Vietnam: Shall the customs clearance be granted without paying duties on exports and imports?

Vietnam: Shall the customs clearance be granted without paying duties on exports and imports?

Pursuant to Article 9 of the Export-Import Tax Law 2016 which stipulates the tax payment deadlines for exports and imports as follows:

Tax Payment Deadline

1. Exports and imports subject to tax must pay taxes before customs clearance or release of goods as regulated by the Customs Law, except as provided in Clause 2 of this Article.

In cases where the tax payment is guaranteed by a credit institution, the goods can be cleared or released, but late payment interest must be paid in accordance with the Tax Administration Law from the date of clearance or release until the tax is paid. The maximum guarantee period is 30 days from the date of customs declaration registration.

In cases where the tax payment is guaranteed by a credit institution but the taxpayer fails to pay the tax and late payment interest by the end of the guarantee period, the guaranteeing institution shall be responsible for paying the full tax and late payment interest on behalf of the taxpayer.

2. Taxpayers granted preferential policies under the Customs Law shall pay taxes for customs declarations of cleared or released goods within the month no later than the 10th day of the following month. If the tax is not paid by the deadline, the taxpayer must pay the full tax debt and late payment interest in accordance with the Tax Administration Law.

Additionally, according to Article 37 of the Customs Law 2014, customs clearance of exports and imports is stipulated as follows:

Customs Clearance of Goods

1. Goods are cleared after completing customs procedures.

2. If the customs declarer has completed customs procedures but has not paid or underpaid the tax due within the prescribed period, the goods will be cleared if a credit institution guarantees the tax payment or if the tax payment deadline is applied as per the tax law.

3. If the cargo owner is subject to a monetary administrative penalty for customs violations and the goods are allowed to be exported or imported, the goods can be cleared upon payment of the fine or if a credit institution guarantees the amount payable to enforce the penalty decision by customs or other competent authorities.

4. For goods requiring inspection, analysis, and evaluation to determine export-import conditions, customs clearance only occurs after confirming export-import eligibility based on inspection, analysis, and evaluation results or notifications of exemption from inspection by specialized inspection authorities in accordance with the law.

5. Urgent goods; specialized goods for security, defense; diplomatic and consular bags; luggage of privileged and immunized agencies, organizations, and individuals shall be cleared in accordance with Articles 50 and 57 of this Law.

Thus, exports and imports subject to taxes that are unpaid cannot be cleared (the tax payment must be completed before clearance).

Except in cases where a credit institution guarantees the tax amount, but the obligation must still be fulfilled within the maximum guarantee period of 30 days from the date of customs declaration registration.

Vietnam: Shall the customs clearance be granted without paying duties on exports and imports? (Image from the Internet)

What are regulations on handling of late tax payment for exports and imports in Vietnam?

Based on Point c, Clause 3, Article 47 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC which stipulates:

Order of Payment for Taxes, Late Payment Interests, and Fines

...

3. The State Treasury and customs authorities coordinate to exchange information on tax payments, late payment interests, and fines to determine and follow the correct payment order. Specifically:

...

c) If taxpayers pay taxes, late payment interests, and fines not in the prescribed order, customs authorities shall issue an adjustment order for the collected taxes and send it to the State Treasury for adjustment. Concurrently, notify the taxpayer about the adjusted amounts of taxes, late payment interests, and fines; or require the taxpayer to pay any remaining taxes, late payment interests, and fines according to the correct payment order. Export-import goods in new customs declarations can only be cleared when there are no overdue unpaid taxes, late payment interests, and fines;

Thus, if the taxpayer for exports and imports is late in paying taxes, customs authorities handle it by issuing an adjustment order for the collected taxes, sending it to the State Treasury for adjustment, and notifying the taxpayer of the adjusted amounts of taxes, late payment interests, and fines.

Alternatively, customs authorities may require the taxpayer to pay all outstanding taxes, late payment interests, and fines in the correct order.

How to prepare customs documents for taxable exports and imports in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 24 of the Customs Law 2014 which stipulates customs documents requirements as follows:

[1] Customs declaration or documents substituting for the customs declaration;

[2] Relevant documents.

- Depending on the case, the customs declarer may have to submit or present the purchase contract, commercial invoice, transportation documents, certificate of origin, export/import license, notification of specialized inspection results or exemption, and other documents related to the goods as required by relevant laws.

- Documents in the customs dossier can be paper documents or electronic documents. Electronic documents must ensure integrity and format as regulated by the law on electronic transactions.

- Customs dossiers are submitted and presented to customs authorities at the designated customs office.

In cases where the national single-window mechanism is applied, specialized state management agencies send export/import licenses, and notification of specialized inspection results or exemptions in electronic form via the integrated information system.

- The Minister of Finance prescribes the customs declaration form, the use of customs declarations and documents substituting for customs declarations, and the cases requiring the submission or presentation of relevant documents [1] and [2].