Law No. 54/2014/QH13

LAW

ON CUSTOMS

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law on Customs.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Law provides for State management of customs with regard to goods that are exported, imported or in transit and means of transport on exit, on entry or in transit of domestic and foreign organisations and individuals within the customs territory; and for the organisation and operation of Customs.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Organisations and individuals carrying out the export, import or transit of goods, or the exit, entry or transit of means of transport.

2. Organisations and individuals having rights and obligations related to the export, import or transit of goods, or the exit, entry or transit of means of transport.

3. The customs authority and customs officers.

4. Other State agencies in coordinating State management of customs.

Article 3. Customs policies

1. The Vietnamese State creates favourable customs conditions for export, import, exit, entry and transit activities within the Vietnamese territory.

2. To build a clean, strong, professional and modern Vietnam Customs that operates transparently, effectively and efficiently.

Article 4. Interpretation of terms

In this Law, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Border-gate transfer means the transfer of goods or means of transport that are subject to customs inspection and supervision from one place where customs procedures are carried out to another place where customs procedures are carried out.

2. Transhipment means the transfer of goods from a means of transport engaged in domestic transportation or a means of transport on entry to a means of transport on exit for export, or from a means of transport engaged in domestic transportation or a means of transport on entry down to a warehouse or yard within the border-gate area, and then loading them onto another means of transport for export.

3. The national single-window mechanism means allowing the customs declarant to send electronic information and documents in order to carry out customs procedures and the procedures of State management agencies related to exported and imported goods through an integrated information system. State management agencies decide to permit goods to be exported, imported or transited; the customs authority decides on the customs clearance and release of goods on the integrated information system.

4. A container freight station means a warehouse or yard area used to carry out the collection, division and separation of goods of many cargo owners transported in the same container.

5. Customs supervision means a professional measure applied by the customs authority to ensure the integrity of goods and compliance with the provisions of law in the preservation, storage, loading and unloading, transportation and use of goods, and in the exit, entry and transit of means of transport that are subject to customs management.

6. Goods include movable assets having names and codes according to the Vietnam List of Exported and Imported Goods that are exported, imported or transited, or are stored within customs operation areas.

7. Luggage of a person on exit or entry means articles necessary for the daily needs or the purpose of the trip of the person on exit or entry, including luggage carried along with the person and luggage sent before or after the trip.

8. A customs dossier comprises the customs declaration and the documents that must be submitted or produced to the customs authority in accordance with this Law.

9. A tax suspension warehouse means a warehouse used to store imported raw materials and supplies that have been granted customs clearance but for which duty has not yet been paid, for the production of exported goods of the tax suspension warehouse owner.

10. A bonded warehouse means a warehouse or yard area for storing goods for which customs procedures have been completed and which are deposited pending export; and goods brought in from abroad and deposited pending export to a foreign country or import into Vietnam.

11. Customs control means patrol, investigation, verification or other professional measures applied by the customs authority to prevent and combat smuggling and the illegal transportation of goods across the border and other acts violating the law on customs.

12. Customs inspection means the inspection by the customs authority of the customs dossier and related vouchers and documents, and the physical inspection of goods and means of transport.

13. The customs territory comprises areas within the territory, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam where the Law on Customs applies.

14. The customs declarant includes: the goods owner; the owner of the means of transport; the operator of the means of transport; the customs procedure agent and other persons authorised by the goods owner or the owner of the means of transport to carry out customs procedures.

15. Customs sealing means the use of technical tools or signs to identify and ensure the integrity of goods.

16. Classification of goods means the determination of the name and code of goods according to the Vietnam List of Exported and Imported Goods on the basis of the characteristics, composition, structure, physical and chemical properties, utility, packing specifications and other attributes of the goods.

17. Means of transport include road, railway, air, sea and inland waterway means of transport on exit, on entry or in transit.

18. Risk management means the application by the customs authority of a system of measures and professional processes in order to identify, assess and classify the level of risk, serving as a basis for the reasonable allocation and arrangement of resources for the effective inspection, supervision and support of other customs operations.

19. Risk means the danger of non-compliance with the law on customs in carrying out the export, import or transit of goods; or the exit, entry or transit of means of transport.

20. Removable assets mean articles and objects serving the daily life and work of individuals, families and organisations, which are carried along when they cease residing in or terminate their operation in Vietnam or in a foreign country.

21. Customs clearance means the completion of customs procedures for goods to be imported or exported or placed under another customs management regime.

22. Customs information means information and data on export, import, exit, entry and transit activities; on organisations and individuals participating in export, import, exit, entry and transit activities; and other information related to customs operations.

23. Customs procedures mean the tasks that the customs declarant and customs officers must perform in accordance with this Law with regard to goods and means of transport.

24. Customs value means the value of exported and imported goods serving the purposes of duty calculation and customs statistics.

25. Articles on means of transport include: assets used on the means of transport; raw materials and fuel serving the operation of the means of transport; food, foodstuffs and other articles directly serving the daily life of the persons working and the passengers on the means of transport.

26. Prior determination of code, origin and customs value means the determination by the customs authority of the code, origin and customs value of goods before customs procedures are carried out.

Article 5. Application of international treaties and international usages and practices related to customs

1. Where an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party contains provisions different from the provisions of this Law, the provisions of that international treaty shall apply.

2. For cases not yet provided for by this Law, other legal documents of Vietnam or international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party, international usages and practices related to customs may be applied, provided that the application of such international usages and practices is not contrary to the fundamental principles of Vietnamese law.

Article 6. International cooperation activities on customs

1. International cooperation activities on customs include:

a) Negotiating, signing and organising the implementation of international treaties and international agreements on customs;

b) Organising the exploitation and exchange of information and professional cooperation with the Customs of other countries and relevant international organisations;

c) Sending Vietnamese customs officers abroad and receiving foreign customs officers into Vietnam to carry out customs professional activities in accordance with the law on customs, international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party or signed international agreements;

d) Exercising the rights, obligations and interests of the Vietnamese State at the World Customs Organisation, relevant international organisations on customs, and countries and territories.

2. Vietnam Customs shall be responsible for carrying out the activities mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article in accordance with law.

Article 7. Customs operation areas

1. Customs operation areas include:

a) Areas of road border gates, international intermodal railway stations and international civil airports; seaports and inland waterway ports engaged in export, import, exit, entry or transit activities; areas where goods subject to customs supervision are being stored, export processing zones and customs priority areas; places where customs procedures are carried out, bonded warehouses, tax suspension warehouses, international post offices and the head offices of customs declarants upon post-clearance audit; places of inspection of exported and imported goods within the customs territory;

b) Other areas and places that meet State management requirements and are permitted for the export, import or transit of goods and the exit, entry or transit of means of transport under decisions of the Prime Minister.

2. Within customs operation areas, the customs authority shall be responsible for inspecting, supervising and controlling goods and means of transport and for handling violations of the law on customs in conformity with Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

3. The Government shall provide in detail for the scope of customs operation areas.

Article 8. Modernisation of customs management

1. The State gives priority to investment in technical equipment, modern facilities and advanced technologies in order to ensure the effectiveness of customs management; and encourages organisations and individuals to participate in developing advanced technologies and technical facilities in order to ensure the application of modern customs management methods. Organisations and individuals engaged in export and import activities shall be responsible for participating in the development and performance of electronic transactions and electronic customs procedures.

2. The system of technical standards for electronic data exchange and the legal validity of electronic documents in carrying out electronic customs procedures shall comply with the law on electronic transactions.

Article 9. Coordination in implementing the law on customs

1. The customs authority shall be responsible for taking the lead and closely coordinating with State agencies, relevant organisations and people's armed forces units in implementing the law on customs.

2. State agencies, relevant organisations and people's armed forces units shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, be responsible for coordinating with and creating conditions for the customs authority to fulfil its tasks.

Article 10. Acts strictly prohibited in the customs domain

1. For customs officers:

a) Causing harassment or difficulties in carrying out customs procedures;

b) Covering up or colluding to smuggle or illegally transport goods across the border, or to commit trade fraud or tax fraud;

c) Taking bribes, appropriating or embezzling temporarily seized goods, or committing other acts for self-seeking purposes;

d) Other acts violating the law on customs.

2. For customs declarants and organisations and individuals having rights and obligations related to the export, import or transit of goods, or the exit, entry or transit of means of transport:

a) Committing fraudulent acts in carrying out customs procedures;

b) Smuggling or illegally transporting goods across the border;

c) Committing trade fraud or tax fraud;

d) Giving bribes or committing other acts to seek illicit profits;

đ) Obstructing customs officers in the performance of their official duties;

e) Illegally accessing, falsifying or destroying the customs information system;

g) Other acts violating the law on customs.

Article 11. Supervision of the implementation of the law on customs

1. The National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels shall, within the ambit of their functions, tasks and powers, supervise the implementation of the law on customs.

2. The Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organisations shall mobilise the people to strictly implement the law on customs; and shall supervise the implementation of the law on customs.

3. When performing their tasks and powers, the customs authority and customs officers must comply with law, rely on the people and be subject to the supervision of the people.

Chapter II

TASKS AND ORGANISATION OF CUSTOMS

Article 12. Tasks of Customs

Vietnam Customs has the tasks of inspecting and supervising goods and means of transport; preventing and combating smuggling and the illegal transportation of goods across the border; organising the implementation of the law on taxes with regard to exported and imported goods; compiling statistics on exported and imported goods in accordance with this Law and other relevant provisions of law; and proposing guidelines and measures for State management of customs with regard to export, import, exit, entry and transit activities and tax policies applicable to exported and imported goods.

Article 13. Principles for the organisation and operation of Customs

1. Vietnam Customs is organised and operates on the principle of centralisation and uniformity.

2. The Director General of the General Department of Customs uniformly manages and administers the operations of Customs at all levels; Customs at lower levels are subject to the management and direction of Customs at higher levels.

Article 14. Organisational system of Customs

1. The organisational system of Vietnam Customs comprises:

a) The General Department of Customs;

b) Customs Departments of provinces, inter-provinces and centrally run cities;

c) Sub-departments of Customs, Customs Control Teams and equivalent units.

2. The Government shall, based on the workload, scale and nature of export, import, exit, entry and transit activities and the particularities and socio-economic conditions of each area, provide for the criteria for establishing Customs Departments; and shall provide specifically for the organisation, tasks and operation of Customs at all levels.

Article 15. Customs officers

1. A customs officer is a person who fully meets the conditions for being recruited and appointed to a rank, post or title in the customs authority; and who is trained, retrained, managed and employed in accordance with the law on cadres and civil servants.

2. The service regime, titles, standards, salaries, seniority allowances and other preferential regimes applicable to customs officers, as well as customs insignia, flags, badges, uniforms and customs identity cards, shall comply with the regulations of the Government.

Chapter III

CUSTOMS PROCEDURES AND CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION REGIMES

Section 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 16. Principles for carrying out customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision

1. Goods and means of transport must undergo customs procedures and be subject to customs inspection and supervision; and must be transported along the correct routes and within the correct time through border gates or other places in accordance with law.

2. Customs inspection and supervision shall be carried out on the basis of applying risk management in order to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of State management of customs and to facilitate export, import, exit, entry and transit activities.

3. Goods shall be granted customs clearance and means of transport shall be permitted to exit or enter after customs procedures have been completed.

4. Customs procedures must be carried out publicly, promptly and conveniently and in accordance with the provisions of law.

5. The allocation of human resources and working time must meet the requirements of export, import, exit, entry and transit activities.

