CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE IMPLEMEN-TATION OF THE GOVERNMENT’S DECREE No. 09/2000/ND-CP OF MARCH 21, 2000 PROMULGATING VIETNAM’S 2000 LIST OF COMMODITIES AND THEIR TAX RATES FOR THE IMPLE-MENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON COMMON EFFECTIVE PREFERENTIAL TARIFF (CEPT) OF THE ASEAN COUNTRIES

In furtherance of the Protocol on the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s participation in the Agreement on Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) for materializing the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) (hereafter referred to as the CEPT/AFTA Agreement), concluded on December 15, 1995 in Bangkok;
In furtherance of the Government’s Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 promulgating Vietnam’s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement;
The Ministry of Finance hereby guides the implementation thereof as follows:

I. SCOPE OF APPLICATION

Import goods eligible for the CEPT preferential tax rates as defined in Article 1 of Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government shall have to meet the following conditions:

1. They are on Vietnam’s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement, issued together with Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government;

2. They are imported into Vietnam from the ASEAN member countries, including the following countries:

- Brunei Darusalam;

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- The Republic of Indonesia;

- The People’s Democratic Republic of Laos;

- Malaysia;

- The Federation of Myanma;

- The Republic of the Philippines;

- The Republic of Singapore; and

- The Kingdom of Thailand;

3. They meet the CEPT criteria on the original content and having certificates of goods origin from the ASEAN countries (as prescribed in Part III of this Circular); and

4. They are transported directly to Vietnam from the exporting countries being the ASEAN member(s).

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1. The tax rates applicable to import goods which are eligible for the CEPT preferential tax rates as prescribed in Part I of this Circular shall be the tax rates specified in Vietnam�s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement, issued together with Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government.

2. In cases where in 2000 the MFN tax rate of one goods category specified in the preferential import tariff is adjusted to be lower than the tax rate specified in Vietnam’s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement, issued together with Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government, the CEPT preferential tax rate applicable to such goods category shall be such lower MFN tax rate.

If the MFN tax rate prescribed for this goods category in the preferential import tariff is later adjusted to be higher than the tax rate specified in Vietnam’s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement, issued together with Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government, the applicable CEPT preferential tax rate shall be the CEPT tax rate issued together with Decree No. 09/ND-CP.

3. In cases where there appear changes in goods categories in legal documents promulgated by the ASEAN countries for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement that affect the right to enjoy Vietnam’s preferential tax rates as prescribed in Part I, the Ministry of Finance shall provide appropriate guidance for each specific case.

III. CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN AND EXAMINATION OF CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN

1. The rules upon which the goods are recognized to have the origin from the ASEAN countries are defined in the Regulation on goods origin applicable to the CEPT/AFTA Agreement (Appendices 1, 3 and 5) of the Regulation on granting of Vietnam’s certificates of ASEAN goods origin, issued together with Decision No. 416/TM-DB of May 13, 1996, Decision No. 0878/1998/QD-BTM of July 30, 1998, Decision No. 1000/1998/QD-BTM of September 3, 1998, Decision No. 0034/2000/QD-BTM of January 10, 2000 and Decision No. 0492/2000/QD-BTM of March 20, 2000 of the Trade Ministry.

2. Certificates of origin must bear signature(s) and seal(s) identical to the official specimen signatures and seals of the following agencies of the ASEAN member countries, which are competent to grant certificates of ASEAN origin of goods - Form D:

- In Brunei Darusalam: The Ministry of Industry and Natural Resources;

- In the Kingdom of Cambodia: The Ministry of Trade;

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- In the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos: The Ministry of Trade;

- In Malaysia: The Ministry for Foreign Trade and Industry;

- In the Federation of Myanma: The Ministry of Trade;

- In the Republic of the Philippines: The Ministry of Finance;

- In the Republic of Singapore: The Trade Development Department;

- In the Kingdom of Thailand: The Ministry of Trade; and

- In Vietnam: The Ministry of Trade and the Industrial Parks and Export-Processing Zones Management Boards authorized by the Ministry of Trade.

3. In case of suspicion of the truthfulness and accuracy of the certificates of the ASEAN goods origin - Form D, the customs offices shall be entitled to:

- Request the re-examination of the certificates of the ASEAN goods origin - Form D. The customs office shall send its requests to the agencies competent to grant such certificates of origin in the exporting countries, proposing the verification.

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- Request the importers to provide additional documents (if any) to prove that their goods actually originate from the ASEAN countries, within 01 (one) year.

- Pending the re-examination results, the procedures for such goods clearance shall still be carried out according to the ordinary import procedures.

- When having enough documents to prove that the goods have the ASEAN origins, the customs office shall have to proceed with the procedures to reimburse the importers the difference between the import tax amount temporarily collected at the tax rates of the current preferential or ordinary import tariff and that at the CEPT preferential tax rates specified in Vietnam’s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement, issued together with Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government.

IV. OTHER PROVISIONS

The regulations on tax calculation bases; the regimes of tax collection, payment, exemption, reduction, reimbursement and retrospective collection; handling of violations and other regulations shall comply with the provisions of the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax and the current guiding documents.

V. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

This Circular takes effect from the effective date of the Government’s Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 promulgating Vietnam�s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement (namely as from January 1st, 2000) and applies to all cases of importing from the ASEAN countries with import goods declarations submitted to the customs offices as from the above-mentioned time-point.

For cases eligible for the CEPT preferential tax rates under the implementation effect of Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government, for which import tax has already been collected at the 1999 CEPT preferential tax rates (under Decree No. 14/1999/ND-CP of March 23, 1999) or at tax rates of the current preferential or ordinary import tariff, the customs office shall check the dossiers thereof and reimburse the importers the tax difference amounts if the tax rates already applied for tax calculation are higher than those specified in Vietnam’s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement, issued together with Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government, or retrospectively collect from the importers the tax difference amounts if the tax rates already applied for tax calculation are lower than those specified in Vietnam’s 2000 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement, issued together with Decree No. 09/2000/ND-CP of March 21, 2000 of the Government.

This Circular replaces the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 41/1999/TT-BTC of April 20, 1999 guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 14/1999/ND-CP of March 23, 2000 promulgating Vietnam’s 1999 list of commodities and their tax rates for the implementation of the CEPT/AFTA Agreement and Circular No. 53/1999/TT-BTC of May 8, 1999 of the Finance Ministry amending and supplementing Circular No. 41/1999/TT-BTC.

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FOR THE MINISTER OF FINANCE
VICE MINISTER




Le Thi Bang Tam