Two Notable Customs Policies Effective in April 2018

Guidance on Determining the Origin of Exported and Imported Goods

In cases where exported and imported goods are subject to preferential tax and non-tax treatment, the rules of origin shall be implemented according to the international agreements that Vietnam has signed and as directed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

If the goods enjoy Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and other unilateral preferences, the origin rules shall follow the regulations of the importing country and the guidance provided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

For goods that do not enjoy preferential treatment, the determination of the origin of goods is guided as follows:

- Exported and imported goods are considered to have pure origin or entirely produced in a country, group of countries, or territory if they meet the regulations stipulated in Article 7 of Decree 31/2018/ND-CP.- In cases where goods meet the origin criteria specified in the List of Product-Specific Rules stipulated in Annex I attached to Circular 05/2018/TT-BCT, they are considered to have non-pure origin.

Additionally, merchants applying for a Certificate of Origin (C/O) should use the forms specified in Annexes II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX of Circular 05/2018/TT-BCT to declare and commit that the exported goods meet the preferential or non-preferential origin criteria.

Announcement of 10 New Procedures Related to Food Safety

The Ministry of Health has issued Decision 2318/QD-BYT announcing 10 new procedures and abolishing 28 procedures in the field of food safety and nutrition.

The new procedures issued include:

- Registration for the announcement of imported and domestically produced products that are health supplements, mixed food additives with new uses, food additives not on the list of permitted food additives or not used as prescribed by the Ministry of Health for domestic production;- Confirmation of advertising content for health supplements;- Issuance and re-issuance of Certificates for food safety establishments meeting GMP requirements;- Confirmation of advertising content for medical nutritional products, foods for special dietary uses, nutritional products for children up to 36 months old;- State inspection on the food safety of imported foods through reduced inspection, regular inspection, and strict inspection.

Details on the component dossiers and procedures for implementing the procedures are explicitly mentioned in Decision 2318/QD-BYT, which took effect from April 06, 2018.

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