On 10 January 2025, UNI representatives were invited to the regular meeting of the General Department of Customs and the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF). The meeting was held with the aim of answering questions about import and export for enterprises in the Vietnamese business alliance, facilitating trade and foreign investment in Vietnam.
1. Attendance List
In addition to the participation of professional units in the General Department of Customs, the seminar also had the presence of Mr. David John Whitehead – Vice Chairman of AUSCHAM of the Vietnam Business Forum Alliance (VBF), KOCHAM, VCCI, EUROCHAM, as well as Samsung enterprises.
2. Discussed Topics In The Dialogue
In this meeting, enterprises had expressed and shared difficulties they experienced during their customs procedures, and their exposure to information administration system and database, and other problems. The Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) was on behalf of Vietnamese businesses to propose solutions for these issues, then General Customs Department responded to these proposals.
Several highlights related to customs procedures and tax policies were discussed at the workshop, including:
- The transitional period after the abolition of the on-site import-export regulation.
- On-site import-export activities through bonded warehouses.
- The right to use imported goods on-site before customs clearance by authorized economic operators (AEO).
- Difficulties in levying value-added tax (VAT) at the import stage for goods imported by subcontractors to supply enterprises with export processing zones (EPZ).
- Tax policies for uniforms purchased domestically by enterprises with export processing zones (EPZ).
- Export-import licenses for contract manufacturing activities in Vietnam.
In addition, businesses also raised many questions related to the obligations to declare information, methods of managing customs data, and incidents of the customs electronic information system. For example: how to handle differences in product descriptions, the frequency of updating production facility information, and a proposal to carry out administrative procedures (“APC”) for “Exemption from quality inspection of imported animal feed (“AFF”) with a term” online on the National Single Window Portal, etc.
In response to the inquiries, the General Department of Customs has received and addressed a total of 21 difficulties raised by the business community.
To conclude, the General Department of Customs affirmed that they would take note and consider the businesses’ suggestions for the amendment of legal documents.
Relevant Articles:
- Customs Clearance Procedures For Import and Export Goods and Related Documents
- Certificate of Origin (C/O) Application: Required Documents and Important Considerations
- Taxes on Imported Goods: Definition and Categories
The latest information about customs situation will be continuously updated in the customs newsletter of UNI CUSTOMS CONSULTING. We invite businesses to stay informed!
For expert advice on customs issues, please contact this hotline +(84) 908-535-898 (Vietnamese), +(84) 902-927-767 (Korean) or send an email to the address: uni@eximuni.com.