Decree No. 129/2022/ND-CP

DECREE

ON THE SPECIAL PREFERENTIAL IMPORT TARIFF OF VIETNAM FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT FOR THE 2022 - 2027 PERIOD

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Government dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Export and Import Duties dated April 6, 2016;

Pursuant to the Law on Customs dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Treaties dated April 9, 2016;

In order to implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, effective from January 1, 2022;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates this Decree on the Special Preferential Import Tariff of Vietnam for the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement for the 2022 - 2027 period.

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree provides for the special preferential import duty rates of Vietnam for the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) for the 2022 - 2027 period, and the conditions for eligibility for the special preferential import duty rates under this Agreement.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Taxpayers as prescribed by the Law on Export and Import Duties.

2. Customs authorities and customs officers.

3. Organizations and individuals having rights and obligations related to exported and imported goods.

Article 3. Special preferential import tariff

1. Promulgated together with this Decree are the Special Preferential Import Tariffs of Vietnam for the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement for the 2022 - 2027 period (the special preferential import duty rates applied hereinafter referred to as RCEP rates), comprising:

Appendix A: Special Preferential Import Tariff for ASEAN countries as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 4 and Article 5 of this Decree;

Appendix B: Special Preferential Import Tariff for Australia;

Appendix C: Special Preferential Import Tariff for China;

Appendix D: Special Preferential Import Tariff for Japan;

Appendix E: Special Preferential Import Tariff for the Republic of Korea;

Appendix F: Special Preferential Import Tariff for New Zealand.

2. The "Commodity code" column and the "Description of goods" column in the Appendices promulgated together with this Decree are formulated on the basis of Vietnam's List of Exported and Imported Goods and detailed at the 8-digit or 10-digit code level.

In case Vietnam's List of Exported and Imported Goods is amended or supplemented, the customs declarant shall declare the description and commodity code according to the amended or supplemented List of Exported and Imported Goods and apply the duty rate of the amended or supplemented commodity code specified in the Special Preferential Import Tariff promulgated together with this Decree.

3. The "RCEP rate (%)" column: The duty rate applicable for different periods, comprising:

a) 2022: from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 for Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and non-tariff zones of Vietnam; from February 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 for the Republic of Korea; from March 18, 2022 to December 31, 2022 for Malaysia;

b) 2023: from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 for Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, Australia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, and non-tariff zones of Vietnam; from January 2, 2023 to December 31, 2023 for the Republic of Indonesia;

c) 2024: from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024;

d) 2025: from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025;

dd) 2026: from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026;

e) 2027: from January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2027.

4. The symbol "*": Imported goods not eligible for the RCEP rate at the corresponding time.

5. For imported goods subject to tariff quotas, comprising certain items under headings 04.07, 17.01, 24.01, 25.01, the in-quota special preferential import duty rate is the rate specified in the Special Preferential Import Tariff promulgated together with this Decree; the list and annual import tariff quota quantities shall comply with the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the out-of-quota import duty rate shall apply according to the Export Tariff, the Preferential Import Tariff, the List of goods and the absolute duty rates, mixed duties, and out-of-quota import duties issued by the Government at the time of importation.

Article 4. Conditions for application of the special preferential import duty rate

Imported goods eligible for the RCEP rate must fully satisfy the following conditions:

1. Being included in the Special Preferential Import Tariff promulgated together with this Decree.

2. Being imported from countries that are members of the RCEP Agreement, comprising the following countries and territories:

a) Brunei Darussalam;

b) The Kingdom of Cambodia;

c) The Republic of Indonesia;

d) The Lao People's Democratic Republic;

dd) Malaysia;

e) The Republic of Singapore;

g) The Kingdom of Thailand;

h) Australia;

i) The People's Republic of China (China);

k) The Republic of Korea (Korea);

l) Japan;

m) New Zealand.

3. Satisfying the regulations on origin of goods (including the regulations on direct transport) and having documents certifying the origin of goods in accordance with the RCEP Agreement and current provisions of law.

Article 5. Goods from non-tariff zones of Vietnam

Goods from non-tariff zones of Vietnam imported into the domestic market are eligible for the special preferential import duty rate under the RCEP Agreement provided they fully satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 1 and Clause 3, Article 4 of this Decree.

Article 6. Special preferential import duty rate

1. Goods imported from an RCEP member country (including goods from non-tariff zones of Vietnam), if satisfying the conditions specified in this Decree and where there is no difference in the RCEP rate between the Appendices to the Tariff promulgated together with this Decree, shall be entitled to the RCEP rate specified in the Appendix to the Tariff for that member country.

2. Goods imported from an RCEP member country (including goods from non-tariff zones of Vietnam), if satisfying the conditions specified in this Decree and where there is a difference in the RCEP rate between the Appendices to the Tariff promulgated together with this Decree, the applicable RCEP rate shall be as follows:

a) The rate specified in the Appendix to the Tariff for the member country determined as the country of origin in accordance with current provisions of law;

b) Where Point a of this Clause does not apply, the importer may declare one of the following RCEP rates:

- The highest rate among the Appendices to the Tariff applicable to the same goods originating from RCEP member countries (including non-tariff zones of Vietnam) that contributed originating materials used to produce the imported goods, provided the importer can substantiate the declared information;

- The highest rate among the Appendices to the Tariff applicable to the same goods originating from RCEP member countries (including non-tariff zones of Vietnam).

Article 7. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect from the date of its signing.

2. For goods imported from Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, or non-tariff zones of Vietnam, with import customs declarations registered from January 1, 2022; for goods imported from the Republic of Korea, with import customs declarations registered from February 1, 2022; and for goods imported from Malaysia, with import customs declarations registered from March 18, 2022, up to before the effective date of this Decree, if such goods fully satisfy the conditions for entitlement to the RCEP rate as prescribed in this Decree and duty has been paid at a higher rate, the customs authority shall handle the overpaid tax amount in accordance with the law on tax administration.

3. For goods imported from the Republic of Indonesia, with import customs declarations registered from January 2, 2023, if such goods fully satisfy the conditions, they shall be entitled to the RCEP rate as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 8. Responsibility for implementation

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of Government-attached agencies, Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and related organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Decree.