Article 17. Risk management in customs professional activities

1. The customs authority applies risk management in order to decide on customs inspection and supervision with regard to goods and means of transport; and to support activities of preventing and combating smuggling and the illegal transportation of goods across the border.

2. Risk management in customs professional activities includes the collection and processing of customs information; the development of criteria and the organisation of the assessment of the compliance with law of customs declarants and the classification of the level of risk; and the organisation of the implementation of appropriate customs management measures.

3. The customs authority manages and applies professional information systems to automatically integrate and process data serving the application of risk management in customs professional activities.

4. The Minister of Finance shall provide for the criteria for assessing the compliance with law of customs declarants, the classification of the level of risk and the application of risk management in customs professional activities.

Article 18. Rights and obligations of the customs declarant

1. The customs declarant has the right to:

a) Be provided by the customs authority with information related to customs declaration for goods and means of transport, guidance on carrying out customs procedures and dissemination of the law on customs;

b) Request the customs authority to determine in advance the code, origin and customs value of goods when it has provided the customs authority with complete and accurate information;

c) Preview goods and take samples of goods under the supervision of customs officers before making the customs declaration in order to ensure that the customs declaration is accurate;

d) Request the customs authority to re-conduct the physical inspection of goods that have been inspected, if it disagrees with the decision of the customs authority, in cases where the goods have not yet been granted customs clearance;

đ) Use the customs dossier for the customs clearance of goods, the transportation of goods and the performance of related procedures with other agencies in accordance with law;

e) Lodge complaints about and denunciations of unlawful acts of the customs authority and customs officers;

g) Claim compensation for damage caused by the customs authority or customs officers in accordance with the law on State compensation liability.

2. The customs declarant that is the goods owner or the owner of the means of transport has the obligation to:

a) Make the customs declaration and carry out customs procedures in accordance with this Law;

b) Provide complete and accurate information for the customs authority to determine in advance the code, origin and customs value of goods;

c) Take responsibility before law for the truthfulness of the declared contents and of the documents submitted or produced; and for the consistency of the information between the dossier kept at the enterprise and the dossier kept at the customs authority;

d) Comply with the decisions and requests of the customs authority and customs officers in carrying out customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision with regard to goods and means of transport;

đ) Keep the customs dossier for goods that have been granted customs clearance for a period of 05 years from the date of registration of the customs declaration, unless otherwise provided for by law; keep accounting books and vouchers and other documents related to exported and imported goods that have been granted customs clearance for the period provided for by law; produce dossiers and provide related information and documents when the customs authority requests an inspection in accordance with Articles 32, 79 and 80 of this Law;

e) Arrange persons and means to perform the related work so that customs officers may carry out the physical inspection of goods and means of transport;

g) Pay duty and perform other financial obligations in accordance with the law on taxes, charges and fees and other relevant provisions of law.

3. The customs declarant that is a customs procedure agent or another person authorised by the goods owner or the owner of the means of transport shall perform the obligations specified at Points a, b, c, d, e and g, Clause 2 of this Article within the scope of the authorisation. The customs declarant that is the operator of the means of transport shall perform the obligations specified at Points a, c, d, e and g, Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 19. Tasks and powers of customs officers

1. To strictly comply with law and customs professional processes and to take responsibility for the performance of their tasks and powers.

2. To provide guidance to customs declarants and relevant organisations and individuals upon request.

3. To carry out customs inspection and supervision; to supervise the opening, closing, transhipment, loading and unloading of goods at the places where customs procedures are carried out and at the places of inspection of exported and imported goods; where signs of violation of the law on customs are detected, to request the goods owner, the owner of the means of transport, the commander or operator of the means of transport or the authorised person to comply with the requests for the inspection and search of goods and means of transport in accordance with this Law and the law on handling of administrative violations.

4. To take samples of goods in the presence of the customs declarant for the customs authority to analyse or to solicit expert examination in service of customs inspection.

5. To request the customs declarant to provide information and documents related to goods in order to correctly determine the code, origin and customs value of the goods.

6. To request the commander or operator of the means of transport to travel along the correct route and within the correct time and to stop at the prescribed place.

7. Other tasks and powers in accordance with law.

Article 20. Customs procedure agents

1. Conditions for being a customs procedure agent:

a) Having a business registration certificate or an enterprise registration certificate covering the business line of goods forwarding services or customs procedure agency;

b) Having customs procedure agent staff members;

c) Having an information technology infrastructure that meets the conditions for carrying out electronic customs declaration and other conditions as prescribed.

2. A customs procedure agent staff member is a Vietnamese citizen who fully meets the following conditions:

a) Holding a college degree or higher in economics, law or engineering;

b) Holding a customs declaration practice certificate;

c) Having been granted a customs procedure agent staff member code by the customs authority.

3. The Director General of the General Department of Customs shall decide on the recognition, suspension and termination of the operation of customs procedure agents; grant customs declaration practice certificates; and grant and revoke customs procedure agent staff member codes.

4. Customs procedure agents and customs procedure agent staff members shall exercise the rights and perform the obligations of the customs declarant specified in Article 18 of this Law.

5. The Minister of Finance shall provide in detail for the order and procedures for the recognition and operation of customs procedure agents; and for the procedures for granting customs declaration practice certificates and for granting and revoking customs procedure agent staff member codes.

Article 21. Customs procedures

1. When carrying out customs procedures, the customs declarant shall be responsible for:

a) Making and submitting the customs declaration; submitting or producing the documents of the customs dossier in accordance with Article 24 of this Law;

b) Bringing the goods and means of transport to the prescribed place for the physical inspection of the goods and means of transport;

c) Paying duty and performing other financial obligations in accordance with the law on taxes, charges and fees and other relevant provisions of law.

2. When carrying out customs procedures, the customs authority and customs officers shall be responsible for:

a) Receiving and registering the customs dossier;

b) Inspecting the customs dossier and carrying out the physical inspection of goods and means of transport;

c) Organising the collection of duty and other revenues in accordance with the law on taxes, charges and fees and other relevant provisions of law;

d) Deciding on the customs clearance of goods, the release of goods and the certification that means of transport have completed customs procedures.

Article 22. The place where customs procedures are carried out

1. The place where customs procedures are carried out is the place where the customs authority receives, registers and inspects customs dossiers and conducts physical inspection of goods and means of transport.

2. The place for receiving, registering and inspecting customs dossiers is the head office of the Customs Department or the head office of the Sub-department of Customs.

3. Places for physical inspection of goods include:

a) Inspection places in areas of road border gates, international intermodal railway stations and international civil airports; international post offices; seaports and inland waterway ports engaged in export, import, exit, entry or transit activities; ports of export and import of goods established inland;

b) Head offices of Sub-departments of Customs;

c) Centralised inspection places under decisions of the Director General of the General Department of Customs;

d) Inspection places at production establishments and works; venues of fairs and exhibitions;

đ) Inspection places in areas of bonded warehouses, tax suspension warehouses and container freight stations;

e) Places of joint inspection between the Customs of Vietnam and the Customs of a neighbouring country in areas of road border gates;

g) Other places decided by the Director General of the General Department of Customs in case of necessity.

4. Competent agencies, organisations and individuals shall, when planning and designing the construction of road border gates, international intermodal railway stations and international civil airports; seaports and inland waterway ports engaged in export, import, exit, entry or transit activities; ports of export and import of goods established inland; economic zones, industrial parks, non-tariff areas and other places engaged in export, import, exit, entry or transit activities, arrange places where customs procedures are carried out and places for storing exported and imported goods which satisfy the requirements of customs inspection and customs supervision under this Law.

Article 23. Time limits for the customs authority to carry out customs procedures

1. The customs authority shall receive, register and inspect the customs dossier immediately after the customs declarant submits or produces the customs dossier under this Law.

2. After the customs declarant has fully complied with the requirements for carrying out customs procedures prescribed at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 21 of this Law, the time limits for customs officers to complete the inspection of the dossier and the physical inspection of goods and means of transport are prescribed as follows:

a) Completing the inspection of the dossier within 02 working hours at the latest from the time the customs authority receives the complete customs dossier;

b) Completing the physical inspection of goods within 08 working hours at the latest from the time the customs declarant fully produces the goods to the customs authority. In case the goods are subject to specialised inspection of quality, health, culture, animal and plant quarantine or food safety under relevant laws, the time limit for completing the physical inspection of goods shall be counted from the time of receipt of the specialised inspection results as prescribed.

In case a consignment has a large quantity or many categories, or the inspection is complicated, the head of the customs authority where customs procedures are carried out shall decide on the extension of the time for physical inspection of goods, but the extension must not exceed 02 days;

c) The inspection of means of transport must ensure the timely loading and unloading of exported and imported goods and the exit and entry of passengers, and ensure customs inspection and customs supervision under this Law.

3. Customs clearance of goods shall comply with Article 37 of this Law.

4. The customs authority shall carry out customs procedures for goods on public holidays, days off and outside working hours in order to ensure the timely loading and unloading of exported and imported goods and the exit and entry of passengers and means of transport, or at the request of the customs declarant and in conformity with the practical conditions of the customs operation area.

Article 24. Customs dossier

1. A customs dossier comprises:

a) The customs declaration or a document replacing the customs declaration;

b) Relevant documents.

Depending on each case, the customs declarant shall submit or produce the goods sale and purchase contract, commercial invoice, transport documents, documents certifying the origin of goods, export or import permit, written notice of the results of specialised inspection or of exemption from specialised inspection, and documents relating to the goods as prescribed by relevant laws.

2. Documents included in a customs dossier are paper documents or electronic documents. Electronic documents must ensure integrity and the format prescribed by the law on electronic transactions.

3. Customs dossiers shall be submitted or produced to the customs authority at the head office of the customs authority.

In case the national single-window mechanism is applied, specialised state management agencies shall send export or import permits and written notices of the results of specialised inspection or of exemption from specialised inspection in electronic form via the integrated information system.

4. The Minister of Finance shall prescribe the form of the customs declaration, the use of the customs declaration and of documents replacing the customs declaration, and the cases in which the relevant documents prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article must be submitted or produced.

Article 25. Time limits for submission of customs dossiers

1. The time limits for submission of customs declarations are prescribed as follows:

a) For exported goods, the customs declaration shall be submitted after the goods have been gathered at the place notified by the customs declarant and at least 04 hours before the means of transport exits; for exported goods sent by express delivery service, at least 02 hours before the means of transport exits;

b) For imported goods, the customs declaration shall be submitted before the date the goods arrive at the border gate or within 30 days from the date the goods arrive at the border gate;

c) The time limit for submission of customs declarations for means of transport shall comply with Clause 2, Article 69 of this Law.

2. A customs declaration is valid for carrying out customs procedures within 15 days from the date of registration.

3. The time limits for submission of relevant documents included in a customs dossier are prescribed as follows:

a) In case of electronic customs declaration, when the customs authority conducts the inspection of the customs dossier or the physical inspection of goods, the customs declarant shall submit the paper documents included in the customs dossier, except those already available in the national single-window information system;

b) In case of declaration on a paper customs declaration, the customs declarant shall submit or produce the relevant documents upon registration of the customs declaration.

Article 26. Classification of goods

1. Classification of goods aims to determine the code of goods as a basis for duty calculation and implementation of the goods management policy. The classification of goods must be based on the customs dossier, technical documents and other information relating to the exported or imported goods in order to determine the name and code of the goods according to the List of Vietnamese Exports and Imports.

2. The List of Vietnamese Exports and Imports comprises codes, names, descriptions of goods, units of calculation and accompanying explanatory contents.

3. The List of Vietnamese Exports and Imports shall be formulated on the basis of full application of the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System.

The Minister of Finance shall promulgate the List of Vietnamese Exports and Imports for uniform application nationwide.

