JOINT CIRCULAR

GUIDING INVOICES AND DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR IMPORTS CIRCULATED IN THE MARKET

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration and its guiding documents; Pursuant to the 2001 Customs Law, the 2005 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Customs Law, the 2005 Commercial Law and its guiding documents;

Pursuant to the Law on Value-Added Tax, the Law on Excise Tax, the Law on Enterprise Income Tax, the Law on Import Duty and Export Duty and their guiding documents;

Pursuant to the 2002 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations, the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and their guiding documents;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 118/2008/ND-CP of November 27, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 189/2007/ND-CP of December 27, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 77/2009/ND-CP of September 15, 2009, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security;

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The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Public Security jointly guide invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market as follows:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

1. This Circular guides invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market, including: imports which are being transported en route, displayed for sale or preserved at warehouses, ports, storing yards, offices of import dealers or other places (below collectively referred to as imports); handling of violations of regulations on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market; and rights, obligations and responsibilities of concerned agencies, organizations and individuals.

2. This Circular does not apply to:

a/ Goods (except smuggled goods) awaiting customs clearance which are brought from foreign countries to bonded warehouses, tax suspension warehouses or places of carrying out customs procedures under the customs law; goods transported from one bonded warehouse to another; goods preserved in bonded warehouses or tax suspension warehouses;

b/ Goods temporarily imported for re-export; goods temporarily exported for re-import; goods imported for implementation of investment projects;

c/ Raw materials and supplies imported for performance of processing contracts with foreign traders or export production contracts (except the cases specified in Clause 4, Article 5 of this Circular);

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e/ Imports which are assets of administrative and non-business agencies and units; goods on the list of those manufactured in bordering countries and allowed to be imported by mode of sale/purchase or exchange among border residents which are sold, purchased or exchanged by border residents within allowable duty-free quotas; personal effects within allowable duty-free luggage quotas;

f/ Gifts or presents; humanitarian aids; not-for-sale samples; goods of Vietnam-based diplomatic representative missions and international organizations and their staffs; temporarily imported or exported goods of individuals which are eligible for duty exemption; movable assets of organizations and individuals.

Dossiers and documents required for these cases are specified in the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 194/2010/TT-BTC of December 6, 2010, guiding customs procedures, inspection and supervision; import duty and export duty and tax administration of imports and exports (Circular No. 194/2010/TT-BTC); Joint Circular No. 01/2008/TTLT-BCT-BTC- BGTVT-BNN&PTNN-BYT-NHNN of January 31, 2008, of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Health and the State Bank of Vietnam, guiding the Prime Minister’s Decision No.254/2006/QD-TTG of November 7, 2006, on management of border trading activities with bordering countries, and relevant documents.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Circular applies to:

1. Organizations and individuals that directly import goods or trade in, sell, buy or transport imports (below referred to as import dealers).

2. Tax agencies, market control agencies, public security agencies, customs agencies and persons competent to inspect and handle violations committed by import dealers.

3. Other organizations and individuals related to the implementation of regulations on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market.

Article 3. Invoices and documents

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2. Import dealers shall mange, use and preserve invoices and documents according to law.

Article 4. Time limits for production of invoices and documents

1. For goods mentioned below, import dealers shall produce invoices and documents to prove their lawfulness upon request of inspection agencies; if import dealers have no representative personally escorting goods, they shall authorize carriers or vehicle drivers to produce these invoices and documents:

a/ Imports which are being transported en route, including imports other than those specified in Clause 2 of this Article which are preserved at warehouses, storing yards or other places;

b/ Imports which are on the list of those subject to conditional import under relevant laws.

2. For imports which are displayed for sale or preserved at warehouses or storing yards owned or used by import dealers (provided that warehouse or yard dealers have made business registration with competent agencies), import dealers shall produce invoices and documents to prove the lawfulness of these goods within 72 hours after goods are inspected.

If import dealers fail to produce invoices and documents to prove the lawfulness of goods at the time of inspection, inspection agencies shall temporarily seize goods to verify their lawfulness.

In case the last hour of the 72-hour time limit from the time of inspection falls on a holiday specified in the Labor Code, dossiers shall be produced on the working day following the holiday and inspection agencies shall clearly write the time and place for dossier production on inspection records.

3. In case inspection agencies have grounds to believe that goods are of unlawful origin though import dealers have produced adequate dossiers to prove their lawfulness, they shall check dossiers and verify the origin of these goods for handling according to law.

