When must proof of origin for imports be submitted in Vietnam?

Hello, LAwnet would like to answer as follows:

1. When must proof of origin for imports be submitted in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Article 10 of Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC, the proof of origin must be submitted to the customs authority in the following cases:

(1) The customs declarant wishes to claim special preferential tariff treatment for a good imported from a country, group of countries or territory that has entered into an agreement on preferential tariff treatment in trade relation with Vietnam or a good which is imported from a free trade zone into the domestic market and qualifies as originating good of a country, group of countries or territory that has entered into an agreement on preferential tariff treatment in trade relation with Vietnam;

(2) The proof of origin of a good is required according to the announcement of Vietnam’s competent authorities to prove that the good is imported from a country, group of countries or territory that is not included in the Consolidated List enclosed with the Resolution of the United Nations Security Council;

(3) The proof of origin is required for a good in the list in Appendix V enclosed herewith or according to the announcement of the relevant Ministry or regulatory authority to prove that the good is not imported from countries that pose a risk of causing harm to social safety, community health or environmental hygiene;

List of goods required proof of origin:Download

(4) The imported good is included in the Minister of Industry and Trade’s list of goods subject to anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty, safeguard measures, tariff quotas, measures against evasion of trade remedies or limits on quantity of goods.

Note:

- The customs authority shall not request the customs declarant to submit the proof of origin if it is exempted under an international convention to which Vietnam is a signatory.

+ If the customs declarant wishes to submit the proof of origin in a case other than those specified in Clause 1 of Article 10 of Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC when following customs procedures, the provisions of Article 11 ofCircular 33/2023/TT-BTC shall apply.

2. Forms of proof of origin in Vietnam

According to Clause 4, Article 10 of Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC, forms of proof of origin include:

- For a good specified in Point (1), either the certificate of origin (C/O) or origin declaration shall be submitted to the customs authority in accordance with the provisions of the relevant Free Trade Agreement (FTA);

- For a good specified in Points (2), (3) and (4), the customs declarant shall submit the proof of origin as prescribed in Point a of this Clause or non-preferential proof of origin which is issued by a competent authority or organization of the exporting country and meets minimum data requirements set forth in Clause 3 Article 15 of this Circular, specifically:

+ Exporter;

+ Importer;

+ Means of transport;

+ Description and HS code of goods;

+ Quantity, weight or volume of goods;

+ Country, group of countries or territory of origin;

+ Date of issuance of the C/O;

+ Signature of authorized signatory and C/O issuing body.

In case an electronic C/O is issued, the customs authority shall check its validity on the website or adopting another method as specified on the C/O.

Thus, according to the above regulations, cases where customs declarants must submit documents certifying the origin of imported goods include:

(1) To enjoy special preferential tax rates under free trade agreements.

(2) At the request of the competent authority to prove that it does not originate from embargoed countries.

(3) For certain goods according to the List specified in Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC or as notified by ministries and branches.

(4) For goods subject to trade defense measures.

- Regarding the form of certificate of origin:

+ For case (1): Preferential certificate of origin or self-certification.

+ For cases (2), (3) and (4): Non-preferential certificate of origin or self-certification meets the minimum information as prescribed.

- In case of exemption from submitting documents of origin according to international treaties, submission is not required.

3. What are the regulations on declaration of proof of origin for imports in Vietnam?

According to Article 11 of Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC, regulations on how to declare documents certifying the origin of imported goods are as follows:

- If a proof of origin is submitted when following customs procedures, the customs declarant shall declare the reference number and issue date of C/O or number of the exporter eligible to make out an origin declaration (REX number under EVFTA Agreement, EORI number under UKVFTA Agreement, CE number under ATIGA or RCEP Agreement) in the “Notes” box of Form No. 02 in Appendix II or the “Attached documents” box of Form No. HQ/2015/XK in Appendix IV enclosed with the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC.

Form No. HQ/2015/XK:Download

+ If the relevant FTA contains no provisions on reference number and/or the number of the exporter eligible to make out an origin declaration is not available, the customs declarant shall declare the name, number, issue date and name of the organization or the exporter issuing the proof of origin or making out the origin declaration and name of the relevant FTA.

- If an imported good is supported by a notice of origin pre-determination results which is issued by the General Department of Vietnam Customs and still valid according to Article 24 of the Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP amended by Clause 11, Article 1 of Decree 59/2018/ND-CP, the customs declarant shall declare the number and issue date of that notice in the “Notes” box of the electronic customs declaration or the “Attached documents” box of the physical customs declaration.

- Where the quantity of imported good is monitored on a C/O, the customs declarant shall declare the issue date and issuing body of the import quantity monitoring sheet in the “Notes” box of the electronic customs declaration or the “Attached documents” box of the physical customs declaration.

- The customs declarant shall be allowed to make additional declaration of information on the proof of origin if such information is not provided or has been incorrectly provided when following customs procedures according to Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of Article 11, Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC. Additional declaration shall be made according to Clause 9 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC.

Thus, according to the above regulations, the customs declarant needs to fully declare information about the certificate of origin of imported goods corresponding to each case on the customs declaration as follows:

- If submitting documents at the time of customs clearance: declare the reference number, date of certificate issuance or code of exporter eligible to issue self-certification documents on the customs declaration.

- If the goods have been issued a pre-determined document of origin: declare the serial number and date of issuance of that document on the customs declaration.

- If applying a deduction to the certificate: declare the date of issue and the unit that issued the deduction monitoring slip on the customs declaration.

- It is allowed to declare additional information on the certificate of origin if the previous declaration was incorrect or not declared at all.

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