Customs Procedures 2019 (Part 6): Detailed Instructions on How to Declare Customs Documents

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I. Principles of Customs Declaration

According to Clause 1, Article 18 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC amended and supplemented by Point b, Clause 7, Article 1 of Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC, the principles of customs declaration are as follows:

1. The customs declarant must fully declare information on the customs declaration form according to the prescribed information criteria and submit relevant documents in the customs dossier to the customs authority through the electronic customs data processing system. The documents in the customs dossier can be in electronic data form or paper documents converted to electronic documents (scanned copies with digital signatures).

In case of paper customs declaration, the customs declarant follows the guidelines in Appendix IV issued with Circular 38 and submits or presents the customs dossier as prescribed in Article 16 of this Circular to the customs authority during customs declaration registration.

In the case of importing materials, supplies for processing, manufacturing for export, and exporting processed, manufactured products for export, the customs declarant must declare the export product code, imported material, and supply code consistent with the actual management and production of the customs declarant in the goods description indicator as guided in Appendix II issued with Circular 38 on the customs declaration form during import and export procedures.

2. Exported and imported goods belonging to different types must be declared on different export and import goods declaration forms corresponding to each type.

3. A customs declaration form is declared for a shipment with one invoice. In cases where customs declaration for shipments with multiple invoices on one customs declaration form is required under Clause 7, Article 25 of Decree 08/2015/ND-CP, the customs declarant prepares a list of commercial invoices for the export and import goods sent with the customs declaration form to the system.

In case of paper customs declaration, the customs declarant must fully declare the number, date, month, year of the invoice, and the total quantity of goods on the customs declaration form. If it is not possible to declare all invoices on the customs declaration form, a detailed summary is attached to the customs declaration.

4. Exported and imported goods exempted from tax, subject to tax exemptions, must declare relevant tax exemption, exemption information.

5. Exported and imported goods eligible for a tax rate reduction must declare both the tax rate before reduction, the percentage of tax reduction, and the document providing for this on the customs declaration form.

6. Exported and imported goods that are means of transport by sea, river, air, railway must be declared and complete customs export procedures before completing exit procedures, except in cases where goods are sold after the means of transport has exited; declare and complete import customs procedures before completing import procedures; vehicles transported by road or carried by other means through the border checkpoint only need to declare and complete export, import customs procedures, not exit and entry procedures.

7. Customs declarants can use inspection and analysis results from qualified organizations under the law to declare related information such as item name, code, quality, type, quantity, and other details for exported and imported goods.

The customs declarant can use previous analysis and classification results for cleared shipments to declare item names, codes for subsequent shipments with the same item name, composition, physical-chemical properties, features, uses, imported from the same manufacturer within three years from the analysis and classification results date; except where legal provisions that form the basis for issuing notification of analysis and classification results for exported and imported goods are amended, supplemented, or replaced.

8. In cases where temporary import, export declaration is carried out on a paper customs declaration form, the customs declaration for re-exported and re-imported goods is also performed on a paper customs declaration form.

9. One bill of lading must be declared on one customs import declaration form. If a bill of lading is declared for multiple customs declaration forms, multiple bills of lading fit on one declaration form, or imported goods do not have a bill of lading, the customs declarant follows the guidance in form No. 01, Appendix II issued with Circular 38.

10. Upon registering an export customs declaration, the customs declarant must declare the container number on the customs declaration form for containerized export goods and the export goods management number as guided in form No. 02, Appendix II issued with Circular 38.

In cases where goods are under multiple export customs declarations of the same owner packed together in a container or shared transport means, the customs declarant must notify the information of shared container goods, shared transport means according to the information criteria specified in form No. 15, Appendix II issued with Circular 38 through the electronic customs data processing system before carrying out procedures to bring goods through the customs supervision area.

11. For export and import goods directly serving national defense and security exempt from customs declaration, practical inspection, the customs declarant submits a request for customs declaration exemption, practical inspection exemption from the Minister of Public Security or the Minister of National Defense to the customs authority at the place of export or import to supervise export and import goods and exempt customs declaration and practical inspection.

12. Export and import goods requiring a license from a specialized management agency must have the license at the time of customs declaration form registration and full information on the license on the customs declaration form as guided in form No. 01 or form No. 02, Appendix II issued with Circular 38.