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SPECIFIC GUIDANCE

Article 5. Invoices and documents required for imports transported from customs clearance places into the inland

1. For goods imported directly by import dealers and transported to the inland, the following invoices and documents are required:

a/ The original customs declaration containing the certification of completion of customs procedures or the e-customs declaration containing the certification of completion of e-customs procedures made according to the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 222/2009/TT-BTC of November 25, 2009, guiding the pilot application of e-customs procedures (Circular No. 222/2009/TT-BTC), in case import dealers make e-customs declaration;

b/ The customs declaration containing the customs agency’s approval as guided in Article 25 of Circular No. 194/2010/TT-BTC, for cases of receiving back goods for preservation when customs procedures have not yet been completed or changing places of carrying out customs procedures. Cases of making e-customs declarations comply with Articles 23 and 24 of Circular No. 222/2009/TT-BTC;

c/ A copy of the import customs declaration and an internal transfer order issued by the import dealer, clearly stating the quantity and category of transported goods under such import customs declaration (showing the serial and date of issue of the declaration), places of arrival and departure, the vehicle carrying goods and its number plate, for cases in which import dealers are eligible for single registration of multiple customs declarations under Clause 6, Article 9 of the Government’s Decree No. 154/2005/ND-CP of December 15, 2005, detailing a number of articles of the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection and supervision, or imports must be transported for several times or by several vehicles.

2. Goods exchanged, sold or purchased by border residents in excess of allowable duty-free quotas; goods outside the list of those manufactured in bordering countries and allowed to be imported by mode of goods sale, purchase and exchange among border residents; and luggage in excess of allowable duty-free luggage quotas of persons on entry, are subject to customs declaration and comply with tax laws and import management policies. When transporting these goods into the inland, original customs declarations containing the certification of completion of customs procedures and tax payment documents are required.

3. For goods traded across the border, including goods imported via the border; goods brought into border markets, border-gate markets or markets in border-gate economic zones, import goods declarations containing the customs agency’s certification of completion of customs procedures are required.

4. For products, raw materials or auxiliary materials which are imported for the performance of processing contracts signed with foreign traders or contracts on the import of raw materials for export production but later permitted for sale in the Vietnamese market, the following invoices and documents are required:

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b/ A copy of the import customs declaration and the ex-warehousing-cum- internal transportation bill or invoice according to regulations, for goods transported, preserved at warehouses or displayed for sale at dependent cost-accounting stores of an export producer or processor, which are located in provinces or centrally run cities other than the locality in which the producer or processor is based, or independent cost-accounting stores located in the province or centrally run city in which the producer or processor is based;

c/ Invoices made out according to regulations, for goods sold by export producers or processors to others traders.

5. In addition to documents required for each specific case, imports must be stuck with import stamps if so prescribed by the State.

6. In addition to invoices and documents required for imports, imports on the list of those subject to conditional import must be accompanied with papers prescribed by competent agencies. In case these original papers have been submitted to customs agencies, their true copies certified by the import dealers are required.

Article 6. Invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the domestic market

1. For goods displayed for sale at stores or preserved at warehouses, which were imported directly by import dealers, ex-warehousing-cum-internal transportation bills (for dependent cost-accounting stores which are located in the province or centrally run city in which the import dealer is located), ex-warehousing-cum-internal transportation bills or invoices (for independent cost-accounting stores or dependent cost-accounting stores in provinces or cities other than the locality in which the import dealer is based) or warehousing bills (for goods preserved in warehouses) are required.

2. For goods transported, displayed for sale at stores or preserved at warehouses, which were not imported directly by import dealers, there must be invoices and documents issued by goods sellers as guided in Section IV, Part B of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 129/2008/TT- BTC of December 26, 2008, guiding the Government’s Decree No.123/2008/ND-CP of December 8, 2008, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Value-Added Tax, and Chapter III of the Government’s Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP of May 14, 2010, on goods sale and service provision invoices (Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP).

3. For goods transferred by an import dealer to their dependent costs- accounting establishments such as branches, shops and stores in provinces or centrally run cities other than the locality in which it is based; goods transferred among branches or subsidiaries of the import dealer; goods returned by a subsidiary back to the import dealer; or goods ex-warehoused for display at trade fairs or exhibitions, invoices or ex-warehousing-cum- internal transportation bills and internal transfer orders are required.

4. For imports purchased from agencies selling confiscated goods, sale invoices indicating the quantity, category and value of each goods item, issued by these agencies, are required.

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6. For goods being duty-free gifts or presents; goods on the list of those manufactured in bordering countries and permitted to be imported by mode of goods sale/purchase or exchange among border residents, which are exchanged by border residents within allowable duty-free quotas; goods within allowable duty-free luggage quotas; duty-free goods sold in border- gate economic zones which are transported, displayed for sale or preserved at warehouses outside border-gate economic zones as their use purposes have been changed or they have been sold, import dealers shall produce documents to prove that taxes have been declared and paid for these goods.

