Vietnam: Contents of inspection, supervision of imports and exports that are subject matters of intellectual property rights

According to Clause 9 Article 1 of Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam amending Article 12 of Circular No. 13/2015/TT-BTC, customs procedures for imports and exports that are subject matters of intellectual property rights (IPRs) shall be followed in accordance with regulations of the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015, Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2015 and this Circular. Contents of inspection and supervision of import and exports that are subject matters of IPRs:

An inspection of customs dossier shall be carried out as follows:

- Inspect information about goods: the custom declarant is required to sufficiently and accurately declare name, brand, description, specifications, composition, model, sign/notation, features and uses of goods;

- Inspect and compare information on the customs declaration with those on documents in the customs dossier in terms of name, brand, origin, value, description, specifications, composition, model, sign/notation, features and uses of goods and goods transport route in order to determine their conformity;

- Inspect and compare information about name of the importer/exporter, name and brand of goods with information provided by the General Department of Customs as prescribed in Clause 3 Article 7 hereof and information collected by the customs authority to determine whether the goods are suspected of infringing IPRs or counterfeit (if any).

If the exporter or importer is on the list of importer(s) and/or exporter(s) potentially exporting or importing IPR-infringing goods and goods that are suspected of infringing IPRs, the customs authority where the customs declaration is registered shall notify goods that are suspected of infringing IPRs to the IPR holder or legal authorized person as prescribed in Article 14 of this Circular.

If the exporter or importer is not on the List of legal goods importer(s) and/or export(s) and List of importer(s) and/or exporter(s) suspected of infringing IPRs, the customs authority where the customs declaration is registered shall only notify goods that are suspected of infringing IPRs to the IPR holder or legal authorized person as prescribed in Article 14 of this Circular.

Moreover, if it has sufficient grounds for determining imports and exports are conformable, are not suspected of being counterfeit or infringing IPRs through the inspection and comparison, the customs authority shall carry on customs procedures as prescribed. Through the inspection or comparison, if any suspicion is found or contents on the customs declaration are no conformable with those in the application for inspection and supervision that has been accepted by the General Department of Customs (the Customs Control and Supervision Department) but the ground for determining the violation is not sufficient, the Director of the Sub-department of Customs shall decide to carry out a physical inspection of goods and clearly state signs of counterfeit goods and IPR-infringing goods.

A physical inspection of goods shall be carried out as follows:

- Inspect and compare goods name and brand written on packages or goods with those written by the customs declarant on the customs declaration, documents in the customs dossier and warning information upon inspection of customs dossier (if any) so as to determine their conformity;

- Inspect and compare goods with those specified in the application for inspection and supervision that has been accepted by the General Department of Customs (the Customs Control and Supervision Department) (photos, description and characteristics intended for identifying genuine goods) to determine whether goods are counterfeit or inspected of infringing IPRs;

- If the grounds for determining goods are suspected of being counterfeit or infringing IPRs are not sufficient, it is required to carry out verification and investigation; the customs official shall request the head of the sub-department to transfer the case to the customs smuggling control force affiliated to the Smuggling Investigation and Prevention Department or transfer it to the Smuggling Investigation and Prevention Department (if the case is complicated) to carry out verification and investigation and carry on customs procedures;

- If it is determined that goods are counterfeit, comply with regulations laid down in Article 13 hereof. If it is determined that goods are suspected of infringing IPRs, comply with regulations laid down in Article 14 hereof.

During the process of carrying out customs inspection or patrol within a CCA, if it is found that exports and imports are suspected of being counterfeit or infringing IPRs, the Director of the Sub-department of Customs where the customs declaration is registered or the goods are stored shall issue a decision on suspended release of goods from the CCA in accordance with the Circular of the Minister of Finance on customs procedures, customs supervision and inspection, export tax, import tax, and tax administration to carry out a physical inspection as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article and take actions as prescribed in Article 13 or Article 14 hereof.

If the goods are subject to inspection by a specialized agency, the customs authority shall, according to the conclusion given by the specialized agency to determine signs of counterfeit goods or IPR-infringing goods.

View more details at: Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam takes effect from April 20, 2020.

Thu Ba

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