13. In cases where goods are mistakenly sent, exceeding the contract, the customs declarant carries out additional declarations as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 20 or refuses the goods per Articles 95 and 96 of Circular 38.

14. If the customs declarant's electronic customs declaration system cannot handle electronic customs procedures, the customs declarant notifies the customs sub-department where the customs procedures are expected to be carried out and selects the customs declaration method via customs agency or at the customs authority's office.

Based on the customs declaration method registered by the customs declarant, the customs sub-department where customs procedures are anticipated will guide the customs declarant to perform customs procedures.

15. For goods subject to the notification of the tax exemption list under Clause 1, Article 17 of the Import and Export Tax Law 2016, the project owner must notify the tax exemption list according to the specified information criteria.

Note:

- A customs declaration can declare up to 50 lines of goods; if more than 50 lines of goods, the customs declarant declares on multiple customs declarations. In cases where one shipment has many goods types under the types for export, import for production, processing for export, processing goods for foreign businesses, the customs declarant can consolidate items with the same item code, origin, tax rate.

When consolidating HS codes on the customs declaration form, the invoice value, taxable value, quantity of the HS code consolidated line are the total invoice value, taxable value, and quantity of the consolidated lines; unit price is not declared for the HS code consolidated line.

- If an item has a tax amount exceeding the character limit of the tax amount cell on the customs declaration form, the customs declarant can split it into multiple lines on the customs declaration form; if it cannot be split into multiple lines, customs declaration on a paper form is applied.

In cases where the total tax amount of the customs declaration exceeds the character limit of the total tax amount cell on the customs declaration, the customs declarant splits it into multiple customs declarations.

- If a shipment must be declared on multiple customs declarations or imported goods under many types sharing a bill of lading, invoice, declared on multiple customs declarations under each import type at one customs sub-department, the customs declarant only needs to submit one set of customs documents (in case of submitting paper documents to the customs authority); subsequent declaration forms specify "common documents with declaration number ... date ...” in the "Note" field.

For the cases stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of this Article, the customs declarant only needs to submit, present, and keep one set of customs documents for customs declarations of the same shipment.

- If actual quantity of goods exceeds two characters after the decimal point; invoice value exceeds four characters after the decimal point; unit price exceeds six characters after the decimal point, the customs declarant rounds off as prescribed for declaration. The declared values of quantity, invoice value, and unit price are at the "Goods description” criterion.

II. Pre-Declaration of Export and Import Goods Information

Customs declarants must pre-declare information related to export and import goods as specified in point 2, Appendix II attached to Circular 38. Pre-declared information is valid for use and stored on the system for a maximum of 07 days from the pre-registration time or the last amendment time.

In cases where the pre-declared information is accepted, the system will notify the customs declaration number; if not accepted, the system will specify the reason and required amendments, supplements for the customs declarant to implement. The customs declarant can amend and supplement pre-declared information on the system.

After pre-declaring export and import goods information, the customs declarant receives feedback from the system to officially declare the customs declaration form.

If the system notifies that the customs declarant is not eligible to register the customs declaration form, the customs declarant contacts the customs sub-department where the declaration is registered and submits supporting documents proving the enterprise is operating normally issued by the competent authority.

The customs declarant self-checks feedback information from the system and is legally responsible when using this feedback information to perform customs procedures.

III. Customs Declaration Form Submission Deadlines

For export goods, submission of the customs declaration form is done after goods are concentrated at the location notified by the customs declarant and no later than 04 hours before the means of transport exits; for export goods sent by express service, it is no later than 02 hours before the means of transport exits.

For import goods, submission of the customs declaration form is done before the day goods arrive at the border checkpoint or within 30 days from the day goods arrive at the border checkpoint.

In cases where the means of transport entering declares electronically, the day goods arrive at the border checkpoint is the day the transport vehicle arrives at the border checkpoint according to notification from the carrier on the electronic customs data processing system.

In cases where the means of transport performs entry customs procedures manually, the day goods arrive at the border checkpoint is the day the customs authority stamps on the import goods declaration form at the discharging port in the entry transport vehicle's dossier (sea, air, rail) or the date on the vehicle's declaration form or the transport vehicle monitoring book (river, road).

Nguyen Trinh

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