4. On the basis of the List of goods banned from export and the List of goods banned from import, the List of goods exported or imported under permits of competent state agencies and the List of goods subject to specialised inspection prescribed by the Government, the Minister of Finance shall promulgate codes of goods in conformity with the codes in the List of Vietnamese Exports and Imports.

5. When conducting customs inspection, the customs authority shall determine the code of goods on the basis of the customs dossier, the results of the physical inspection of goods or the results of analysis or assessment of the goods. In case the code of goods declared by the customs declarant is not accepted, the customs authority may take samples of the goods with the witness of the customs declarant for analysis or solicitation of assessment and decide on the code of such goods; if the customs declarant disagrees with the classification result of the customs authority, he/she may lodge a complaint or initiate a lawsuit in accordance with law.

Article 27. Determination of origin of goods

1. For exported goods:

a) The customs authority shall determine the origin of exported goods on the basis of inspecting the declaration contents of the customs declarant, the documents included in the customs dossier and the results of the physical inspection of goods;

b) In case of doubt about the origin of exported goods, the customs authority shall request the customs declarant to provide documents and materials relating to the origin of the exported goods, and shall conduct inspection and verification of the origin of goods at the establishment producing the exported goods. Pending the results of the inspection and verification of the origin of goods, the exported goods shall be granted customs clearance under Article 37 of this Law.

2. For imported goods:

a) The customs authority shall inspect and determine the origin of imported goods on the basis of the declaration contents of the customs declarant, the document certifying origin, the documents included in the customs dossier and the results of the physical inspection of goods. The document certifying the origin of imported goods shall be issued by a competent agency of the exporting country or self-certified by the producer, the exporter or the importer under a treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party;

b) In case of doubt about the origin of imported goods, the customs authority shall conduct inspection and verification of the origin of goods in the country of production of the goods under a treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party. The results of the inspection and verification of origin are legally valid for determining the origin of imported goods.

Pending the results of the inspection and verification of the origin of goods, the imported goods shall be granted customs clearance under Article 37 of this Law but are not entitled to special preferential duty rates. The official amount of duty payable shall be based on the results of the inspection and verification of the origin of goods.

3. The Minister of Finance shall prescribe the procedures for, competence for and time limits for determination of the origin of goods.

Article 28. Advance determination of codes, origin and customs value

1. In case the customs declarant requests the customs authority to determine in advance the code, origin or customs value of goods expected to be exported or imported, the customs declarant shall provide information, relevant documents and samples of the goods expected to be exported or imported to the customs authority so that the customs authority determines in advance the code, origin or customs value.

In case samples of the goods expected to be exported or imported cannot be provided, the customs declarant shall provide technical documents relating to such goods.

2. The customs authority shall base itself on the provisions of law on classification of goods, origin and customs value and on the information and relevant documents provided by the customs declarant to determine in advance the code, origin or customs value and shall notify the customs declarant in writing of the result of the advance determination. In case there are insufficient grounds or information for determination as requested by the customs declarant, the customs authority shall notify the customs declarant thereof or request the supplementation of information and relevant documents.

3. Within 60 days from the date of the written notice of the result of the advance determination, if the customs declarant disagrees with such result, he/she may request the customs authority to reconsider the result of the advance determination. The customs authority shall consider and reply to the customs declarant within the prescribed time limit.

4. The written notice of the result of the advance determination is legally valid for the customs authority to carry out customs procedures when the goods actually exported or imported conform to the information, relevant documents and samples of goods provided by the customs declarant.

5. The Government shall detail the conditions for, procedures for and time limits for advance determination of codes, origin and customs value; the time limit for settling requests for reconsideration of the results of advance determination; and the effective period of the written advance determination prescribed in this Article.

Article 29. Customs declaration

1. The customs declarant shall declare fully, accurately and clearly the information criteria on the customs declaration.

2. Customs declaration shall be made by electronic mode, except where the customs declarant is allowed to declare on a paper customs declaration as prescribed by the Government.

3. A registered customs declaration is valid for carrying out customs procedures. The goods management policy and the duty policy applicable to exported and imported goods shall be applied at the time of registration of the customs declaration, unless otherwise provided by the law on export duty and import duty.

4. A customs declarant who determines that there are errors in the customs declaration may make an additional declaration in the following cases:

a) For goods undergoing customs procedures: before the time the customs authority notifies the direct inspection of the customs dossier;

b) For goods already granted customs clearance: within 60 days from the date of customs clearance and before the time the customs authority decides on a post-clearance audit or inspection, except where the contents of the additional declaration relate to an export or import permit; specialised inspection of goods quality, health, culture, animal and plant quarantine or food safety.

Past the time limits prescribed at Points a and b of this Clause, if the customs declarant detects errors in the customs declaration, he/she shall make an additional declaration and be handled in accordance with the law on taxation and the law on handling of administrative violations.

5. The customs declarant may submit an incomplete customs declaration or a document replacing the customs declaration in order to obtain customs clearance and complete the customs declaration within the time limits prescribed in Article 43 and Article 50 of this Law, and may make a single declaration for exporting or importing certain goods items many times within a certain period.

6. For goods undergoing customs procedures or for which customs procedures have been completed but which are still subject to customs supervision, the customs declarant may change the type of export or import in accordance with the law on customs.

Article 30. Registration of customs declarations

1. The modes of registration of customs declarations are prescribed as follows:

a) Electronic customs declarations shall be registered by electronic mode;

b) Paper customs declarations shall be registered directly at the customs authority.

2. A customs declaration shall be registered after the customs authority accepts the declaration of the customs declarant. The time of registration shall be recorded on the customs declaration.

In case of refusal to register a customs declaration, the customs authority shall notify the customs declarant of the reason in a paper document or by electronic mode.

Article 31. Grounds for and competence to decide on customs inspection

Based on the results of risk analysis and assessment and information relating to the goods, the head of the customs authority processing the customs dossier shall decide on the inspection of the customs dossier and the physical inspection of goods.

Article 32. Inspection of customs dossiers

When inspecting a customs dossier, the customs authority shall inspect the accuracy and completeness of the customs declaration contents and their conformity with the documents included in the customs dossier, and shall inspect the compliance with the goods management policy and the duty policy applicable to exported and imported goods and with other relevant provisions of law.

The inspection of customs dossiers shall be carried out through the customs electronic data processing system or directly by customs officers.

Article 33. Physical inspection of goods

1. Goods falling into one of the following cases are exempt from physical inspection:

a) Goods serving urgent requirements;

b) Goods exclusively used for national defence and security purposes;

c) Goods in other special cases under decisions of the Prime Minister.

2. Goods prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article which are found to show signs of violation of law must undergo physical inspection.

3. For goods not falling under Clause 1 of this Article, the physical inspection shall be carried out on the basis of applying risk management.

4. Goods being live animals or plants, goods which are difficult to preserve and other special goods shall be given priority for inspection.

5. The physical inspection of goods shall be conducted by customs officers directly or by machinery, technical equipment or other professional measures.

The physical inspection of goods must be conducted in the presence of the customs declarant or his/her lawful representative after the customs declaration has been registered and the goods have been brought to the place of inspection, except in the case prescribed in Article 34 of this Law.

6. The physical inspection of goods at a place of joint inspection with a neighbouring country shall be carried out under agreement between the parties.

7. The Minister of Finance shall detail the physical inspection of goods.

Article 34. Physical inspection of goods in the absence of the customs declarant

1. The physical inspection of goods in the absence of the customs declarant shall be decided by, and be under the responsibility of, the head of the customs authority where the goods are stored, in the following cases:

a) To protect security;

b) To protect hygiene and the environment;

c) There are signs of violation of law;

d) Past the time limit of 30 days from the date the imported goods arrive at the border gate, the customs declarant fails to come to carry out customs procedures;

đ) Other cases as prescribed by law.

2. The physical inspection of goods in the absence of the customs declarant shall be conducted in the following forms:

a) Non-intrusive inspection by scanner;

b) Inspection by technical devices and other professional measures of the customs authority;

c) Opening the goods for direct inspection with the witness of a representative of the state agency in the border-gate area and representatives of the transport enterprise and of the enterprise dealing in ports, warehouses or storing yards. The inspection must be recorded in a document bearing the signatures of the parties concerned.

Article 35. Responsibility for inspecting goods and means of transport within customs operation areas

1. Within customs operation areas, the customs authority shall be responsible for inspecting goods and means of transport.

In case the law requires specialised inspection of quality, health, culture, animal and plant quarantine or food safety with respect to goods or means of transport, the customs authority shall base itself on the inspection results of the specialised inspection agency to decide on customs clearance.

2. Goods subject to specialised inspection must be stored at the border gate until they are granted customs clearance. In case the law permits the goods to be brought to another place for specialised inspection, or the goods owner requests to bring the goods away for preservation, the storing place must satisfy the conditions for customs supervision and such goods shall be subject to the supervision of the customs authority until they are granted customs clearance.

The goods owner shall be responsible for preserving and storing the goods at the place of specialised inspection or at his/her own storing place until the customs authority decides on customs clearance.

3. The time limit for specialised inspection of goods shall comply with relevant laws. The specialised inspection agency shall notify the inspection results to the customs authority within 02 working days from the date the inspection results are available.

4. The Director of the Sub-department of Customs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with, specialised inspection agencies at the border gate in, ensuring prompt customs clearance of goods and means of transport.

Article 36. Release of goods

1. Release of goods means the permission by the customs authority for goods to be exported or imported when the following conditions are fully satisfied:

a) The goods are eligible for export or import but the official amount of duty payable has not yet been determined;

b) The customs declarant has paid the duty or has had the duty amount guaranteed by a credit institution on the basis of his/her self-declaration and self-calculation of duty.

2. The time limit for determining the official amount of duty payable must not exceed 30 days from the date of release of the goods; in case the goods need to be assessed, this time limit shall be counted from the date of receipt of the assessment results.

3. In case the customs declarant disagrees with the determination by the customs authority of the amount of duty payable, he/she may lodge a complaint. The lodging and settlement of complaints shall comply with the Law on Complaints.

Article 37. Customs clearance of goods

1. Goods shall be granted customs clearance after customs procedures have been completed.

2. In case the customs declarant has completed customs procedures but has not paid or has not fully paid the amount of duty payable within the prescribed time limit, the goods shall be granted customs clearance when the amount of duty payable is guaranteed by a credit institution or when the duty payment time limit is applied in accordance with the law on taxation.

3. In case the goods owner is administratively sanctioned for a customs violation in the form of a fine and such goods are permitted for export or import, the goods may be granted customs clearance if the fine has been paid or the amount payable for the execution of the sanctioning decision of the customs authority or of a competent state agency is guaranteed by a credit institution.

4. For goods which must be inspected, analysed or assessed to determine whether they are eligible for export or import, the customs authority shall grant customs clearance only after determining that the goods are permitted for export or import on the basis of the inspection, analysis or assessment conclusion or the notice of inspection exemption of the specialised inspection agency in accordance with law.

5. Goods serving urgent requirements; goods exclusively used for security and national defence purposes; diplomatic bags, consular bags and luggage of agencies, organisations and individuals entitled to privileges and immunities shall be granted customs clearance under Article 50 and Article 57 of this Law.

Article 38. Subjects, modes and duration of customs supervision

1. Subjects of customs supervision comprise goods, means of transport and domestic means of transport carrying goods which are subject to customs supervision.

2. Customs supervision shall be carried out by the following modes:

a) Customs sealing;

b) Direct supervision conducted by customs officers;

c) Use of technical means and devices.

