CIRCULAR

GUIDING CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR GOODS AND ARTICLES EXPORTED OR IMPORTED AS GIFTS OR DONATIONS

Pursuant to the Customs Ordinance of February 20, 1990;
Pursuant to Decree No. 16-CP of March 7, 1994 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the General Department of Customs;
After consulting the Ministry of Trade (Official Dispatch No. 6218-TM/XNK of November 26, 1998), the General Department of Custom hereby prescribes the quantity limits and guides the customs procedures for articles and goods exported or imported in form of gifts or donations, as follows :

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS :

1. In principle, all organizations and individuals in the country and abroad are entitled to fill customs procedures for receiving or sending articles and/or goods as gifts or donations for purposes of exchanging goods or helping each other in daily life, not of commercial character.

2. All articles and goods exported or imported in form of gifts or donations shall have to go through the customs procedures, be subject to the supervision and management by the customs authorities, liable to all the taxes and fees prescribed by law.

3. it is prohibited to donate or present goods and/ or articles which are on the list of goods banned from export and/or import; or those temporarily suspended from export or import.

4. The donation or offer of articles and/or goods which are on the list of goods subject to conditional export or import must be permitted by the competent agency(ies).

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II. PRESCRIBED QUANTITY LIMITS FOR GIFTS AND DONATIONS

1. Gifts and donations which are articles and/or goods not subject to the export ban, export temporary suspension or conditional export may be sent abroad in unlimited quantity and value.

2. Gifts and donations, which are goods imported in service of domestic production and compatible with the business lines or trades already registered in the production, processing or repair licenses, can be received, provided their value does not exceed VND 100 million.

3. Gifts and donations sent to other subjects, which are articles or goods subject to limited import or conditional import, can be received, provided their does not exceed VND50 million.

4. Gift and donations to agencies, mass organizations and State organizations can be received in unlimited quantity and value but have to be converted into property of such agencies, mass organizations and State organizations under current regulations of the State.

5. Goods and articles which are indivisible or single objects (according to counting units of piece, unit and set), though having a value higher than prescribed, shall still be permitted to be imported.

III. CUSTOMS PROCEDURES :

1. Order of customs procedures:

- Declaration, reception of dossier and registration of declaration;

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- Tax calculation and collection;

- Completion of procedures.

The customs procedures shall strictly comply with the customs procedural process applicable to non-commercial export and import goods prescribed in Decision No. 127/TCHQ-GSQL of April 10, 1995 and Decision No. 50/1998/QD-TCHQ of March 10, 1998 of the General Director of Customs.

2. The customs authorities at the place of export and/or import procedures clearance shall carry out the procedural steps under the current regulations for goods customs clearance under the General Director of Customs' guidance for implementation of the policy on customs procedures reform at border-gates and customs clearance points.

3. Specific provisions:

a) Export:

a1. Products made of wood or forest products and goods items subjects to specialized management shall be permitted to be exported according to specific regulations in the current documents.

a2. The export of goods and/or articles which are on the lists of goods banned from export, temporarily suspended from export or subject to conditional export without the Prime Minister's or the competent State agency's permits shall be recorded as administrative violations in the field of customs and handled as prescribed by law.

b) Import:

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- On the basis of the written proposal of the managing agency, the provincial/municipal customs departments shall complete customs procedures only for lots of gifts and/or donations with a value not exceeding VND 100 million.

- If the value of the import exceeds the prescribed limit, the General Department of Customs shall consider and settle only cases with the managing agencies' written permission or proposal for receiving goods.

b2. For other subjects :

- The provincial/municipal customs departments shall complete the customs procedures only for lots of gifts and/or donations with a value not exceeding the limits prescribed in Points 2 and 3, Section II and fully collect the tax as prescribed by law.

- Where the goods value exceeds the prescribed limit, the border-gate customs authority shall make a record for temporary seizure. The provincial/ municipal customs department shall report such cases to the General Department of Customs. Only with the General Department of Customs' decision, shall the import procedures be carried out.

b3. For articles and goods which are humanitarian aid goods:

Such aid goods shall be received with the consent of the Commission for Aid Reception under the Ministry of Finance, and no limit to their quantity and value is set.

IV. HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS:

Violations of this Circular's provisions shall, depending on their seriousness, be handled as administrative violations in the field of customs according to Decree No. 16-CP of March 20, 1996 and Decree No. 54/1998/ND-CP of July 21, 1998 of the Government, or examined for penal liability as prescribed by law.

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1. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing.

2. It replace Circular No.42/TCHQ-GSQL of March 22, 1997 and the documents guiding the implementation thereof.

3. The directors of the provincial/municipal customs departments shall have to organize the implementation of this Circular and post up this Circular at prescribed places to inform the people for implementation.

The provincial/municipal customs departments shall have to sum up all outstanding problems and propose solutions thereto, then report them to the General Department's leading officials (through the Supervision and Management Department) for guidance and direction.

FOR THE GENERAL DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMS
DEPUTY GENERAL DIRECTOR




Nguyen Van Cam