CIRCULAR

AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CIRCULAR NO. 82/1997/TT/BTC WHICH GUIDES THE APPLICATION OF IMPORT TAX CALCULATION PRICES UNDER FOREIGN TRADE CONTRACTS

In order to settle arising problems related to import tax calculation prices, and to create favorable conditions for units and enterprises to take initiative in calculating business efficiency, the Ministry of Finance hereby amends and supplements a number points of Circular No. 82/1997/TT-BTC of November 11, 1997 guiding the application of import tax calculation prices under foreign trade contracts as follows:

I. To replace Item I, Part C as follows:

"I. Goods outside the list of goods items with import tax calculation prices controlled by the State have to fully meet the following conditions:

1. Being under written foreign trade contracts with full major details of a contract, including the following:

+ Names of goods;

+ Quantity;

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+ Mode of payment;

+ Place and time for goods delivery and receipt;

Telegraph, telex, fax, e-mail and other electronic communications forms, when printed on paper shall be considered written form of document.

Goods offers and acceptance of goods offers made in various written forms shall be effective as a trade contract, provided that they contains major details of a contract as stipulated above.

The details inscribed in the contracts shall be implemented in strict compliance with the Ministry of Trade�s regulations.

The supplement and/or amendment of contracts shall be effected according to procedures and order set for each type of contract. In these cases the supplement and/or amendment of time must be signed before the seller fills the procedures for goods shipment to the buyer.

2. The payment of 100% of the value of a lot of import goods via banks: it must be stated clearly in the contracts that the payment of 100% of the value of a lot of import goods shall be effected via a commercial bank, in a freely-convertible foreign currency or a kind of foreign currency agreed upon by the two parties. The payment must comply with international modes of payment such as L/C, TTr, D/A, D/P.

Particularly for goods imported by land, the letter of credit (L/C) payment mode must apply and the foreign currency used for payment must be a freely-convertible foreign currency."

3. The General Department of Customs is entitled to set the import tax calculation prices in the following cases:

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- Import goods outside the list of goods items with controlled import tax calculation prices, fully meets conditions for the application of tax calculation prices stated in the contracts; but the tax collection management agency has enough grounds to determine that the contractual prices are not compatible with the actual import prices while the importing unit fails to prove that the import prices stated in the contract are the actually-paid import prices.

The setting of import tax calculation prices must be effected in an uniform, strict and objective manner without causing any obstruction and negative phenomena in the release of goods.

II. To replace Point 3, Item II, Part C on conditions for being considered for application of contractual tax calculation prices as follows:

"3. Being a unit or enterprise undertaking the import or entrusted to undertake the import, that has paid all forcible taxes (with certification by the customs agency);"

III. To replace Part D on handling of violations as follows:

"If an enterprise is detected as having made a fraudulent foreign trade contract; having failed to declare to the customs agency any change in the use purposes of materials, and/or raw materials which have been taxed according to prices stated in the foreign trade contracts; or having violated the provisions of this Circular, besides having to pay the import tax and special consumption tax (if any) arrears, shall be sanctioned for tax evasion according to the provisions of the Law on Import and Export Taxes, the Law on Special Consumption Tax, the Government’s Decree No. 22/CP of April 17, 1996 on sanction against administrative violations in the field of tax, Circular No. 45/TC-TCT of August 1st, 1996 guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree No.22/CP and Circular No. 128/1998/TT-BTC of September 22, 1998 amending and supplementing the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 45/TC-TCT of August 1st, 1996."

IV. This Circular takes effect as from August 1st, 1999. Other provisions of Circular No. 82/1997/TT-BTC of November 11, 1997, which are not contrary to this Circular, are still in effect. In the course of implementation, if any difficulty arises, organizations and individuals are requested to report it promptly to the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Customs for consideration and appropriate amendment and/or supplement.

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