When shall international express delivery service providers pay import duty in Vietnam?

When shall international express delivery service providers pay import duty in Vietnam?

Based on Article 3 of the Law on export and import duties 2016 as follows:

Taxpayers

1. Owners of exported, imported goods.

2. Organizations entrusted with exporting, importing goods.

3. Individuals exiting or entering Vietnam with exported, imported goods, sending or receiving goods through the Vietnamese border.

4. Persons authorized to guarantee and pay tax on behalf of taxpayers, including:

a) Customs procedure agents authorized by taxpayers to pay export, import duty;

b) Enterprises providing postal services, international express delivery services that pay tax on behalf of taxpayers;

c) Credit institutions or other organizations operating under the Law on Credit Institutions in the case of guaranteeing and paying tax on behalf of taxpayers;

d) Individuals authorized by the goods owner in cases where goods are gifts, presents of individuals, luggage sent before or after the trip of individuals exiting, entering;

đ) Branches of enterprises authorized to pay tax on behalf of enterprises;

e) Others authorized to pay tax on behalf of taxpayers as per legal provisions.

5. Individuals purchasing, transporting goods within the tax exemption limit for border residents but selling these in the domestic market, and foreign traders permitted to trade exported, imported goods at border markets as per legal provisions.

6. Persons with exported, imported goods exempt from tax but later falling under taxable categories as per legal provisions.

7. Other cases as per legal provisions.

Therefore, if international express delivery service providers fall into any of the above cases, they must pay import duty. Additionally, in instances where international express delivery services have agreements and pay tax on behalf of taxpayers, they are still required to fulfill this tax obligation.

When shall international express delivery service providers pay import duty in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Shall goods subject to import duty be paid before customs clearance in Vietnam?

Based on Article 9 of the Law on export and import duties 2016 as follows:

Tax Payment Deadline

1. Exported, imported goods subject to tax must be paid before customs clearance or goods release as prescribed by Customs Law, except as stated in clause 2 of this Article.

In cases where credit institutions guarantee the tax amount payable, goods can be cleared or released, but late payment fees must be paid as per the Tax Management Law from the clearance or release date to the tax payment date. The maximum guarantee period is 30 days from the date of customs declaration registration.

If the credit institution guarantee ends and the taxpayer has not paid tax and late payment fees, the guarantor must promptly pay all due taxes and late fees for the taxpayer.

2. Taxpayers prioritized as per Customs Law may settle taxes for cleared or released customs declarations by the tenth day of the following month at the latest. If taxes are not paid by this deadline, the total tax debt and late payment fees must be paid per Tax Management Law.

Thus, generally, imported goods subject to tax must pay taxes before customs clearance or goods release, except as specified in clause 2 above. Therefore, not all cases require tax payments before customs clearance according to regulations.

What is the basis for calculating export, import duties on goods applying the proportional tax calculation method in Vietnam?

Based on Article 5 of the Law on export and import duties 2016 regarding the basis for calculating export, import duties on goods applying the proportional tax calculation method as follows:

- The amount of export, import duty is determined based on the taxable value and tax rate percentage (%) of each item at the time of tax calculation.

- The export duty rate is specifically stipulated for each item in the export tariff.

If goods are exported to a country, group of countries, or territory with preferential tax agreements with Vietnam, these agreements apply.

- import duty rates include preferential, specially preferential, and standard rates applicable as follows:

+ Preferential tax rates apply to imported goods originating from countries, group of countries, or territories granting Most Favored Nation treatment in trade relations with Vietnam; goods from non-tax zones imported into the domestic market that meet origin conditions from countries, group of countries, or territories granting Most Favored Nation treatment in trade with Vietnam;

+ Specially preferential tax rates apply to imported goods originating from countries, group of countries, or territories having special preferential import duty agreements in trade relations with Vietnam; goods from non-tax zones imported into the domestic market that meet origin conditions from countries, group of countries, or territories with special preferential import duty agreements in trade with Vietnam;

+ Standard tax rates apply to imported goods not falling under the cases outlined in point a and point b of this clause. The standard tax rate is set at 150% of the preferential tax rate for each corresponding item. If the preferential tax rate is 0%, the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam shall determine the application of the standard tax rate based on the provisions of Article 10 of this Law.