3. Based on the results of risk analysis and assessment and other information relating to the subject of customs supervision, the customs authority shall decide on an appropriate mode of supervision. In case there are signs of violation of law, the customs authority shall conduct physical inspection of goods.

4. Duration of customs supervision:

a) Imported goods are subject to customs supervision from the time they arrive in the customs operation area until they are granted customs clearance or released and brought out of the customs operation area;

b) Exported goods exempt from physical inspection are subject to customs supervision from the time of customs clearance until they are brought out of the customs operation area. In case physical inspection is required, exported goods are subject to customs supervision from the time the physical inspection of goods commences until they are brought out of the customs operation area;

c) Goods in transit are subject to customs supervision from the time they arrive at the first border gate of importation until they leave the last border gate of exportation;

d) The duration of customs supervision for means of transport shall comply with Article 68 of this Law.

Article 39. Responsibilities of the customs authority in customs supervision activities

1. To apply appropriate supervision methods that facilitate export, import, exit, entry and transit activities and ensure customs management of goods in accordance with this Law.

2. To use means and technical equipment to ensure customs supervision in accordance with this Law.

3. To guide and inspect compliance with the regulations on customs supervision by the customs declarant, enterprises operating ports, warehouses and storage yards, establishments producing exported goods and related parties.

Article 40. Responsibilities of the customs declarant and the commander or operator of a means of transport in customs supervision activities

1. To comply with, and create conditions for, the customs authority in carrying out customs supervision in accordance with this Law.

2. To maintain the original state of the goods and the customs seal; to transport the goods along the correct route and itinerary and within the time accepted by the customs authority. Where the goods are lost, mislaid or damaged, the customs declarant shall be liable in accordance with law.

3. To use the goods for the purposes declared to the customs authority.

4. To use means of transporting goods that satisfy the prescribed conditions so that the customs authority may apply appropriate customs supervision methods.

5. To produce the dossier and the goods to the customs authority for inspection upon request.

6. In a force majeure event in which the original state of the goods or the customs seal cannot be maintained, or the goods cannot be transported along the correct route and itinerary or within the correct time, then, after applying the necessary measures to limit and prevent losses from occurring, the customs authority must be notified immediately for handling; where the customs authority cannot be notified immediately, then, depending on the appropriate locality, the police authority, the border guard or the coast guard shall be notified for certification.

Article 41. Responsibilities of enterprises operating ports, warehouses and storage yards in customs supervision activities

1. To arrange locations for the installation of means and technical equipment serving customs supervision at the request of the customs authority.

2. To connect the enterprise's goods management information system with the electronic customs clearance system of the customs authority in order to manage goods subject to customs supervision that are brought into storage in, or taken out of, the port, warehouse or storage yard area.

3. To fully implement the regime of management, statistics and retention of documents, books and data on goods brought into storage in, or taken out of, the port, warehouse or storage yard area in accordance with law, and to produce and provide them to the customs authority upon request.

4. To provide information and coordinate with the customs authority in monitoring, inspecting and supervising goods entering, leaving and stored in the port, warehouse or storage yard area.

5. To preserve, arrange and store the goods in their original state in the port, warehouse or storage yard area in accordance with the supervision and management requirements of the customs authority.

6. To allow the transport of goods into or out of the port, warehouse or storage yard area only where there is a document of the customs authority.

7. To implement the decisions of competent authorities on the handling of infringing goods.

Section 2: PRIORITY REGIME FOR ENTERPRISES

Article 42. Conditions for application of the priority regime

1. An enterprise shall be entitled to the priority regime when it fully satisfies the following conditions:

a) It has complied with the law on customs and the law on taxation for 02 consecutive years;

b) It achieves the prescribed level of annual export and import turnover;

c) It carries out electronic customs procedures and electronic tax procedures; it has an information technology programme managing the enterprise's export and import activities that is networked with the customs authority;

d) It makes payments via banks;

đ) It has an internal control system;

e) It strictly complies with the provisions of the law on accounting and auditing.

2. A priority enterprise of a country or territory that has signed an agreement on mutual recognition of priority enterprises with Vietnam shall be entitled to the priority regime in accordance with this Law.

3. The Government shall provide in detail for the conditions and procedures for recognition, extension, temporary suspension and termination, the priority regime, and the management of enterprises entitled to the priority regime.

Article 43. Priority regime for enterprises

1. Exemption from inspection of the relevant documents in the customs dossier and exemption from physical inspection of goods in the course of carrying out customs procedures, except where there are signs of a violation of law or where a random inspection is conducted to assess compliance with law.

2. Entitlement to carry out customs procedures using an incomplete customs declaration or a document replacing the customs declaration. Within 30 days from the date of registration of the incomplete customs declaration or from the date of submission of the document replacing the customs declaration, the customs declarant shall submit the complete customs declaration and the relevant documents in the customs dossier.

3. Entitlement to priority in carrying out tax procedures for goods in accordance with the law on taxation.

Article 44. Responsibilities of the customs authority in implementing the priority regime

1. The Director General of the General Department of Customs shall consider and decide on the recognition, extension, temporary suspension and termination of the application of the priority regime to enterprises.

2. Customs authorities at all levels shall have the following responsibilities:

a) To inspect, supervise and assess the compliance with law of enterprises;

b) To guide enterprises on the policies and provisions of the law on taxation and customs.

Article 45. Responsibilities of enterprises entitled to the priority regime

1. To provide the customs authority with audit reports and financial statements on an annual basis.

2. To comply with the regulations on inspection and supervision of the customs authority.

3. To notify the customs authority of the decisions of competent authorities on the handling of the enterprise's violations of the law on taxation and accounting.

Section 3: CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF GOODS, MOVABLE ASSETS AND LUGGAGE

Article 46. Customs inspection and supervision of goods traded by way of temporary import for re-export

1. The customs procedures for temporary import and the customs procedures for re-export shall be carried out at the Sub-department of Customs of the border gate.

2. Customs inspection and supervision of goods traded by way of temporary import for re-export is provided for as follows:

a) Goods traded by way of temporary import for re-export must be stored in the border gate area or at locations subject to customs inspection and supervision;

b) Goods traded by way of temporary import for re-export shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision from the time the customs procedures for temporary import are carried out until they are re-exported out of the territory of Vietnam; the customs declarant or the enterprise trading in temporary import for re-export of goods shall be responsible for preserving the temporarily imported goods throughout the period of storage in Vietnam and for re-exporting the very goods that were temporarily imported.

3. Temporarily imported goods must be re-exported within the prescribed time limit; where they are not re-exported but are transferred for domestic consumption, customs procedures must be carried out as for imported goods.

Article 47. Customs inspection and supervision of goods sold at duty-free shops

1. Goods sold at duty-free shops shall go through customs procedures at the Sub-department of Customs managing the duty-free shop.

2. Customs inspection and supervision of goods sold at duty-free shops is provided for as follows:

a) Goods sold at duty-free shops must be stored at the duty-free shop or at the warehouse of the duty-free goods trading enterprise that satisfies customs supervision requirements. The period of storage of the goods shall not exceed 12 months from the date of completion of customs procedures. Where there is a legitimate reason, the Head of the Sub-department of Customs managing the duty-free shop shall grant a single extension of not more than 12 months;

b) Goods sold at duty-free shops shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision from the time the customs procedures are carried out until they are sold, exported or handled in accordance with law.

3. Where goods temporarily imported for sale at duty-free shops are transferred for domestic consumption, customs procedures must be carried out as for imported goods.

Article 48. Customs inspection and supervision of goods temporarily imported and temporarily exported

1. Goods temporarily imported and temporarily exported include:

a) Rotating means for containing goods;

b) Machinery, equipment and professional tools for serving work within a definite period;

c) Machinery, equipment, construction vehicles, moulds and models under lease or loan contracts for production or construction;

d) Components and spare parts imported by ship owners for the replacement and repair of foreign seagoing vessels and aircraft;

đ) Goods for participation in fairs, exhibitions and product introductions;

e) Other goods as prescribed by law.

2. Temporarily exported goods must be re-imported, and temporarily imported goods must be re-exported, within the prescribed time limit, and customs procedures must be carried out.

3. Temporarily exported goods and temporarily imported goods under one customs declaration may be re-imported or re-exported in multiple consignments under multiple re-import or re-export customs declarations.

4. Where temporarily exported goods that are not re-imported, or temporarily imported goods that are not re-exported, are sold, given as gifts or exchanged, customs procedures must be carried out as for exported and imported goods.

5. The Government shall provide in detail for this Article.

Article 49. Customs inspection and supervision of goods being gifts and presents

1. Goods being gifts and presents must go through customs procedures; where they are conditional exported or imported goods, the law on conditional exported and imported goods must be complied with.

The export and import of goods being gifts and presents on the List of goods banned from export or banned from import are strictly prohibited.

2. The quotas for goods being gifts and presents that are exempt from duty shall comply with the law on taxation.

Article 50. Customs inspection and supervision of goods serving urgent requirements and goods exclusively serving security and national defence

1. Goods serving urgent requirements are goods serving the remediation of the consequences of natural disasters or epidemics, or goods serving urgent relief requirements.

Goods serving urgent requirements must have a written certification of a competent state authority.

The customs declarant may use an incomplete customs declaration or a document replacing the customs declaration to carry out customs procedures. The customs authority shall decide on customs clearance of the goods on the basis of the incomplete customs declaration or the document replacing the customs declaration.

Within 30 days from the date of registration of the incomplete customs declaration or from the date of submission of the document replacing the customs declaration, the customs declarant shall submit the complete customs declaration and the relevant documents in the customs dossier.

2. Goods exclusively serving security and national defence:

a) For goods exclusively serving security and national defence under a written certification of the Minister of National Defence or the Minister of Public Security, the customs declarant may use an incomplete customs declaration to carry out customs procedures. The customs authority shall decide on customs clearance of the goods on the basis of the incomplete customs declaration.

Within 30 days from the date of registration of the incomplete customs declaration, the customs declarant shall submit the complete customs declaration and the relevant documents in the customs dossier;

b) Goods exclusively serving security and national defence that are subject to confidentiality requirements under a written certification of the Minister of National Defence or the Minister of Public Security shall be exempt from customs declaration and exempt from physical inspection.

Article 51. Customs inspection and supervision of goods purchased, sold and exchanged by border residents

1. Goods purchased, sold and exchanged by border residents are goods serving the normal daily life and production of border residents of Vietnam and border residents of a country sharing a national land border with Vietnam.

2. Goods purchased, sold and exchanged by border residents shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision; in places where there is no customs authority, they shall be subject to the inspection and supervision of the Border Guard in accordance with this Law.

Article 52. Customs inspection and supervision of goods exported and imported via postal and express delivery services

1. Goods exported and imported via postal and express delivery services must go through customs procedures and shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision.

2. Where the person authorised to make the customs declaration is a postal service provider or an international express delivery service enterprise, it must perform the responsibilities of the customs declarant as prescribed in Article 18 of this Law; it may forward and deliver the goods only after customs clearance has been granted.

Article 53. Customs inspection and supervision of movable assets

Movable assets of individuals, families and organisations must go through customs procedures and shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision.

Individuals and organisations exporting or importing goods being movable assets must have documents proving their residence or operation in Vietnam or abroad.

Article 54. Customs inspection and supervision of the luggage of persons on exit and entry

1. The luggage of persons on exit and entry shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision at the border gate.

2. Where the luggage of persons on exit and entry exceeds the duty-free quota, customs procedures must be carried out as for exported and imported goods.

Persons on exit and entry may deposit their luggage in a warehouse at the border gate and receive it back upon entry or exit.

