1. What is customs clearance?
Customs procedures are tasks that customs declarants and customs officers must perform in accordance with this Law for goods and means of transport.
(Clause 23, Article 4 Customs Law 2014)
2. Customs clearance
Step 1: Declare and submit the customs declaration; submit or present documents in the customs dossier as prescribed in Article 24 Law on Customs 2014.
Step 2: Bring the goods and means of transport to the specified location for physical inspection of goods and means of transport;
Step 3: Pay taxes and perform other financial obligations in accordance with the law on taxes, fees, charges and other relevant laws.
* Responsibilities of competent authorities when carrying out customs procedures
Article 21 Customs Law 2014 stipulates customs procedures as follows:
When carrying out customs procedures, customs offices and customs officers are responsible for:
– Receive and register customs dossiers;
– Check customs dossiers and physically inspect goods and means of transport;
– Organize the collection of taxes and other revenues according to the provisions of the law on taxes, fees, charges and other relevant laws;
– Decide on the customs clearance of goods, release of goods, certify that the means of transport have completed customs procedures.
3. Customs documents
Pursuant to Article 24 Customs Law 2014 stipulates customs documents as follows:
(1) Customs declaration or documents replacing the customs declaration;
(2) Relevant documents.
On a case-by-case basis, the customs declarant must submit or present the goods sale and purchase contract, commercial invoice, transport document, proof of origin, export or import license, and other documents. notify the results of inspection or exemption from specialized inspection, documents related to goods in accordance with relevant laws.
– Documents in customs dossiers are paper documents or electronic documents. Electronic vouchers must ensure the integrity and format in accordance with the law on electronic transactions.
– Customs dossiers shall be submitted and presented to the customs authority at the customs office.
In case of application of the national single-window mechanism, the specialized state management agency shall send the export or import license and written notification of the results of inspection and exemption from specialized inspection in electronic form through the system. integrated information.
– The Minister of Finance shall prescribe the customs declaration form, the use of customs declarations and documents to replace customs declarations, the cases in which relevant documents must be submitted and presented as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. 24 Customs Law 2014.
4. Location for customs clearance
Article 22 Customs Law 2014 stipulates the location of customs procedures as follows:
– The place of customs procedures is the place where the customs authority receives, registers and examines the customs dossiers, and inspects the actual goods and means of transport.
– The place to receive, register and check customs dossiers is the headquarters of the Customs Department, the headquarters of the Customs Sub-Department.
– Locations for physical inspection of goods include:
+ Location of inspection at road border gates, international intermodal railway stations, international civil airports; international post office;
Seaports and inland waterway ports with export, import, exit, entry and transit activities; ports for export and import of goods established in the inland;
+ Headquarters of the Customs Sub-Department;
+ Location of concentrated inspection under the decision of the Director of the General Department of Customs;
+ Location of inspection at production facilities and works; places where fairs and exhibitions are held;
+ Locations for inspection at bonded warehouses, tax-suspension warehouses, retail stores;
+ Location of joint inspection between Vietnam Customs and neighboring customs at the land border gate area;
+ Other locations decided by the Director of the General Department of Customs in case of necessity.
– Competent agencies, organizations and individuals when planning and designing construction related to road border gates, international intermodal railway stations, international civil airports;
Seaports and inland waterway ports with export, import, exit, entry and transit activities;
Goods import and export ports are established in the inland;
Economic zones, industrial parks, non-tariff zones and other locations with export, import, exit, entry and transit activities shall have to arrange places for customs clearance and storage. exported and imported goods that meet the requirements of customs inspection and supervision according to the provisions of the Customs Law 2014
5. Time limit for customs offices to carry out customs procedures
Pursuant to Article 23 Customs Law 2014 , the time limit for customs offices to carry out customs procedures is as follows:
– The customs authority shall receive, register and examine the customs dossiers immediately after the customs declarants submit and present the customs dossiers in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Law 2014.
– After the customs declarant fully fulfills the requirements for carrying out customs procedures specified at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 21 Customs Law 2014, the time limit for the customs officer to complete the examination of the dossier and Actual inspection of goods and means of transport is prescribed as follows:
+ Complete the inspection of the dossier within 02 working hours from the time the customs authority receives the complete customs dossier;
+ Complete the physical inspection of goods within 08 working hours from the time the customs declarant presents all goods to the customs authority.
In case goods are subject to specialized inspection of quality, health, culture, animal and plant quarantine, and food safety in accordance with relevant laws, the time limit for completion of physical inspection shall be as follows: The economic value of goods is calculated from the time of receiving the results of specialized inspection as prescribed.
In case the consignment has a large quantity, variety of categories or the inspection is complicated, the head of the customs office where the customs procedures are carried out shall decide to extend the time for physical inspection of goods, but the extension time is limited. no more than 02 days;
The inspection of means of transport must ensure timely loading and unloading of exported and imported goods, the exit and entry of passengers, and the customs inspection and supervision in accordance with this Law. .
– The customs clearance of goods shall comply with the provisions of Article 37 Customs Law 2014.
– Customs offices shall carry out customs procedures for goods on public holidays, holidays and outside working hours to ensure timely loading and unloading of exported and imported goods, the entry and exit of passengers. passengers, means of transport or at the request of the customs declarant and in accordance with the actual conditions of the area of customs operation.
6. Time limit for submission of customs dossiers
In Article 25 Customs Law 2014 , the deadline for customs dossier submission is as follows:
+ For exported goods, pay after the goods have been gathered at the location notified by the customs declarant and at least 04 hours before the means of transport leave the country;
For export goods sent by express delivery service, at least 02 hours before the means of transport leave;
+ For imported goods, pay before the date of arrival of the goods at the border gate or within 30 days from the date of arrival of the goods at the border gate;
+ The time limit for submitting customs declarations for means of transport complies with Clause 2, Article 69 of the Customs Law 2014.
– The customs declaration is valid for customs clearance within 15 days from the date of registration.
– The time limit for submission of relevant documents in the customs dossier is prescribed as follows:
+ In the case of electronic customs declaration, when the customs authority conducts the inspection of the customs dossier and the physical inspection of goods, the customs declarant shall submit the paper documents included in the customs dossier, except those already included in the national single-window information system;
+ In case of paper customs declaration, the customs declarant must submit or present relevant documents when registering the customs declaration.
Consulted by Lawyer Nguyen Thuy Han – Law Library
Legal Specialist Ngoc Nhi
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