General Department of Customs' guidance on customs procedures during system malfunctions in Vietnam

General Department of Customs' guidance on customs procedures during system malfunctions in Vietnam (Image from the internet)

On August 6, 2024, the General Department of Customs issued Official Dispatch 3748/TCHQ-GSQL regarding customs procedures during system malfunctions.

General Department of Customs' guidance on customs procedures during system malfunctions in Vietnam

On August 6, 2024, the Customs Electronic Data Processing System experienced a malfunction that hindered the execution of customs procedures, causing difficulties for businesses in resolving customs procedures. While awaiting the resolution of the system issue, to ensure the uninterrupted processing of customs procedures for shipments that have been cleared/released/put into storage/approved for transportation, the General Department of Customs requires the Directors of the Provincial and City Customs Departments to instruct the Customs Sub-Department Chiefs overseeing border gates, ports, warehouses, and designated locations to assign leaders and officials to be on duty 24/7 during the system malfunction to carry out the following tasks:

(1) For export goods

- The customs declarant shall print 02 copies of the export declaration/transport declaration under customs supervision that have been cleared/released/approved for transport and submit them to the Supervision Department of the Customs Sub-Department managing the border gate, port, warehouse, or designated location.

- The Customs Sub-Department managing the border gate, port, warehouse, or designated location shall:

+ Officials at the supervision department shall receive 02 copies of the customs declaration submitted by the declarant, check the status of the declaration provided by the enterprise that has been cleared/released/approved for transport. Sign; record the date, month, and year; stamp the official seal in the "Remarks" box. Record the information in the monitoring log (including information: declaration number, representative’s name, identity proofs such as: citizen ID, passport, driver’s license, etc.), keep 01 copy, and return 01 copy to the declarant to submit to the warehouse, port, or designated location enterprise when bringing the goods in for loading onto the export transport vehicle.

+ Supervise the goods during the loading process onto the transport vehicle.

(2) For import goods

- The customs declarant shall:

+ Print 02 copies of the import declaration/transport declaration under customs supervision that have been cleared/released/put into storage/approved for transport/brought to an inspection site outside the border gate and submit them to the supervision department of the Customs Sub-Department managing the border gate, port, warehouse, or designated location.

+ Present goods subject to customs sealing, including: goods under customs supervision during transportation, goods taken to inspection sites outside the border gate for customs sealing and prepare a transfer record according to form 10/BBBG/GSQL annex II issued together with Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC.

- The Customs Sub-Department managing the border gate, port, warehouse, or designated location shall:

+ Officials at the border gate, port, warehouse, or designated location’s supervision department shall receive 02 copies of customs declarations submitted by the declarant, check the status of the declaration provided by the enterprise that has been cleared/released/put into storage/approved for transport. Sign; record the date, month, and year; stamp the official seal in the "Remarks" box. Record the information in the monitoring log (including information: declaration number, representative’s name, identity proofs such as: citizen ID, passport, driver’s license, etc.), keep 01 copy, and return 01 copy to the declarant to submit to the port, warehouse, or designated location enterprise to bring the goods out of the customs supervision area.

+ Assign officials to supervise 24/7 at the port, warehouse, or designated location’s gate.

+ If goods require customs sealing, proceed as specified in point c, section 2 of this dispatch.

- For goods requiring customs sealing:

+ At the Customs Sub-Department where goods are transported from:

++  Perform  the  sealing  and  make  03  copies  of  the  transfer  record  according  to  form  10/BBBG/GSQL  annex  II  issued  together  with  Circular  39/2018/TT-BTC,  keep  01  copy,  hand  over  02  copies  to  the  declarant  for  transferring  goods  to  the  Customs  Sub-Department  where  the  goods  are  transported  to.

++  Monitor  information  on  shipments  under  customs  supervision  during  transportation.

+ At the Customs Sub-Department where goods are transported to:

-  Receive  02  copies  of  the  transfer  record  submitted  by  the  declarant.  Check  the  status  of  the  seals  or  the  condition  of  the  goods,  compare  the  actual  seal  numbers  with  the  customs  seal  numbers  (if  any)  or  carrier  seal  numbers  (if  any)  on  the  transfer  record.-  Confirm  by  signing,  stamping  02  copies  of  the  transfer  record;  return  01  copy  to  the  declarant;  keep  01  copy  at  the  Customs  Sub-Department  where  the  goods  are  transported  to,  and  inform  the  Customs  Sub-Department  where  the  goods  were  transported  from  for  records  and  customs  file.

(3) Once the system is restored, the Customs Sub-Department mentioned in section 2 of this dispatch shall immediately update the export, import, and goods transport information under customs supervision into the corresponding System.

For detailed content, see Official Dispatch 3748/TCHQ-GSQL issued on August 6, 2024.

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