3. Luggage standards and duty-free luggage quotas shall comply with the law on taxation.

Article 55. Customs inspection and supervision of cash foreign currency, cash Vietnamese dong, negotiable instruments, gold, precious metals and gemstones of persons on exit and entry

1. Persons on exit and entry carrying cash foreign currency, cash Vietnamese dong, negotiable instruments, gold, precious metals or gemstones shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision.

2. Persons on entry carrying cash foreign currency, cash Vietnamese dong, negotiable instruments, gold, precious metals or gemstones in excess of the levels prescribed by the State Bank of Vietnam must make a customs declaration at the border gate.

3. Persons on exit carrying cash foreign currency, cash Vietnamese dong, negotiable instruments, gold, precious metals or gemstones in excess of the levels prescribed by the State Bank of Vietnam must make a customs declaration and produce documents in accordance with the regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam at the border gate.

Article 56. Customs inspection and supervision of goods on means of transport

1. Goods being articles on a means of transport are not required to go through customs procedures but shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision.

2. Goods purchased from a means of transport on entry must go through customs procedures as for imported goods.

3. Goods supplied to serve means of transport on exit or in transit must go through customs procedures as for exported goods.

Article 57. Customs inspection and supervision of diplomatic bags, consular bags, luggage and means of transport of agencies, organisations and individuals entitled to privileges and immunities

1. The regime of privileges and immunities prescribed in this Law includes privileges and immunities in respect of customs declaration and customs inspection.

2. Diplomatic bags and consular bags shall be exempt from customs declaration and customs inspection.

The luggage and means of transport of subjects entitled to privileges and immunities under the law on privileges and immunities granted to diplomatic missions, consular posts and representative offices of international organisations in Vietnam shall be exempt from customs inspection.

3. Where there are grounds to affirm that a diplomatic bag or consular bag is being abused for purposes contrary to an international treaty on diplomatic relations or consular relations to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party, or that luggage or a means of transport contains goods on the List of goods banned from export or banned from import or goods not eligible for the regime of privileges and immunities, the Director General of the General Department of Customs shall decide on the handling in accordance with that international treaty.

Article 58. Customs inspection and supervision of, and handling of, backlogged goods

1. Backlogged goods stored in port, warehouse and storage yard areas within customs operation areas include:

a) Goods that the owner of the goods declares to abandon or in respect of which the owner performs an act demonstrating abandonment.

The abandonment by the owner of the goods, or the performance of an act demonstrating abandonment, shall not be recognised in respect of goods showing signs of a violation of law;

b) Imported goods for which no one comes to take receipt after more than 90 days from the date of arrival at the border gate;

c) Goods collected by enterprises operating ports, warehouses and storage yards in the course of loading and unloading goods;

d) Imported goods not stated in the bill of lading or the cargo manifest for which no one comes to take receipt.

2. Where the customs authority has grounds to determine that the goods prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article are smuggled goods, they shall be handled in accordance with law.

3. Where there is no recipient for the goods prescribed at Points b, c and d Clause 1 of this Article, the customs authority shall make a public announcement in the mass media. Within 60 days from the date of the announcement, if the owner of the goods comes to take receipt, customs procedures shall be carried out and a penalty shall be imposed in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations; if no one comes to take receipt, the goods shall be handled in accordance with Clause 6 of this Article.

4. Goods prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article that are perishable, frozen goods, toxic or dangerous chemicals, or goods nearing their expiry date must be handled promptly in accordance with this Law and other relevant provisions of law.

5. Enterprises operating ports, warehouses and storage yards shall be responsible for arranging port, warehouse and storage yard locations satisfying customs supervision conditions for the storage of backlogged goods; and for coordinating in the handling of backlogged goods in accordance with Clause 6 of this Article.

6. The handling of backlogged goods shall be carried out as follows:

a) For backlogged goods, the customs authority shall handle them in accordance with law. Where backlogged goods are sold, the proceeds from the sale shall be remitted into the state budget after deduction of the costs of sale and the costs of storage at the port, warehouse or storage yard of the enterprise operating the port, warehouse or storage yard;

b) For goods causing environmental pollution, the owner of the means of transport, the operator of the means of transport or the person authorised by the owner of the means of transport shall be responsible for transporting such goods out of the territory of Vietnam. Where the owner of the means of transport, the operator of the means of transport or the person authorised by the owner of the means of transport cannot be identified, the customs authority shall preside over and coordinate with the enterprise operating the port, warehouse or storage yard, the local government and relevant authorities in carrying out the destruction.

Section 4: CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF GOODS IMPORTED FOR PROCESSING AND FOR THE PRODUCTION OF EXPORTED GOODS

Article 59. Responsibilities of the customs authority in customs inspection and supervision of goods imported for processing and for the production of exported goods

1. Goods being raw materials and supplies imported for processing and for the production of exported goods shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision from the time of importation, throughout the process of producing the products, until the products are exported or their use purpose is changed.

2. The customs authority shall have the following responsibilities:

a) To inspect the processing and production establishments and the processing and production capacity of organisations and individuals importing raw materials and supplies for processing and for the production of exported goods;

b) To inspect the use of imported raw materials and supplies in the course of processing and producing exported goods, and to inspect the quantity of goods in stock of organisations and individuals processing and producing exported goods;

c) To inspect the finalisation, management and use of raw materials and supplies by organisations and individuals importing raw materials and supplies for the production and processing of exported goods.

3. The customs inspection and supervision prescribed in this Article shall be carried out on the principle of risk management.

Article 60. Responsibilities of organisations and individuals processing and producing exported goods

1. To notify the customs authority of the establishment processing and producing exported goods.

2. To use imported raw materials and supplies for the purpose of processing and producing exported goods. Where the use purpose is changed, customs procedures must be carried out in accordance with this Law.

3. To store exported goods and the raw materials and supplies used for processing and producing exported goods within the production area; where they are stored outside the production area, the consent of the customs authority must be obtained.

4. To fully implement the regime of management, accounting, statistics and retention of documents, books and data on goods brought into and taken out of the processing and production establishment; to produce books, documents and goods when the customs authority conducts an inspection.

5. To make finalisation reports on the management and use of imported raw materials and supplies and of exported goods in accordance with the law on customs.

Section 5: CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF GOODS AT BONDED WAREHOUSES, TAX SUSPENSION WAREHOUSES AND CONTAINER FREIGHT STATIONS

Article 61. Goods deposited at bonded warehouses, tax suspension warehouses and container freight stations

1. Goods deposited at a bonded warehouse shall be stored for a period not exceeding 12 months from the date of deposit into the warehouse; where there is a legitimate reason, the Director of the Customs Department managing the bonded warehouse shall grant a single extension of not more than 12 months.

2. Raw materials and supplies shall be stored at a tax suspension warehouse for the production of exported goods for a period not exceeding 12 months from the date of deposit into the warehouse; where there is a legitimate reason required by the production cycle, the Head of the Sub-department of Customs managing the tax suspension warehouse shall grant an extension. The extension period shall be consistent with the production cycle.

3. Goods brought into a container freight station include imported goods for which customs procedures have not been carried out and exported goods for which customs procedures have been completed or for which the customs declaration has been registered but the physical inspection of the goods will be carried out at the container freight station.

Goods shall be stored at a container freight station for a period not exceeding 90 days from the date they are brought into the container freight station; where there is a legitimate reason, the Head of the Sub-department of Customs managing the container freight station shall grant a single extension of not more than 90 days.

Article 62. Conditions for the establishment of bonded warehouses, tax suspension warehouses and container freight stations

1. Bonded warehouses and container freight stations shall be established in localities where the following areas are situated:

a) Seaports, international civil airports, ports for the export and import of goods established inland, road border gates and international intermodal railway stations;

b) Industrial parks, high technology parks, non-tariff zones and other areas as prescribed by law.

2. Tax suspension warehouses shall be established within the factory area of enterprises producing exported goods.

3. The Director General of the General Department of Customs shall decide on the establishment, extension of the operating period, temporary suspension and termination of operation of bonded warehouses, tax suspension warehouses and container freight stations.

4. The Government shall provide in detail for the establishment and operation of bonded warehouses, tax suspension warehouses and container freight stations.

Article 63. Rights and obligations of enterprises operating bonded warehouses, enterprises operating container freight stations, enterprises providing container freight station services, owners of goods and owners of tax suspension warehouses

1. An enterprise operating a bonded warehouse and an owner of goods deposited at a bonded warehouse shall have the following rights and obligations:

a) A bonded warehouse business enterprise may perform contracts for the receipt of goods deposited in the bonded warehouse; may move goods within the bonded warehouse as agreed with the goods owner.

A bonded warehouse business enterprise shall be responsible for complying with the requests of the customs authority for inspection of goods. Once every 03 months, the bonded warehouse business enterprise shall notify in writing the Customs Department managing the bonded warehouse of the current status of the goods and the operation of the bonded warehouse;

b) The goods owner may reinforce packaging, classify goods, take samples of goods and perform other tasks under the supervision of customs officers; may transfer ownership of the goods. The transfer of goods from one bonded warehouse to another bonded warehouse must be approved in writing by the Director of the Customs Department managing the bonded warehouse where such goods are stored.

2. The owner of a tax suspension warehouse has the following rights and obligations:

a) To store goods being raw materials and supplies imported for the production of exported goods;

b) To arrange, repack and move goods within the tax suspension warehouse;

c) To notify the customs authority in advance of the expected plan for putting the raw materials and supplies in the tax suspension warehouse into production;

d) Once every 03 months, to notify in writing the Customs Department managing the tax suspension warehouse of the current status of the goods and the operation of the tax suspension warehouse;

đ) By 31 January each year at the latest, to make a summary table of the import customs declarations and the quantity of raw materials and supplies brought into the tax suspension warehouse, and a summary of the export customs declarations and the quantity of goods exported in the preceding year, and send it to the Customs Department managing the tax suspension warehouse.

3. Goods owners, enterprises trading in container freight stations and enterprises providing cargo consolidation services have the following rights and obligations:

a) A goods owner may transfer ownership of the goods, and pack, repack, reinforce, repair and preserve the goods;

b) An enterprise providing cargo consolidation services may split and consolidate the consignments of multiple goods owners transported together in one container, and arrange and rearrange the goods in storage;

c) Once every 03 months, an enterprise trading in a container freight station shall notify in writing the Customs Department managing the container freight station of the current status of the goods and the operation of the enterprise trading in the container freight station.

4. Enterprises trading in bonded warehouses, enterprises trading in container freight stations and owners of tax suspension warehouses shall be responsible for implementing the accounting and statistical regimes and for equipping themselves with means and technical devices for managing goods by electronic methods and connecting to the network with the customs authority in order to carry out customs inspection and supervision in accordance with this Law.

5. Enterprises trading in bonded warehouses, enterprises trading in container freight stations, enterprises providing cargo consolidation services, owners of tax suspension warehouses and goods owners shall be responsible for strictly complying with the provisions of law on the operation of bonded warehouses, tax suspension warehouses and container freight stations.

Section 6: CUSTOMS PROCEDURES, CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION FOR GOODS IN TRANSPORT SUBJECT TO CUSTOMS SUPERVISION

Article 64. Customs procedures for goods in transport subject to customs supervision

1. Goods in transport subject to customs supervision include goods in transit and goods transported from one border gate to another.

2. When transporting goods subject to customs supervision, the customs declarant shall complete a goods transport declaration; and submit or produce documents in accordance with point b clause 1 Article 24 of this Law.

3. The customs authority shall receive the goods transport declaration and inspect the documents and goods produced by the customs declarant in order to decide to permit the transport of the goods subject to customs supervision.

