What is customs debt? What are regulations on assistance in recovery of customs debts in Vietnam?

What is customs debt?

Based on Clause 12, Article 3 of Decree 46/2020/ND-CP, the definition of customs debt is as follows:

Explanation of Terms

In this Decree, the following terms are construed as follows:

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12. Customs debt is the customs tax amount that the customs declarant has not paid into the state budget when the payment deadline specified by law has expired.

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Thus, customs debt can be understood as an amount of money that the customs declarant has not yet paid to the state budget despite the payment deadline having passed as stipulated.

*Note: For this customs debt, responsibilities are outlined in Clause 8, Article 24 of Decree 46/2020/ND-CP as follows:

- The customs declarant is responsible for paying the full amount of customs tax within 10 days from the date the customs authority issues a notice according to the form issued by the Ministry of Finance;

- The guarantor is responsible for paying the full amount of customs tax within 30 days from the date the customs authority issues a notice according to the form issued by the Ministry of Finance if the customs declarant fails to perform or permethods incompletely their tax responsibilities within the stipulated time frame mentioned in point a of this clause.

In addition to having to pay the full amount of customs tax, the customs declarant or the guarantor must also pay late payment fees, fines (if any) as stipulated by the current law;

- If over 90 days from the tax payment deadline specified in point a, point b of this clause, the customs declarant or the guarantor fails to perform their tax obligations, the customs authority will apply enforcement measures to implement tax administrative decisions according to regulations.

What is customs debt? What are regulations on assistance in recovery of customs debts in Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

What are regulations on assistance in recovery of customs debts in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 2, Article 31 of Decree 46/2020/ND-CP, the regulations for assistance in recovery of customs debts are as follows:

* First, the recovery of customs debt will be carried out as follows:

- In cases where the tax amount payable arises as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 30 of this Decree, the customs authority will recalculate the customs tax amount payable according to current regulations;

- The recovery of customs debt is carried out according to the provisions of Clause 7, Clause 8, Article 24; Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 4, Article 31 of Decree 46/2020/ND-CP and tax law.

* Next, the assistance in recovery of customs debts will be carried out in the following cases:

- In case the customs tax has not been recovered or has not been fully recovered, the customs authority of the country where the customs tax arises will request the customs authority of the country participating in the transit journey to support the recovery of customs debt;

- In case the transit person chooses the form of depositing, upon receiving the request from the customs authority where the customs tax arises, the customs authority of the dispatching country is responsible for transferring the deposited amount of the customs declarant to the customs authority of the country where the customs tax arises.

What are the methods and time limit for assistance in recovery of customs debts in Vietnam?

Based on Clauses 3 and 4, Article 31 of Decree 46/2020/ND-CP, the methods and time limit for assistance in recovery of customs debts are as follows:

- Regarding the form of support for recovering customs debt:

The support for debt recovery is carried out in written form or through an electronic system. When there is a request for assistance in recovery of customs debts, the requesting customs authority must provide the requesting customs authority with at least the following information:

+ Name, code of the customs declarant;

+ Transit declaration number, registration date;

+ GRN number;

+ Credit institution, foreign bank branch issuing the guarantee;

+ Tax amount and reason for the arising customs tax;

+ Other information (if necessary).

The provision and confidentiality of information are carried out according to the Tax Administration Law and relevant legal provisions.

- Regarding the time limit for handling requests for assistance in recovery of customs debts:

Within 60 days from the date of receiving the request for assistance, the requested customs authority must notify the requesting customs authority about the following information:

+ The actions taken to recover customs debt and the recovery results (if any);

+ Reasons for not recovering, incomplete recovery, or refusal to support the recovery of customs debt.

- Additionally, the suspension of support for recovering customs debt applies in the following case:

If the customs declarant submits a document, certified by a competent authority, proving that the customs debt is being reviewed in the country where the debt arises, the requested customs authority must temporarily suspend the debt recovery activities and notify the requesting customs authority in writing.