What are general regulations on enterprises importing alcohol in Vietnam?

What are general regulations on enterprises importing alcohol in Vietnam?

In Article 30 of Decree 105/2017/ND-CP as amended by Clause 22, Article 1 of Decree 17/2020/ND-CP, general provisions on import of alcohol are as follows:

1. The distributor having the license for alcohol distribution shall be entitled to import alcohol and take responsibility for the quality and food safety of imported alcohol. The distributor shall only sell imported semi-finished alcohol to the producer having the license for mass production of alcohol.

2. The producer having the license for mass production of alcohol shall be entitled to import or authorize the import of semi-finished alcohol to produce finished alcohol.

3. Apart from the provision of Article 31 stated herein, imported alcohol shall:

a) have labels specified in accordance with the provision of Article 6 stated herein;

b) comply with regulations of the law on food safety.

4. Alcohol shall only be imported into Vietnam through international checkpoints.

Thus, when you want to trade in foreign alcohol, you must fully meet all the above regulations in Vietnam.

What are regulations on customs procedures for imported alcohol in Vietnam? 

According to Clause 2, Article 16 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC, as amended by Clause 5, Article 1 of Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC on customs documents as follows:

2. A customs dossier of imports consists of:

a) A customs declaration according to form No. 01 in Appendix II hereof.

If a physical customs declaration is made according to Clause 2 Article 25 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, which is amended by Clause 12 Article 1 of Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP, the declarant shall complete and submit 02 original copies of form No. HQ/2015/NK in Appendix IV hereof;

b) Commercial invoices or equivalent documents if the buyer has to pay the seller: 01 photocopy.

If the goods owner buys the goods from a seller in Vietnam and is instructed by the seller to receive goods overseas, the customs authority shall accept the invoice issued by the seller in Vietnam to the goods owner.

The declarant is not required to submit the commercial invoice in the following cases:

b.1) Goods are imported to execute a processing contract with a foreign trader;

b.2) Goods are imported without invoices and the buyer is not required to pay the seller. In this case, the declarant shall declare the customs value in accordance with Circular No. 39/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 of the Minister of Finance.

c) The bill of lading or equivalent transport documents if goods are transported by sea, air, railroad, or multi-modal transport as prescribed by law (unless goods are imported through a land checkpoint, goods traded between a free trade zone and the domestic market, imports carried in the luggage upon entry): 01 photocopy.

With regard to imports serving petroleum exploration and extraction transported on service ships (not commercial ships), the cargo manifest shall be submitted instead of the bill of lading;

c) A statement of imported raw timber (if any) as prescribed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: 01 original copy;

dd) The export license or a document permitting the export issued by a competent authority if required by foreign trade law; The quota-based import license or a notification of tariff quota:

dd.1) If partial shipments are not permitted: 01 original copy;

dd.2) If partial shipments are permitted: 01 original copy for the first consignment;

e) Inspection certificate: 01 original copy.

If applicable law permits submission of photocopies or does not specify whether the original copy or photocopy has to be submitted, the declarant may submit a photocopy.

If the inspection certificate is used multiple times during its effective period, the declarant shall only submit it 01 time to the Sub-department of Customs where procedures for import of the first consignment are followed;

g) The certificate of eligibility to import prescribed by investment law: 01 photocopy while following procedures for import of the first consignment;

h) Value declaration: the declarant shall make the value declaration using the set form and send the electronic declaration to the e-customs system or submit 02 original copies to the customs authority (in case of submission of physical customs declaration). Cases in which a value declaration is required and the value declaration form are provided in Circular No. 39/2015/TT-BTC;

i) Documents certifying goods origins specified in Circulars of the Minister of Finance on determination of origins of exports and imports;

k) A list of machinery and equipment in case of combine machines or machine sets of Chapters 84, 85 and 90 of Vietnam’s nomenclature of exports and imports or unassembled or disassembled machinery and equipment: 01 photocopy with presentation of the original copy for comparison in accordance with Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC in case of partial shipments;

l) Entrustment contract: 01 photocopy if an import license, inspection certificate or certificate of eligibility to import is required for import entrustment as prescribed by investment law and the trustee uses the license or certificate of the trustor;

m) A contract to sell goods to a school or research institute or a contract to supply goods or services that are imported to serve teaching or scientific experiments and apply 5% VAT according to the Law on Value-added tax: 01 photocopy.

The declarant is not required to submit the documents mentioned in Point dd, Point e, Point g and Point i of this Clause if they are sent electronically through the National Single-window Information Portal by the inspecting authority or regulatory authority or through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Single-window Information Portal by a competent authority of the exporting country or through another portal conformable with international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Best Regards!