4. During the period of transport of goods subject to customs supervision, if the customs declarant carries out transhipment, transloading, warehousing, splitting of the consignment, change of the mode of transport or other tasks, it shall notify and obtain the consent of the customs authority before doing so. The customs authority shall be responsible for replying within 02 hours from receipt of the notification of the customs declarant.

Article 65. Routes and time of transport

1. Goods subject to customs supervision must be transported along the correct route, through the correct border gate and within the correct time limit.

2. Routes for the transport of goods in transit shall comply with the regulations of the Minister of Transport.

3. Routes for the transport of goods from one border gate to another shall be registered by the customs declarant and accepted by the customs authority that receives and processes the dossier.

Section 7: CUSTOMS PROCEDURES, CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION FOR MEANS OF TRANSPORT

Article 66. Notification of information on means of transport

The owner of the means of transport, the operator of the means of transport, the person authorised by the owner of the means of transport or the issuer of the transport document shall notify information directly to the customs authority or through the national single-window information system on the exported and imported goods and the passengers on exit and entry aboard the means of transport before entry or exit.

Article 67. The place where customs procedures for means of transport are carried out

Means of transport on exit or entry must pass through border gates.

A means of transport on entry must undergo customs procedures at the first border gate of entry. A means of transport on exit must undergo customs procedures at the last border gate of exit.

Article 68. Routes and duration of customs supervision applicable to means of transport

1. Foreign commercial means of transport on entry, on exit or in transit must travel along the prescribed routes and are subject to customs supervision from the time of arrival in the customs operation area, throughout the journey, until leaving the territory of Vietnam.

2. Vietnamese commercial means of transport on entry are subject to customs supervision from the time of arrival in the customs operation area until all imported goods carried on the means of transport have been completely unloaded from the means of transport for the carrying out of import procedures.

Vietnamese commercial means of transport on exit are subject to customs supervision from the commencement of the loading of exported goods until leaving the territory of Vietnam.

3. Means of transport not for commercial purposes on entry, on exit or in transit are subject to customs inspection and supervision when carrying out customs procedures at the border gate of entry or exit or at another place as prescribed by law.

4. Where there are grounds to believe that goods are illegally concealed on a means of transport or that there are other signs of violation of law, the head of the customs authority where customs procedures for the means of transport are carried out, or the Head of the Customs Control Team, shall decide to temporarily postpone the departure of, or to stop, the means of transport for search. The search must be conducted in accordance with law; the person issuing the decision shall be liable before the law for his or her decision.

Article 69. Customs procedures for means of transport

1. When carrying out customs procedures for a means of transport, the owner of the means of transport, the operator of the means of transport or the person authorised by the owner of the means of transport shall make a customs declaration; submit and produce transport documents for the carrying out of customs procedures; and provide information and documents on the goods and articles on board the means of transport.

Where the relevant documents already satisfy the requirements of customs inspection, the owner of the means of transport, the operator of the means of transport or the person authorised by the owner of the means of transport is not required to make a customs declaration, except for the luggage and the exported and imported goods of persons on exit or entry aboard the means of transport.

2. The time limits for making and submitting customs declarations and relevant documents are prescribed as follows:

a) For means of transport in transit, this shall be carried out immediately upon arrival at the first border gate of entry and before the means of transport passes through the last border gate of exit;

b) For sea-going means of transport on entry, this shall be carried out no later than 02 hours after the port authority announces that the entering means of transport has arrived at the pilot boarding position; for sea-going means of transport on exit, this shall be carried out no later than 01 hour before the means of transport exits;

c) For air means of transport on exit or entry, this shall be carried out immediately upon the arrival of the entering means of transport at the border gate and before the transport organisation ends the procedures for the receipt of exported goods and passengers on exit;

d) For railway, road and inland waterway means of transport on exit or entry, this shall be carried out immediately after the means of transport arrives at the first border gate of entry and before the means of transport passes through the last border gate of exit.

3. Military means of transport and other means of transport used for national defence and security purposes must undergo customs procedures and are subject to customs inspection and supervision.

4. The Government shall provide for customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision for means of transport.

Article 70. Transhipment, transfer to another carriage, uncoupling of carriages, and loading and unloading of goods and luggage on means of transport

The transhipment, transfer to another carriage, uncoupling of carriages, and loading and unloading of goods and luggage on a means of transport that is subject to customs inspection and supervision may only be carried out with the consent of the customs authority.

Goods that are transhipped, transferred to another carriage or on uncoupled carriages must be kept intact in their packaging, cases and packages.

Article 71. International transport combined with domestic transport, and domestic transport combined with the transport of exported and imported goods

1. A means of transport engaged in international transport may, if permitted by a competent state authority and if it satisfies the conditions on customs supervision prescribed by the Minister of Finance, combine such transport with the transport of domestic goods.

2. A means of transport engaged in domestic transport may, if permitted by a competent state authority and if it satisfies the conditions on customs supervision prescribed by the Minister of Finance, combine such transport with the transport of exported and imported goods that are subject to customs supervision.

Article 72. Responsibilities of the heads of airports, seaports and international intermodal railway stations

The head of a competent agency or organisation at an airport, seaport or international intermodal railway station shall be responsible for notifying the customs authority of information relating to the time of arrival and departure and the berthing or parking location of sea-going vessels, aircraft and international intermodal trains; and the time of loading and unloading of goods onto and from sea-going vessels, aircraft and international intermodal trains.

Section 8: INSPECTION, SUPERVISION AND SUSPENSION OF CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR IMPORTED AND EXPORTED GOODS SUBJECT TO REQUESTS FOR PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Article 73. Principles of inspection, supervision and suspension of customs procedures

1. A holder of intellectual property rights that are protected in accordance with the law on intellectual property has the right to request the customs authority to apply measures of inspection or supervision, or to suspend customs procedures, in respect of exported and imported goods showing signs of infringement of intellectual property rights.

2. The customs authority shall only decide to suspend customs procedures for exported and imported goods where the holder of the intellectual property rights or his or her lawful authorised representative has submitted an application, evidence of lawful ownership of the intellectual property rights and evidence of the infringement of the intellectual property rights, and has paid a sum of money or submitted a guarantee document of a credit institution to secure compensation for damage and for expenses arising in accordance with law as a result of an improper request for suspension of customs procedures.

3. The provisions of this Law on the suspension of customs procedures for exported and imported goods showing signs of infringement of intellectual property rights do not apply to humanitarian aid goods, movable assets, goods entitled to privileges and immunities, luggage, gifts and presents within duty-free allowances, and goods in transit.

Article 74. Procedures for requesting inspection, supervision and suspension of customs procedures

1. The holder of intellectual property rights shall, directly or through a lawful authorised representative, submit an application requesting the customs authority to carry out inspection or supervision of, or to suspend customs procedures for, exported and imported goods showing signs of infringement of intellectual property rights.

2. In the case of a request for inspection and supervision, the holder of the intellectual property rights or his or her lawful authorised representative shall pay fees and charges in accordance with the law on fees and charges and provide the customs authority with all of the following documents:

a) The application; the power of attorney in the case where the submission of the application is authorised;

b) A copy of the protection title for industrial property rights or another document proving that the industrial property rights are being protected in Vietnam, or a copy of the certificate of registration of the contract for the transfer of the right to use the industrial property object; a copy of the certificate of registration of copyright, of rights related to copyright or of rights to plant varieties, or another document proving copyright, rights related to copyright or rights to plant varieties;

c) A detailed description of the goods infringing intellectual property rights, photographs, and the features distinguishing genuine goods from goods infringing intellectual property rights;

d) A list of the lawful exporters and importers of the goods in respect of which supervision is requested; a list of the persons likely to export or import goods infringing intellectual property rights.

The period of application of customs inspection and supervision measures to goods subject to a request for protection of intellectual property rights is 02 years from the date on which the customs authority accepts the request of the holder of the intellectual property rights. This period may be extended for a further 02 years but must not exceed the term of protection of the relevant intellectual property object as prescribed in the Law on intellectual property.

3. In the case of a request for suspension of customs procedures, the holder of the intellectual property rights or his or her lawful authorised representative shall provide the customs authority with the documents prescribed in clause 2 of this Article and pay a sum of money or submit a guarantee document of a credit institution equal to 20% of the value of the consignment according to the price stated in the contract, or of at least 20 million dong if the value of the consignment suspected of infringement is not yet known, in order to compensate for damage and for expenses arising in accordance with law as a result of an improper request for suspension of customs procedures.

Article 75. Receipt and handling of applications for inspection, supervision and suspension of customs procedures

1. Places for receiving applications:

a) The Sub-department of Customs receives applications for suspension of customs procedures;

b) The General Department of Customs receives applications for customs inspection and supervision.

2. The customs authority shall be responsible for notifying the applicant in writing of the acceptance or non-acceptance of the application within the following time limits:

a) No later than 20 days from the date of receipt of all the documents prescribed in clause 2 Article 74 of this Law;

b) No later than 02 working hours from the time of receipt of all the documents prescribed in clause 3 Article 74 of this Law.

In the case of rejection of the application, a written reply clearly stating the reasons must be given.

Article 76. Procedures for suspension of customs procedures

1. The procedures for suspension of customs procedures in respect of a requester whose application for inspection and supervision has been accepted by the customs authority shall be carried out as follows:

a) Upon detecting a consignment showing signs of infringement of intellectual property rights, the customs authority shall suspend customs procedures and immediately notify the requester in writing;

b) Where, within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the notification of the customs authority, the requester submits an application stating that suspension of customs procedures is not requested, the customs authority shall continue to carry out customs procedures in accordance with regulations.

Where the applicant makes a written request for suspension and at the same time pays a sum of money or submits a guarantee document in accordance with clause 3 Article 74 of this Law, the customs authority shall decide to suspend customs procedures.

2. Where the holder of intellectual property rights requests the suspension of customs procedures for goods showing signs of infringement of intellectual property rights but has not yet submitted an application for inspection and supervision, the customs authority shall decide to suspend customs procedures if the requirements prescribed in clause 3 Article 74 of this Law are satisfied.

3. The time limit for suspension of customs procedures is 10 working days from the date on which the customs authority issues the decision. Where the person requesting the suspension has a legitimate reason, this time limit may be extended, but must not exceed 20 working days, on the condition that the person requesting the suspension of customs procedures pays an additional sum of money or submits a guarantee document as prescribed in clause 3 Article 74 of this Law.

4. Where, upon the expiry of the suspension period prescribed in clause 3 of this Article, the person requesting the suspension of customs procedures does not initiate a civil lawsuit and the customs authority does not decide to accept the case for handling under administrative violation handling procedures, the customs authority shall continue to carry out customs procedures for the consignment.

Where the person requesting the suspension of customs procedures withdraws the request and the customs authority does not decide to accept the case for handling under administrative violation handling procedures before the expiry of the suspension period, the customs authority shall immediately continue to carry out customs procedures for the consignment.

5. The holder of intellectual property rights or his or her lawful authorised representative shall pay the expenses arising, including warehousing, yard, loading and unloading and goods preservation charges, to the goods owner as a result of an improper suspension of customs procedures.

6. The customs authority shall refund the security amounts to the holder of intellectual property rights or his or her lawful authorised representative after the holder of intellectual property rights or his or her lawful authorised representative has fulfilled the obligation to pay the expenses and damage arising under the decision of the customs authority or of a competent authority.

7. The time limit for payment of duties (if any) shall be counted from the date on which the customs authority decides to continue to carry out customs procedures for the consignment.

