreed among the member countries by rotation, or agreed in the reports of the implementation meetings of the Joint Committee and the Sub-Committee on Rules of Origin under the RCEP Agreement, constitute the basis for implementation by C/O issuing authorities and organizations and by customs authorities.

2. The matters referred to in Clause 1 of this Article shall be notified to C/O issuing authorities and organizations and to customs authorities through the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Customs).

Article 32. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from April 4, 2022.

2. C/O issuing authorities and organizations shall consider issuing RCEP C/O for goods exported from Viet Nam before the effective date of this Circular so that they may enjoy tariff preferences under the RCEP Agreement and the regulations of the importing member country.

3. The customs authority of the importing member country shall accept proofs of origin issued from January 1, 2022. The procedures for examining the proof of origin for the granting of tariff preferences shall comply with the RCEP Agreement, Chapter III of this Circular and the relevant legal documents./.