What are regulations on duty-free goods buyers and buying conditions in Vietnam?

Where are duty-free shops located in Vietnam?

According to Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 68/2016/ND-CP (amended by Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree 67/2020/ND-CP), duty-free shops can be located at the following places:

- In the isolation area of international land border gates, international railway stations, type 1 seaports; in the isolation and restricted areas of international civilian airports;

- Within the inland area;

- On aircraft flying international flights of airlines established and operating under Vietnamese law;

- Duty-free warehouses located alongside the duty-free shops or within isolation, restricted areas, border gate areas, or within customs operational areas outside the border gates as stipulated in Article 8 of Decree 01/2015/ND-CP and Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree 12/2018/ND-CP.

What are regulations on duty-free goods buyers and buying conditions in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are regulations on duty-free goods buyers and buying conditions in Vietnam?

According to Article 3 of Decree 100/2020/ND-CP, the duty-free goods buyers and buying conditions include:

- Persons exiting, transiting after completing the exit, transit procedures, passengers on international flights departing from Vietnam or persons waiting to exit can purchase duty-free goods:

+ Persons exiting or transiting through international land border gates; international railway stations, type 1 seaport border gates, international civilian airports can purchase duty-free goods at stores located in isolation areas;

+ Persons waiting to exit can purchase duty-free goods at inland stores. Goods are collected at the delivery points within the isolation area at the international border gate where passengers are exiting;

+ Tourists who are foreigners traveling in groups by sea, holding passports or international travel documents, can buy duty-free goods at type 1 seaport border gates or inland shops. In the case of purchasing inland, tourists collect goods at the delivery points within the isolation area at the type 1 seaport border gate where they exit;

+ Beyond the goods collection points regulated in Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 100/2020/ND-CP, shoppers stated at points a, b, c of Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 100/2020/ND-CP (except for shoppers on international flights departing from Vietnam) can collect goods abroad.

- Passengers on international flights departing from Vietnam can purchase duty-free goods on the departing aircraft. Passengers on international flights arriving in Vietnam can buy duty-free goods on the aircraft headed to Vietnam.

- Persons entering can buy duty-free goods at stores located within the restricted area of an international civilian airport immediately after completing entry procedures; they cannot purchase duty-free goods after leaving the restricted area at an international civilian airport.

- Subjects entitled to privileges, exemptions in Vietnam, can purchase duty-free goods at inland stores. When purchasing goods for an organization, they must present a tax-free limit book. When purchasing goods for an individual, a tax-free limit book along with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs ID card or passport must be presented.

- Buyers are crew members working on internationally routed sea vessels (including foreign-flagged and Vietnamese-flagged sea vessels on international routes) who can purchase duty-free goods at type 1 seaports or inland stores to meet the personal needs or general living needs of crew members during the docking time in Vietnamese ports and for use on the vessel beyond Vietnam's territorial waters after the ship departs:

+ When buying duty-free goods for personal crew usage, the crew member must present a passport or crew shore pass;

+ When buying for general crew living needs during the docking time at a Vietnamese port, the captain or vessel representative must place an order with a list of crew members including passport numbers, clearly stating vessel number, entry date in the order;

+ For goods intended for crew needs on the next journey beyond Vietnam's territorial waters, the captain or vessel representative must place an order, stating vessel number, entry date, with a list of crew members and passport information. Goods must be stored aboard the vessel, sealed, confirmed, and supervised by customs until the vessel departs.

What are the procedures for selling duty-free goods to persons entering Vietnam via border checkpoints at international airports?

Based on Article 14 of Decree 100/2020/ND-CP, procedures for selling duty-free goods to persons entering at international airport checkpoints are as follows:

(1) Sales staff will:

- Request that customers present their passport or laissez-passer;

- Input data into the company's software including customer information and purchased goods details.

Customer information includes: Full name as per passport or laissez-passer; passport or laissez-passer number; nationality; flight number, flight date as recorded on the boarding pass for air exit or transit, or the departure date of the vehicle for rail, sea exit or transit.

Only for sales to exited or transited customers through international civilian airports, update customer information through barcode scanning on boarding passes.

Information about goods includes: Product name, unit recorded accurately as declared on the import declaration form; quantity, and value of each item;

- Submit the information specified in point b of this clause to the electronic data processing system. If the system encounters issues, within 24 hours post-system recovery, the company must submit the information to the electronic data processing system;

- Issue a sales invoice (including any promotional items, if applicable) in accordance with regulations;

- Store sales invoices according to the day's sales (if the sales invoices are collected as rolls, they must be stored as rolls).

If customers purchase goods exceeding the duty-free limit as prescribed, the duty-free business must issue 02 Notification Forms per Model No. 01/PTBHVĐM Appendix II attached to this Decree to notify customs at the entry point (both paper and electronic data submissions).

Receive and store 01 Notification Form signed and sealed officially by the official at the entry customs. Tobacco products are not allowed to be sold beyond the duty-free limit.

(2) Persons purchasing duty-free goods exceeding the exemption limit must: Declare, pay taxes, and comply with relevant import regulations regarding duty-free goods over the exemption limit with customs authorities and submit the related documents as prescribed by law.

(3) The Customs Sub-department managing the duty-free shop and warehouse shall:

Immediately after the recovery of the electronic data processing system, the Customs Sub-department managing the duty-free shop and warehouse is responsible for notifying (in writing, email, phone, fax, etc.) duty-free business entities about the system's recovery.

Based on risk management and signs of legal violation, the Customs Sub-department managing the duty-free shop and warehouse checks duty-free sales through the enterprise's software system, electronic data processing system, surveillance cameras, or by directly inspecting goods at the duty-free shop, warehouse.

Collect taxes and file copies of the documents prescribed in Clause 2, Article 14 of Decree 100/2020/ND-CP.