Section 9: POST-CLEARANCE AUDIT

Article 77. Post-clearance audit

1. Post-clearance audit means the inspection activity of the customs authority in respect of customs dossiers, accounting books, accounting documents and other documents, materials and data relating to goods; and physical inspection of goods where necessary and where conditions still permit, after the goods have been granted customs clearance.

The post-clearance audit aims to assess the accuracy and truthfulness of the contents of the documents and dossiers that the customs declarant has declared, submitted or produced to the customs authority; and to assess the compliance of the customs declarant with the customs law and other provisions of law relating to the management of exports and imports.

2. Post-clearance audit shall be conducted at the office of the customs authority or at the premises of the customs declarant.

The premises of the customs declarant include the head office, branches, shops, production establishments and places where goods are stored.

3. The time limit for post-clearance audit is 05 years from the date of registration of the customs declaration.

Article 78. Cases subject to post-clearance audit

1. Audit where there are signs of violation of the customs law and of other provisions of law relating to the management of exports and imports.

2. For cases other than those prescribed in clause 1 of this Article, post-clearance audit shall be conducted on the basis of the application of risk management.

3. Audit of the compliance of the customs declarant with the law.

Article 79. Post-clearance audit at the office of the customs authority

1. The Director of the Customs Department or the Head of the Sub-department of Customs shall issue a post-clearance audit decision requesting the customs declarant to provide commercial invoices, transport documents, contracts for the sale and purchase of goods, documents certifying the origin of goods, payment documents, and dossiers and technical documents of the goods relating to the dossier being audited, and to explain the relevant contents.

The audit period shall be determined in the audit decision, but shall not exceed 05 working days.

2. The post-clearance audit decision must be sent to the customs declarant within 03 working days from the date of signing and at least 05 working days before the date on which the audit is conducted.

The customs declarant shall be responsible for giving explanations and providing the dossiers and documents relating to the dossier being audited at the request of the customs authority.

During the audit period, the customs declarant has the right to give explanations and to supplement information and documents relating to the customs dossier.

3. The handling of audit results is prescribed as follows:

a) Where the information, documents and materials provided and the contents of the explanations given prove that the contents of the customs declaration are correct, the customs dossier shall be accepted;

b) Where it is not proved that the contents of the customs declaration are correct, or where the customs declarant fails to provide dossiers, documents and materials or fails to give explanations as required by the audit, the customs authority shall decide to handle the matter in accordance with the law on taxation and the law on the handling of administrative violations.

4. Within 05 working days from the date of completion of the audit, the person issuing the audit decision shall sign a notice of the audit results and send it to the customs declarant.

Article 80. Post-clearance audit at the premises of the customs declarant

1. Competence to decide on post-clearance audit:

a) The Director General of the General Department of Customs and the Director of the Post-clearance Audit Department shall decide on post-clearance audits nationwide;

b) The Director of the Customs Department shall decide on post-clearance audits within the area under the management of that Department.

Where the enterprise to be audited does not fall within the assigned area of management, the Customs Department shall report to the General Department of Customs for consideration and assignment of a unit to conduct the audit.

The audit for assessing the compliance of the customs declarant with the law shall be conducted according to the annual post-clearance audit plan issued by the Director General of the General Department of Customs.

2. Time limit for post-clearance audit:

a) The time limit for post-clearance audit shall be determined in the audit decision, but shall not exceed 10 working days. The audit period shall be counted from the date on which the audit commences; where the scope of the audit is large and its contents are complicated, the person who signed the audit decision may extend it once for not more than 10 working days;

b) The post-clearance audit decision must be sent to the customs declarant within 03 working days from the date of signing and at least 05 working days before the date on which the audit is conducted, except for the case prescribed in clause 1 Article 78 of this Law.

3. Order and procedures for post-clearance audit:

a) Announcing the post-clearance audit decision when commencing the audit;

b) Comparing the declared contents with the accounting books, accounting documents, financial statements and relevant materials, and with the actual status of the exported and imported goods, within the scope and contents of the post-clearance audit decision;

c) Making a post-clearance audit record within 05 working days from the date of completion of the audit;

d) Within 15 days from the date of completion of the audit, the person who decided on the audit shall sign the audit conclusion and send it to the customs declarant. Where the audit conclusion requires the professional opinion of a competent authority, the time limit for signing the audit conclusion shall be counted from the date on which the opinion of the competent authority is available. The competent specialised authority shall give its opinion within 30 days from the date of receipt of the request of the customs authority;

đ) To handle within its competence or to transfer to the competent level for handling according to the audit results.

4. Where the customs declarant fails to comply with the audit decision or fails to give explanations or provide dossiers and documents to the customs authority within the time limit, the customs authority shall, based on the dossiers and documents collected and verified, decide on the handling in accordance with the law on taxation and the law on handling of administrative violations, or conduct a specialised inspection in accordance with law.

Article 81. Duties and powers of customs officers in post-clearance audit at the premises of the customs declarant

1. The Director General of the General Department of Customs, the Director of the Post-clearance Audit Department and the Director of the Customs Department shall have the following duties and powers:

a) To issue audit decisions and to establish audit teams;

b) To extend the audit duration where necessary;

c) To issue audit conclusions; to handle audit results; to decide on the handling in accordance with the law on taxation and the law on handling of administrative violations within their competence, or to propose that the competent person decide on the handling in accordance with law;

d) To settle complaints and denunciations in accordance with law.

2. The head of the audit team shall have the following duties and powers:

a) To organise and direct the members of the audit team to comply with the contents, subjects and time limit of the audit stated in the audit decision;

b) To request the customs declarant to provide information, documents and written explanatory reports on matters related to the audit contents, and to produce goods for inspection where necessary and where conditions still permit;

c) To make records of, and report to the competent level for handling of, acts of non-compliance with, obstruction of or delay in the implementation of the audit decision by the customs declarant;

d) To temporarily seize and seal documents and exhibits where the customs declarant shows signs of dispersing or destroying documents and exhibits related to acts of violation of law;

đ) To make and sign audit records;

e) To report the audit results to the person who issued the audit decision and to take responsibility for the accuracy, truthfulness and objectivity of such report.

3. Members of the audit team shall have the following duties and powers:

a) To perform the tasks assigned by the head of the audit team;

b) To report the results of the performance of the assigned tasks to the head of the audit team; to be answerable before law and to the head of the audit team for the accuracy, truthfulness and objectivity of the report;

c) To make and sign audit records as assigned by the head of the audit team.

Article 82. Rights and obligations of the customs declarant in post-clearance audit

1. To exercise the rights and perform the obligations provided for in Article 18 of this Law.

2. To provide dossiers and documents in a timely, complete and accurate manner as requested, and to take responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of such dossiers and documents.

3. To refuse to provide information and documents unrelated to the audit contents and information and documents classified as state secrets, unless otherwise provided for by law.

4. To receive the audit conclusion and to request explanation of the contents of the audit conclusion; to reserve their opinions in the audit conclusion.

5. To request the head of the audit team to produce the audit decision and the customs identity card in the case of post-clearance audit at the premises of the customs declarant.

6. To comply with the requirement for post-clearance audit and to appoint a competent person to work with the customs authority.

7. To explain relevant matters at the request of the customs authority.

8. To sign the audit record.

9. To comply with handling decisions of the customs authority and competent authorities.

Chapter IV

ORGANISATION OF THE COLLECTION OF DUTIES AND OTHER REVENUES ON EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

Article 83. Responsibilities of the customs declarant in declaring, calculating and paying duties and other revenues

1. To declare and calculate duties accurately, truthfully, fully and on time, and to take responsibility for their declaration and calculation of duties.

2. To pay duties and other revenues fully and on time in accordance with the law on taxes, charges and fees and other relevant provisions of law.

3. To comply with decisions of the customs authority on duties and other revenues in accordance with the law on taxes, charges and fees and other relevant provisions of law.

Article 84. Responsibilities of the customs authority in organising the collection of duties and other revenues

1. The General Department of Customs shall organise the uniform collection of duties and other revenues on exported and imported goods; and the application of measures to ensure the correct and full collection of duties and other revenues in accordance with the law on taxes, charges and fees and other relevant provisions of law.

2. The customs authority where export or import procedures for goods are carried out shall, according to its functions and decentralised competence, examine the declaration and calculation of duties; implement duty exemption, duty reduction, duty refund, non-collection of duties, duty assessment, extension and write-off of duty debts, late-payment interest and fines for the customs declarant; and collect duties and other revenues and manage duty payment.

Article 85. Determination of duty rates, the time of duty calculation and the time limit for duty payment for exported and imported goods

The determination of duty rates for exported and imported goods shall be based on the goods codes and the duty policies applicable to exported and imported goods in force at the time of duty calculation.

The time of duty calculation and the time limit for duty payment for exported and imported goods shall comply with the law on taxation.

Article 86. Customs value

1. The customs value shall be used as the basis for calculating export duty and import duty and for statistics on exported and imported goods.

2. The customs value of exported goods is the selling price of the goods up to the border gate of exportation, exclusive of international insurance and freight charges.

3. The customs value of imported goods is the price actually payable up to the first border gate of importation, in conformity with Vietnamese law and the treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

4. The exchange rate for duty calculation is the exchange rate between the Vietnamese dong and a foreign currency announced by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of duty calculation. Where the State Bank of Vietnam does not announce an exchange rate at the time of duty calculation, the exchange rate of the most recent announcement shall apply.

5. The Government shall detail this Article.

Chapter V

PREVENTION AND COMBAT OF SMUGGLING AND ILLEGAL CROSS-BORDER TRANSPORTATION OF GOODS

Article 87. Duties of Customs in the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods

1. Within the ambit of their duties and powers, customs authorities at all levels shall organise the performance of the duty of preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

2. Customs authorities at all levels may establish specialised units to perform the duty of preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

Article 88. Scope of responsibility for the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods

1. Within customs operation areas, the customs authority shall be responsible for customs inspection, supervision and control of goods and means of transport in order to proactively prevent and combat smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

Where goods or means of transport have not yet been taken out of a customs operation area and an agency, organisation or individual detects an act of smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods, such agency, organisation or individual shall immediately notify the customs authority for inspection and handling.

Where there are grounds to determine that smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border, or means of transport carrying smuggled goods or goods illegally transported across the border, are moving from a customs operation area to outside the customs operation area, the customs authority shall continue the pursuit and notify the police, border guard, coast guard and market surveillance forces in the area for coordination and shall, at the same time, apply preventive and handling measures in accordance with law. The stopping and pursuit of foreign means of transport travelling in Vietnamese sea areas shall comply with the Law of the Sea of Vietnam.

2. Where goods or means of transport have been taken outside a customs operation area and a relevant state agency has grounds to believe that there is an act of smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods, such agency shall, within its competence, carry out the inspection and handling in accordance with law; the customs authority shall be responsible for coordinating with relevant state agencies in implementing measures to prevent and combat smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

3. For goods subject to customs supervision that are being transported along transport routes, the customs authority shall be responsible for supervising them by customs professional measures; upon detecting an act of violation of law, the customs authority shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant state agencies in, inspecting and handling it in accordance with law.

4. In internal waters, territorial seas and contiguous zones, the customs authority shall conduct, and coordinate in conducting, patrols and control in order to prevent acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods; and shall apply preventive measures and handle violations within its competence in internal waters and territorial seas in conformity with the Law of the Sea of Vietnam.

