Vietnam: Is it sanctioned to not declare customs for shipments that have arrived at the port for more than 30 days? If so, how much is the penalty?
What rights does a customs declarant have in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 18 of the 2014 Customs Law of Vietnam provides for the rights of customs declarants as follows:
Article 18. Rights and obligations of customs declarants
1. A customs declarant shall have rights to:
a/ Be provided by customs authorities with information about customs declaration for goods, vehicle, guidance on carrying out customs formalities, and laws on customs;
b/ Request customs authorities to predetermine HS codes, origin and customs value of goods when providing sufficient and accurate information to customs authorities;
c/ Preview goods, take samples of the goods under the supervision of customs officials before making customs declaration in order to ensure accurate customs declaration;
d/ Request customs authorities to re-verify goods if they disagree with customs authorities’ decisions provided that such goods have not been granted clearance;
dd/ Use customs documents for customs clearance or good transportation or following related formalities at other competent agencies in accordance with law;
e/ Make complaints and denunciations about illegal acts against customs authorities and customs officials;
g/ Claim compensation for damage caused by customs authorities and customs officials in accordance with the law on State compensation liability.
Vietnam: Is it sanctioned to not declare customs for shipments that have arrived at the port for more than 30 days? If so, how much is the penalty?
What are the obligations of a customs declarant in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 18 of the 2014 Customs Law of Vietnam stipulates the obligations of customs declarants as follows:
Article 18. Rights and obligations of customs declarants
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2. Customs declarants who are owners of goods or vehicle shall have obligations to:
a/ Make customs declarations and follow customs formalities in accordance with this Law;
b/ Provide sufficient and accurate information in order for customs authorities to predetermine HS codes, origin and customs value of goods;
c/ Take legal responsibility for the authenticity of statement declared and documentary evidence submitted; information consistency between dossiers kept at enterprises and dossiers kept at customs authorities;
d/ Follow decisions and requests of customs authorities and customs officials during conducting customs formalities, inspection and supervision of goods and vehicle;
dd/ Keep customs documents records of goods which are granted clearance within 05 years from the day on which the declaration of such goods is register, unless otherwise provided by law; keep accounting books and documentary evidence and other documents related to imported and exported goods which are granted clearance for a time limit in accordance with law; submit related dossiers, information and documents for verification at the request of customs authorities as prescribed in Articles 32, 79 and 80 of this Law;
e/ Dispose manpower and equipment to perform relevant jobs in order for the customs officials verify goods and vehicle;
g/ Pay taxes and fulfill other financial liabilities in accordance with the laws on taxes, charges and fees and other corresponding regulations of laws.
Is it sanctioned to not declare customs for shipments that have arrived at the port for more than 30 days? If so, how much is the penalty in Vietnam?
The time for submitting customs dossiers is specified in Article 25 of the 2014 Customs Law of Vietnam as follows:
- The customs declarations shall be submitted:
a/ After goods are transported to places notified by customs declarants and at least 4 hours before the exit of vehicle regarding to exported goods; , at least 2 hours before the exit of vehicle regarding exported goods delivered by express delivery services;
b/ Before goods arrive at border checkpoints or within 30 days after goods arrive at border checkpoints regarding to imported goods;
c/ As prescribed in Clause 2, Article 69 of this Law.
- Customs declarations are valid for customs formalities within 15 days from the day on which they are registered.
- The time limit for submission of relevant documents in customs documents:
a/ Regarding to e-customs declaration, when customs authorities conduct examination of customs documents and physical inspection of goods, customs declarants shall submit paper documents in customs documents, except documents which are already available in the national single- window communication system;
b/ Regarding to paper customs declarations, customs declarants shall submit relevant documents when registering their customs declarations.
Thus, the shipment has arrived at the port for more than 30 days without the company declaring customs for the shipment, it has violated the customs clearance deadline.
At this time, the enterprise will be administratively sanctioned according to the grounds at Point a, Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree 128/2020/ND-CP for violating regulations on the time limit for customs procedures and tax dossiers as follows:
Article 7. Violations against regulations on time limit for completing customs procedures and submitting tax dossier
1. A fine ranging from VND 500,000 VND to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed for failure to perform any of the following tasks on schedule:
a) Complete, submit, produce the customs dossier or provide information about the customs dossier on schedule, except for the violations specified in Clauses 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article and Point b Clause 3 Article 11 of this Decree;
b) Make an additional declaration when there are changes to the container number, port of loading, checkpoint of export or vehicle carrying goods for export;
c) Re-export the transport vehicle that crosses the border checkpoint to deliver goods.
d) Declare additional information about the customs value behind schedule in the cases where the official prices of the exports or imports are not available or goods for which the payment or goods for which payments and added amounts to the customs value are unknown when the customs declaration is registered.
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Note: The above is a fine for an organization, a fine for an individual equal to 1/2 of the fine for an organization according to Point a, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree (supplemented by Clause 3, Article 2 of Decree 102/2021/ND-CP).
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