The inspection of customs dossier for import of waste into Vietnam

The inspection of customs dossier for import of waste into Vietnam (Image from the Internet)

The inspection of customs dossier for import of waste is specified in Official Dispatch 6644/TCHQ-GSQL 2018 guiding the management of import of waste into Vietnam issued by the General Department of Vietnam Customs. To be specific:

Inspection of customs dossier:

Before checking the customs dossier provided by the customs declarant, the customs officer who is assigned to manage the account for access to the waste management software shall check and update information about the declaration of waste import according to the Appendix providing instructions for use of the waste management software issued together with this Official Dispatch on such software to check the remaining quantity permitted for import.

The customs dossier on imported waste shall comply with provisions of the Customs Law, Decree No.38/2015/ND-CP, Circular No.39/2018/TT-BTC, Circular No.08/2018/TT-BTNMT and Circular No.09/2018/TT-BTNMT and shall include the following information: 

- Import declaration;

- A copy of the commercial invoice;

- A copy of the bill of lading;

- A true certified copy of the certificate of payment of deposit for waste import;

- A copy of the authorization contract (in case of import under authorization);

- The original of the notice of results of state inspection of imported waste quality (this paper shall be provided after being granted by the Department of Resources and Environment of the place where the production facility or factory using waste is located.)

The customs officer shall collate the information provided in the customs declaration with that in documents provided in the customs dossier submitted on the e-system by the importer and verify the validity of the following papers: the certificate of payment of deposit for waste import and notice of results of state inspection of imported waste quality issued by the Department of Resources and Environment of the place where the production facility or factory using waste is located. Scope of inspection:

a) Verifying information about the certificate of environment safety:

- According to the number of the certificate of environment safety provided in the customs declaration, the customs officers shall collate such information with the information provided on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and national single-window system, if available then continue to carry out the next procedure; If the information about the certificate of environment safety is not available on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment or national single-window system, such customs officer must conduct a verification under the guidance provided in Clause 4 of Official Dispatch No.13151/BTC-TCHQ dated October 26, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance as a basis for carrying out the following procedure and send a report to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (through the Customs Management and Supervision Department) for consideration and information update on the waste management software.

- Collate the following information: name of the organization/individual using waste for production purpose/name of the importer of waste under the authorization contract; name and address of the facility using waste for production purpose/address of waste storage warehouse; name of waste, HS code and weight of waste permitted for import and effective period of the certificate of environment safety.

- In case of import under the authorization contract, check the copy of the authorization contract signed with the organization/individual using waste for production purpose that is granted the certificate of environment safety. Customs authorities no longer carry out customs procedures for importers of waste under authorization contracts that are granted the certificate of environment safety from September 17, 2018.

b) Checking the certificate of import deposit for waste under regulations specified in Article 58 and 59 of Decree No.38/2015/ND-CP dated April 24, 2015 of the Government on waste management:

- The certificate of payment of deposit for waste import shall be granted by Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund or the commercial bank at which the import deposit for waste is made and must be the true certified copy.

- The deposit shall be made 15 working days before the procedures for customs clearance of imported waste is adopted.

- The deposit shall comply with the following regulations:

+ For import volume less than 500 tonnes of iron or steel waste, the deposit shall be equal to 10% of total value of the shipment;

+ For import volume of from 500 to less than 1000 tonnes of iron or steel waste, the deposit shall be equal to 15% of total value of the shipment;

+ For import volume of at least 1.000 tonnes of iron or steel waste, the deposit shall be equal to 20% of total value of the shipment;

+ For import volume of less than 100 tonnes of paper waste and plastic waste, the deposit shall be equal to 15% of total value of the shipment;

+ For import volume of from 100 to less than 500 tonnes of paper and plastic waste, the deposit shall be equal to 18% of total value of the shipment;

+ For import volume of at least 500 tonnes of paper and plastic waste, the deposit shall be equal to 20% of total value of the shipment;

+ For types of waste other than the aforesaid waste, the deposit shall be equal to 10% of total value of the shipment.

c) Collate the data (quantity and HS code) on waste import provided in the customs dossier (customs declaration and relevant documents) with the information provided in the certificate of environment safety, certificate of payment of deposit for waste import and the notice of the result of state inspection of imported waste quality.

d) Checking the notice of results of state inspection of imported waste quality:

According to the notice of results of state inspection of imported waste quality issued by the Department of Resources and Environment of the area where the production facility or factory using waste is located uploaded to the national single-window system or the original copy provided by the customs declarant, the customs officer shall collate the information provided in aforementioned announcement with that in the customs declaration, customs dossier and the result of physical inspection provided by the customs authority as the basis for clearance decision.

dd) Handling dossier inspection results:

- If the customs dossier satisfies the requirements, the customs procedure shall be carried on as regulated.

- The certificate of environment safety shall be rejected if it has expired (more than 2 years from the issuance date for those granted before October 01, 2018 under regulations in Circular No.41/2015/TT-BTNMT or more than 3 years from the issuance date for those granted from October 01, 2018 onwards as regulated in Circular No.03/2018/TT-BTNMT) by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- If no certificate of environment safety is available or such certificate is expired or has no remaining quantity for import, the customs authority shall not carry out the customs procedure for the customs declaration of waste import provided by the custom declarant and shall ask for re-export of goods and take actions under regulations of laws. The goods shall be re-exported at the checkpoint of import.

- For the case in which the goods quantity provided in the customs declaration exceeds the import quota, the customs declarant is required to amend the customs declaration as regulated and the customs authority shall carry out the customs procedure for the goods quantity within the import quota. The goods quantity that exceeds the import quota shall be re-exported by the customs declarant and handled as per law provisions. The goods shall be re-exported at the checkpoint of import.

- If the deposit is not sufficient as specified in Decree No.38/2015/ND-CP, additional deposit shall be made as regulated.

- The customs clearance procedure shall not be carried out if the deposit is made less than 15 working days. 

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