5. People's Committees at all levels shall direct the coordination of the activities of the customs authority and other relevant state agencies in their localities in performing the duty of preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

6. The Government shall detail customs control professional measures; and the coordination responsibilities of agencies with the customs authority in the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

Article 89. Competence of the customs authority in applying measures to prevent and combat smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods

1. To organise forces, build databases, apply customs control professional measures and collect domestic and foreign information related to customs operations in order to proactively prevent and combat smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods and to serve customs clearance of goods and post-clearance audit; to coordinate with relevant agencies in protecting the confidentiality of persons who provide information on cases of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods in accordance with law.

2. To carry out customs control of goods and means of transport; to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant state agencies in, carrying out activities to prevent and combat smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods within customs operation areas.

When conducting customs control of goods and means of transport within customs operation areas, the customs authority may apply the measures of patrol, investigation and verification or other professional measures in accordance with this Law, the law on handling of administrative violations, the criminal procedure law and the law on organisation of criminal investigation.

3. To request relevant agencies, organisations and individuals to provide information and documents in service of the inspection, investigation and verification of acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

4. To request enterprises providing postal and express delivery services to open postal items and goods exported or imported by post or express delivery for inspection when there are grounds to believe that such postal items or goods contain documents or goods related to smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

5. To use signal flags, signal lights, signal flares, sirens and loudspeakers; to use weapons and support tools in accordance with the law on the management and use of weapons, explosives and support tools.

6. Outside customs operation areas, the customs authority shall coordinate in and carry out customs control activities to prevent and combat smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods in accordance with law.

Article 90. Competence of the customs authority and customs officers in handling acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods

1. To handle administrative violations and to apply measures to prevent and ensure the handling of administrative violations in accordance with the law on handling of administrative violations.

Where there are grounds to believe that there is an act of smuggling or illegal cross-border transportation of goods, the Director of the Sub-department of Customs, the Head of the Control Team of the Customs Department, the Head of the Anti-smuggling Control Team and the Captain of the Marine Control Flotilla of the Anti-smuggling Investigation Department shall have the competence to stop means of transport, temporarily detain persons and escort violators. The order and procedures for temporarily detaining persons and escorting violators shall comply with the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

2. Upon detecting an act of violation of the customs law to the extent that penal liability must be examined, the customs authority and competent customs officers shall institute criminal cases, institute criminal proceedings against the accused and conduct investigation activities in accordance with the criminal procedure law and the law on organisation of criminal investigation.

3. The customs authority and customs officers shall, when carrying out the activities provided for in this Article, be answerable before law for their decisions.

Article 91. Rights and obligations of relevant organisations and individuals in the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods

1. In the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods, relevant organisations and individuals have the right:

a) To provide information, dossiers, documents and evidence related to violation cases to the customs authority; to request the customs authority to solicit expert examination in order to protect their lawful rights and interests;

b) To have their confidentiality and lives protected and to enjoy the preferential treatment provided for by law when providing information on, or reporting or denouncing acts of, smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods.

2. In the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods, relevant organisations and individuals have the obligation:

a) Operators of and persons present on means of transport shall comply with orders to stop the means of transport, submit to search and produce papers, documents and materials at the request of customs officers. Operators of means of transport shall be responsible for providing cargo hold diagrams, giving instructions and opening places on the means of transport suspected of concealing goods for customs officers to conduct the search;

b) Credit institutions and insurance organisations shall be obliged to provide dossiers and documents related to payment transactions and insurance transactions at the request of the customs authority in service of the investigation, verification and handling of acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods;

c) Organisations and individuals related to exported, imported and transited goods and to means of transport on exit, entry or in transit shall be obliged to provide relevant information, dossiers and documents in service of the investigation, verification and handling of acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods; and to be present at the office of the customs authority to explain relevant contents when so requested.

Article 92. Equipping and use of technical equipment and means in service of the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods

1. The customs authority and customs officers shall be equipped with, and may use, professional technical means, weapons, support tools, signal flags, signal flares, signal lights, observation and scanning devices, biochemical technology, mechanical, electrical and electronic devices and other means in accordance with law in order to perform the duty of preventing and combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods. The equipping and use of weapons and support tools shall comply with the law on the management and use of weapons, explosives and support tools.

2. Where necessary, the customs authority and customs officers directly performing the duty of combating smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods may request agencies, organisations and individuals to coordinate forces, provide means in support and supply information; if the means provided in support are damaged, the customs authority shall pay compensation in accordance with law.

Chapter VI

CUSTOMS INFORMATION AND STATISTICS ON EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

Section 1: CUSTOMS INFORMATION

Article 93. Customs information

Customs information shall be collected, stored, managed and used in service of the carrying out of customs procedures; statistics on exported and imported goods; the application of risk management in customs professional operations; post-clearance audit; the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods; and other professional operations of the customs authority.

Article 94. The customs information system

1. The customs information system comprises:

a) The database of the information system;

b) The technical infrastructure of the information system.

2. The customs information database comprises:

a) Information on exported, imported and transited goods;

b) Information on means of transport on exit, entry or in transit;

c) Information on organisations and individuals engaged in export, import, exit, entry and transit activities;

d) Other information related to the professional operations of the customs authority.

3. The customs information database shall be managed in a centralised and uniform manner. The General Department of Customs shall be responsible for organising the building, management and development of the database and technical infrastructure of the customs information system on the basis of updating and integrating information and data of the entire customs sector; and for connecting and sharing information and data with the information systems of organisations and individuals outside the customs sector, of the Customs of other countries and of international organisations in accordance with Vietnamese law and the treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

The customs authority shall apply measures to protect the confidentiality of information and to prevent unauthorised access to the customs information system.

Article 95. Collection and provision of customs information in the country

1. The customs authority shall organise the collection of information from the following sources:

a) Customs professional operations;

b) Relevant ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

c) Organisations and individuals engaged in or related to production and to export, import, exit, entry and transit activities;

d) Other sources of information.

2. Responsibilities and powers of the customs authority in the collection and provision of customs information:

a) To receive information from and provide information to the customs declarant;

b) To build and implement mechanisms for coordination in exchanging and providing information with the functional agencies of relevant ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

c) To apply professional measures and techniques to collect information;

d) To request organisations and individuals to provide information related to export, import, exit, entry and transit activities;

đ) To exploit other relevant sources of information.

3. Rights and responsibilities of agencies, organisations and individuals in the provision of customs information:

a) Organisations and individuals have the right to request the customs authority to provide customs information related to their rights and obligations;

b) Relevant ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall be responsible for providing the customs authority with information related to export, import, exit, entry and transit activities;

c) Organisations and individuals engaged in or related to export, import, exit, entry and transit activities shall be responsible for providing information to the customs authority in accordance with this Law and other relevant provisions of law.

4. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 96. Collection of customs information abroad

1. Sources of customs information collected abroad comprise:

a) Information provided by the customs authorities and other agencies of States and territories under agreements on cooperation in supporting the exchange and provision of information;

b) Information provided by relevant international organisations under the treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party;

c) Information of organisations and individuals engaged in or related to the production of goods and to goods export and import activities, provided at the request of the customs authority, which shall be implemented in accordance with Vietnamese law and the treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

2. The customs authority shall organise the collection of information abroad in service of the following activities:

a) Determining the origin, transaction value, standards and quality of imported goods;

b) Determining the lawfulness of documents and transactions related to exported and imported goods;

c) Verifying acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation of goods or other acts of violation of the customs law;

d) Verifying other information related to persons engaged in or related to export, import, exit, entry and transit activities; exported, imported and transited goods; and means of transport on exit, entry or in transit.

Section 2: STATISTICS ON EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

Article 97. Statistical activities on exported and imported goods

1. Statistical activities on exported and imported goods are the process of collecting, processing, summarising, analysing, forecasting, reporting, disseminating and storing statistical information on exported and imported goods, which is organised and carried out by the General Department of Customs.

2. Statistical information on exported and imported goods is the product of statistical activities, comprising statistical data on exported and imported goods and the analysis of such statistical data.

3. The General Department of Customs shall organise the publication of statistical publications on exported and imported goods.

Article 98. Statistical reports on exported and imported goods

The General Department of Customs shall report to the Ministry of Finance and the Government statistical information on exported and imported goods on a monthly basis according to the prescribed system of forms, together with reports analysing and assessing the situation of goods export and import.

Chapter VII

STATE MANAGEMENT OF CUSTOMS

Article 99. Contents of state management of customs

The contents of state management of customs comprise:

1. Formulating and directing the implementation of strategies, master plans and plans for the development of Vietnam Customs;

2. Promulgating and organising the implementation of legal documents on customs;

3. Guiding, implementing and disseminating the customs law;

4. Providing for the organisation and operation of Customs;

5. Training and retraining customs officers and building the contingent of customs officers;

6. Organising the research and application of science and technology and modern customs management methods;

7. State statistics on customs;

8. Inspecting, examining, settling complaints and denunciations and handling violations of the customs law;

9. International cooperation on customs.

Article 100. State management agencies in charge of customs

1. The Government shall exercise uniform state management of customs.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall be answerable to the Government for performing the unified state management of customs.

3. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in the state management of customs.

4. People's Committees at all levels shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, organise the implementation of the law on customs in their localities.

Chapter VIII

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 101. Amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration No. 78/2006/QH11, of which a number of articles have been amended and supplemented under Law No. 21/2012/QH13

1. To amend Clause 5 of Article 4 as follows:

“5. To be granted the priority regime when carrying out tax procedures for exported and imported goods if the taxpayer fully satisfies the conditions for application of the priority regime as prescribed by the Law on Customs.”

2. To amend Clause 4 of Article 32 as follows:

“4. For exported and imported goods, the time limit for submitting tax declaration dossiers shall comply with the Law on Customs.”

3. To amend Clause 2 of Article 34 as follows:

“2. For exported and imported goods, the additional declaration of tax declaration dossiers shall comply with the Law on Customs.”

4. To amend Point b of Clause 1 of Article 78 as follows:

“b) The cases of post-clearance audit as prescribed by the Law on Customs.

Where, during a post-clearance audit, signs of tax evasion or tax fraud are detected, the Director of the Post-clearance Audit Department, the Director of the Customs Department and the Head of the Post-clearance Audit Sub-department shall be competent to decide on the application of the measures prescribed in Section 4 of Chapter X of this Law;”

5. To annul Point d of Clause 3 of Article 77; to remove the phrase “and Point d” in Point a of Clause 1 of Article 78; to remove the phrase “at the taxpayer's head office as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 34 of this Law” in Point a of Clause 2 of Article 107.

6. To replace the phrase “from the date of registration of the declaration” in Point a of Clause 2 of Article 107 with the phrase “from the date of customs clearance”.

Article 102. Amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations No. 15/2012/QH13

1. To amend Clause 1 of Article 122 as follows:

“1. The custody of persons under administrative procedures shall only be applied where it is necessary to immediately prevent or stop acts of causing public disorder or causing injury to other persons, or where there are grounds to believe that there are acts of smuggling or illegal transportation of goods across the border.”

2. To amend the opening paragraph of Clause 1 of Article 123 as follows:

“1. Where there are acts of causing public disorder, causing injury to other persons, or there are grounds to believe that there are acts of smuggling or illegal transportation of goods across the border as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 122 of this Law, the following persons shall have the right to decide on the custody of persons under administrative procedures:”

Article 103. Effect

This Law comes into force on 01 January 2015.

The Law on Customs No. 29/2001/QH10 and Law No. 42/2005/QH11 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Customs cease to be effective from the date on which this Law comes into force.

Article 104. Detailing provisions

The Government shall detail the articles and clauses assigned to it in this Law.

This Law was passed on 23 June 2014 by the 13th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 7th session.