The General Department of Customs has just issued an official dispatch instructing provincial and municipal customs departments to uniformly implement the provisions of Decree 53/2021/ND-CP (referred to as Decree 53) on Vietnam's special preferential import and export tariff for implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UKVFTA) in the 2021-2022 period.

Implementation

To achieve consistency, the General Department of Customs requires provincial and municipal customs departments to fully and properly implement regulations and conditions on subjects, dossiers, and tax schedules issued together with Decree 53.

Decree 53 took effect from May 21, 2021. However, for customs declarations of import and export goods registered from January 1, 2021 to the effective date of Decree 53, if they fully meet the regulations to enjoy the special preferential import and export tax rates of Vietnam in this decree and have paid tax at a higher tax rate, the overpaid tax will be handled by customs offices in accordance with the law on revenue management.

Accordingly, for imported goods that are subject to and satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 3, Article 5 of Decree 53, the General Department of Customs requires provincial and municipal customs departments to guide customs declarants to declare tariff code B26 on import declarations.

Regarding the handling of overpaid tax on customs declarations registered from January 1, 2021, provincial and municipal customs departments must check dossiers and origin of goods in accordance with the provisions of the UKVFTA and check the special preferential import and export tax rates as prescribed in Decree 53 and instruction documents.

In case import-export goods fully satisfy the conditions for applying special preferential import-export tax rates under the UKVFTA, the provincial and municipal customs departments guide enterprises to make an additional declaration and handle the overpaid tax according to regulations specified in Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree 53 and Clause 64, Article 1 of Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC.

Concretize regulations

Decree 53 applies to taxpayers under the provisions of the law on import tax and export tax; organizations and individuals with rights and obligations related to import and export goods, and customs offices and officers.

According to Decree 53, goods exported from Vietnam that are eligible for preferential export tax rates must fully meet the following conditions: being imported into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; have a transport document (copy) showing that the destination is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and have the import customs declaration of the export consignment of Vietnamese origin imported into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (copy and English or Vietnamese translation in case the declaration is not in English).

Imported goods that are eligible for special preferential import tax rates under the UKVFTA must fall under the special preferential import tariffs specified in the appendix 2 issued with Decree 53; be imported into Vietnam from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Socialist Republic of Vietnam (goods imported from non-tariff zones into the domestic market).

Additionally, goods must meet the regulations on goods origin and have proof of origin according to the provisions of the UKVFTA.

Regarding procedures for applying preferential export tax rates under the UKVFTA, Decree 53 stipulates that at the time of customs procedures, customs declarants make export declarations, apply export tax rates, calculate tax and pay tax according to the export tariff according to the list of taxable goods in Decree 57/2020/ND-CP of the Government and amendments and supplements (if any).

Within one year from the date of registration of the export declaration, the customs declarant will submit all documents proving that the goods meet the regulations (one copy) and make an additional declaration to apply the preferential export tax rates under the UKVFTA. Beyond the time limit, exported goods are not eligible for preferential export tax rates under the UKVFTA.

The customs authority will check the dossiers and the preferential export tax rates according to the preferential export tax schedule specified in Appendix 1 issued together with Decree 53. If the exported goods satisfy the prescribed conditions, the preferential export tax rate will be applied according to the UKVFTA, and the overpaid tax will be handled for the customs declarant according to the provisions of the law on tax administration.

Source: Custom News