​In order to improve the management, customs inspection and customs control of cross-border movement of goods, especially the upcoming Lunar New Year of Tan Suu, on January 11, 2021, the General Department of Customs has issued the Official Letter No. 119/TCHQ-GSQL to the Local Customs Departments to implement a number of the provisions of the customs law, tax laws and related documents.

Accordingly, in recent years, the situation of smuggling and illegal cross-border transportation, trade fraud, and tax evasion has been complicated. Organizations and individuals take advantage of not having to declare information in advance to gather goods at land border and waiting for illegal transportation and smuggling into the inland; import of trademark counterfeiting goods, infringement of intellectual property rights; import of goods which fail to make declaration in terms of types, quantity, value, and goods banned from import; arbitrarily consuming goods under customs supervision (goods in transit, goods temporarily imported for re-export).

In order to promptly collect and analyze information of the movement of goods and means of transport before arriving at the border gate, to support the customs authority to quickly process customs procedures to facilitate trade and shorten clearance time, and to strengthen the management, customs inspection and customs control, the General Department of Customs recently requested the Local Customs Department to instruct affiliated Customs sub- departments to strictly implement regulations of customs laws, tax laws and related documents, which focus on a number of provisions:

- For declared information before the goods arrive at the land or inland waterway border (except for the case where the waterway transport has gone through the exit and entry customs procedures under Article 79 of Decree No. 08/2015 / ND-CP, as amended and supplemented in Decree No. 59/2018 / ND-CP): The Local Customs Departments shall instruct Customs Sub-Departments at the land border gates and inland waterways port to request the owners of means of transport, the operator of means of transport, and the authorized persons by the owners of means of transport notify customs authorities of information on means of transport and imported goods before taking goods into the territory of Vietnam, including information in the cargo manifest through the System. If the system does not support it, submit 01 original copy of the cargo manifest to the Customs Sub-Department in the border-gate area.

The customs authority shall immediately handle the procedures for means of transport and goods entering the border-gate area as having all information on the means of transport and imported goods mentioned above.

In border-gate areas, warehouses and storing yards that use electronic scales, the Customs Sub-Department requires the operator of means of transport to cross the scale and confirm the weight on the cargo manifest. In case the weight of goods carried on the means of transport has unusual differences from the weight of goods declared on the cargo manifest, it is required to put into a separate area for close supervision and wait for procedures.

- For customs procedures, customs inspection, supervision and control for imported groceries and consumer goods: The Local Customs Departments shall instruct Customs Sub-Departments to guide Declarants to fully and accurately declare information on the customs declaration form according to Appendix II issued together with Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC (as amended and supplemented in Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC) and guiding documents of the General Department of Customs, concurrently send all documents in the customs dossier via the E-customs data processing system.

In case of inspection and detection of imported goods banned from import, temporarily suspended from import, trademark counterfeiting goods, counterfeit goods of origin, or goods required to have an import license but without a license, it shall be handled in accordance with regulations, at the same time transfer information to the anti-smuggling enforcement units of the Local Customs Department to investigate and verify...

In case of wrong declaration on the name, HS code, tax rate, value, quantity... that affects the payable tax amount, but are not liable to criminal prosecutions, the customs authority will handle the violation and impose the additional assessment.

- Regarding to customs management and supervision of goods in transit, goods temporarily imported for re-export: When carrying out customs procedures, if the Customs Sub-department at the border gate analyzes the information of in-transit goods and suspects that the consignment hiding banned goods, the transit goods with permit (but not present the permit), goods violating intellectual property, goods without declaration ... the customs authority decides on the examination of physical inspection of goods (100% rate) at the import border gate. After checking, the customs authority attaches the electronic seal from the border gate of importation to the border gate of exportation  and notify the Customs Sub-department of the border gate of exportation to conduct physical inspection of goods (100% rate) for the above shipment before confirming the actual export.

Customs Sub-Departments must use electronic seal to monitor goods in transit, goods temporarily imported for re-export during transportation from the border gate of importation to the border gate of exportation and notify the Customs Sub-department of the border gate of exportation to conduct customs sealing inspection before confirming the goods have passed through the area where goods subject to customs supervision. The Customs Sub-Departments where goods are transported will not verify the eligibility through the area where goods subject to customs supervision if the container has not been affixed with an electronic seal.

If the Local Customs Department has not been equipped with an electronic seal or has been used up, the customs sealing or seal shall be used for sealing in accordance with law provisions.

The Local Customs Departments instruct the Customs Sub-Departments to review the shipments of foodstuff that are temporarily imported for re-export, goods stored in bonded warehouses with the expiry date of less than 2 months, apply inspection and supervision methods closely during the process of storing and transporting to the border gates of exportation until they are brought out of the Vietnamese territory, not allowing smuggling into the inland.