Chapter III

HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 7. Handling of administrative violations

Import dealers that violate provisions on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market in Chapter II of this Circular but their violations are not serious enough for penal liability examination shall be administratively sanctioned as follows:

1. Import dealers shall be sanctioned under government decrees on sanctioning of administrative violations in tobacco, liquor and beer trading and their imports shall be considered smuggled goods when:

a/ They deal in goods banned from trading; goods banned from import; or goods temporarily suspended from import;

b/ They deal in imports for which import stamps are required, which are not stuck with import stamps or are stuck with counterfeit or used import stamps;

c/ They deal in imports on the list of those subject to conditional import specified in Clause 6, Article 5, Chapter II of this Circular without an import permit or fail to obtain papers for those goods from a competent agency according to regulations;

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documents or with invoices or documents which, after being investigated and verified by competent agencies, are determined to be invalid. Invalid invoices are invoices used in the cases specified in Clauses 8 and 9, Article 3, Chapter I of Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP;

e/ Their imports are being transported; displayed for sale; preserved at warehouses or storing yards but they fail to produce invoices and documents to prove their lawfulness within the time limit specified in Article 4 of this Circular.

2. Import dealers that violate regulations on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market other than those prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall be sanctioned under decrees on sanctioning of administrative violations in relevant sectors.

3. In case an import dealer has no invoices or documents for imports circulated in the market as required in Chapter II of this Circular or has insufficient invoices and document because these invoices and documents were burnt, lost or damaged but it/he/she has made declaration under

Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP and guiding documents and can prove the lawfulness of their imports (by duplicating these invoices and documents from those preserved at issuing agencies), it/he/she shall be sanctioned under Decree No. 51/2010/ND-CP and subject to retrospective collection of tax according to tax laws.

Article 8. Competence to sanction administrative violations

1. The competence to impose administrative sanctions on violations of regulations on invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market complies with the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and government decrees on sanctioning of administrative violations in the fields of commerce, tax or customs.

Dossiers of cases falling beyond or outside the sanctioning competence of an agency shall be forwarded to its superior agency or a competent agency for handling. Dossier-forwarding agencies shall carry out prescribed procedures and hand over temporarily seized or confiscated evidence and means (if any) to competent agencies and, concurrently, notify such to violators. After issuing decisions to handle violations, competent agencies shall notify the handling results to dossier-forwarding agencies.

2. In case functional agencies detect that imports currently under customs inspection and supervision are smuggled goods, they shall make records of the violations and transfer the cases to customs agencies for handling under the customs law; in case smuggled goods are detected outside the operation areas of customs agencies, functional agencies shall handle the cases according to their competence or transfer the cases to competent agencies for handling.

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ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. Responsibilities of agencies in charge of inspecting and handling violations

1. Tax agencies, market control agencies, public security agencies, customs agencies and competent units, when inspecting or handling violations committed by import dealers, shall comply with relevant laws.

2. When inspecting goods circulated in the market, state agencies and competent persons on-duty shall make records clearly stating inspection contents and violations detected through inspection (if any); and make records of administrative violations, if detecting violations.

3. Inspection forces shall comply with regulations on inspection and control of goods circulated in the market and take responsibility before law for their operations.

Article 10. Responsibilities and rights of import dealers

1. Import dealers shall properly comply with regulations on invoices and documents required for goods circulated in the market in this Circular and other relevant laws.

2. Import dealers may complain, denounce or initiate administrative lawsuits against decisions on handling of administrative violations. Individuals and organizations may denounce illegal acts committed by persons competent to handle violations. The order, procedures and competence to settle complaints and denunciations or to initiate administrative lawsuits comply with the law on complaints, denunciations and initiation of administrative cases.

Pending the settlement of their complaints and denunciations or issuance of judgments by courts, import dealers shall still comply with decisions of competent agencies.

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Agencies, organizations and individuals shall:

1. Provide information relating to imports specified in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular which are being inspected.

2. Collaborate with functional agencies and inspection forces in inspecting and handling violations in the import of goods and trading of imports.

Article 12. Implementation provisions

This Circular takes effect on July 1, 2011, and replaces Joint Circular No.

12/2007/TTLT-BTC-BTM-BCA of February 2, 2007, of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Public Security, guiding the invoices and documents required for imports circulated in the market.

Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Public Security for consideration, amendment and supplementation.-

FOR THE MINISTER OF FINANCE
DEPUTY MINISTER




Do Hoang Anh Tuan

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FOR THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SECURITY
DEPUTY MINISTER




Pham Quy Ngo