Vietnam: Amendments on customs inspection and valuation

Specifically, according to Decree No. 59/2018/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, customs inspection and valuation are specified as follows:

- The customs inspection and valuation shall be based on the customs documents, relevant documents and current commodities status.

- In case where the customs authority has reasonable grounds for rejecting the declared customs value:

+ The customs authority shall notify and request the customs declarant to make an additional declaration within a maximum duration of 05 working days from the date on which the notification is sent and shall carry out customs release in accordance with the regulations.

+ If the customs declarant makes additional declaration within the aforesaid duration, the customs authority shall clear goods according to the regulations. If the duration is exceeded but the declarant still does not supplement his/her declaration, the customs authority shall determine the customs value and impose taxes in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration to carry out customs clearance for the goods.

- In case where the customs authority has doubt about the declared customs value, it shall notify the declarant about the reasons for doubting, the price and methods determined by it, and shall release the goods in accordance with the regulations; the customs declarant shall discuss with the customs authority to determine the accuracy of the customs value.

+ In case where the customs declarant agrees with the price and method determined by the customs authority, he/she shall make additional declaration in accordance with the regulations within a maximum duration of 05 working days from the day he/she comes to the customs authority to ask for advice. The customs authority shall clear the goods according to the regulations.

+ In case where the declarant discloses the additional declaration within the aforesaid duration, the customs authority shall carry out customs valuation and impose taxes according to the regulations of the Law on tax administration to clear the goods.

+ In case where the customs authority rejects the declared customs value, it shall request the declarant to make additional declaration within a maximum duration of 05 working days from the date on which it finishes giving advice. If the customs declarant makes additional declaration within the aforesaid duration, the customs authority shall clear the goods in accordance with the regulations. If the duration is exceeded but the declarant still does not make additional declaration, the customs authority shall carry out the customs valuation and impose tax in accordance with the Law on tax administration to clear the goods.

+ In case where the customs authority does not have reasonable grounds to reject the declared customs value, it shall clear the goods based on the aforesaid value.

- For cases which are not the case where the customs authority has reasonable grounds for rejecting the declared customs value or the case where the customs authority has doubt about the declared customs value, the customs authority shall accept the customs value to clear the goods according to the regulations.

- The exchange rate between Vietnamese dong and a foreign currency, used for customs valuation, is the rate of such foreign currency to be bought in the form of money transfer that takes place at the head office of the Joint stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, which is identified at the end of the fifth working day of the preceding week, or the exchange rate identified at the end of the working day immediately preceding that fifth day in case such fifth day is the holiday or day-off.

- As for the foreign currencies of which the exchange rate is not published by the Joint stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, the exchange rate of these currencies shall be determined in the form of cross rate between Vietnamese dong and several foreign currencies that the State bank of Vietnam has published. As for the foreign currencies of which the cross rate is not published, the exchange rate of such foreign currencies shall be determined according to the principle of calculating the cross rate between USD – VND and USD – such foreign currencies published by the State bank of Vietnam. The exchange rate published by the State bank of Vietnam is the exchange rate updated in the latest post on its website.

View relevant provisions at Decree No. 59/2018/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from June 05, 2018.

-Thao Uyen-

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