Mr. Dao Duy Tam, Deputy Director of the Customs Control and Supervision Department speak at the opening of the conference. Photo: T.D

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Mr. Dao Duy Tam, Deputy Director of the Customs Control and Supervision Department, General Department of Vietnam Customs, said that with the goal of facilitating the importation of goods by the enterprises, in line with commercial practice and international commitments in new-generation FTAs, the draft Circular is built on basic issues such as the consolidation of guiding contents on inspection and identification origin of imported and exported goods in Circulars No. 38/2016/TT-BTC, Circular No. 62/2014/TT-BTC, Circular No. 47/2020/TT-BTC and Circular No. 07/2021/TT-BTC to develop a replacement Circular to facilitate the research and implementation process.

At the same time, the draft aims to overcome obstacles and inadequacies in the process of implementing the above circulars, such as the declaration and submission of certificates of origin; notices of pre-determination origin, additionally submitted C/O after the goods have been cleared, submitting C/O in case the goods are changed the use purpose, regulations relating to the time of submission of C /O and cases where C/O must be submitted.

According to Mr. Dao Duy Tam, at the time of issuance of Circular No. 38/2016/TT-BTC, new-generation free trade agreements (such as CPTPP, EVFTA, UKVFTA, and RCEP) had not yet been signed, so there is no guidance for implementation in this circular. On the basis of the overall assessment and review of the implementation process, there are many shortcomings in the management of goods origin such as the way in which the management and inspection of self-certification documents of origin licensed under the REX code for enterprises

In addition, many management requirements need to be supplemented and specifically guided in the Circular, so that the Customs authority has a legal basis for implementation.

Furthermore, a number of instructions of the Ministry of Finance, such as the time of C/O submission and deduction of C/O for goods deposited into bonded warehouses were legalized. The contents are still in the form of guiding documents. Therefore, it is necessary to be specified in legal documents to ensure a legal basis in the process of implementation.

Accordingly, the promulgation of the Circular replacing the above circulars is a mandatory requirement to ensure the implementation of new agreements following the commitments and improve the efficiency of management of the origin of exported and imported goods.

Representative of Novartis Vietnam Co., Ltd contributes opinions at the conference.

At the workshop, representatives of the Import-Export Department (the Ministry of Industry and Trade) and Customs Control and Supervision Department (General Department of Vietnam Customs) also introduced the benefits of joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and the provisions on the area of ​​origin of goods of RCEP Agreement. To enjoy tariff preferences, the importer must submit a valid proof of origin of the goods to the customs authority of the importing member country.

At the workshop, the drafting committee also listened to the exchange of ideas from experts from GATF, representatives of businesses and associations in the South on difficult issues and challenges in implementation and procedures related to the origin of exported and imported goods. They also gave comments to complete the draft circular to replace the circulars on determining the origin of exported and imported goods.

Accordingly, enterprises assessed that the draft Circular mentioned above has been revised with many new points in a positive direction, which contributes to more favorable conditions for import and export activities of enterprises, as well as increases transparency to avoid disputes between management authorities and enterprises.

Mr. Le Tuan Anh, Director of External Relations and Market Access, Novartis Vietnam Co., Ltd., said that through the draft circular, there were at least 10 new contents to be changed, including the content of the dossier for determining the origin of goods. It changed the way of looking at determining origin by applying HS codes back to the true nature. At the same time, for multinational companies that always aim to work in compliance with the law, the acceptance of prior determination of the origin of goods is a transparency.

However, besides the advantages, enterprises also contributed ideas to clarify the contents related to the waiting time for verification of the certificate of origin; the deadline for submitting the original C/O to enjoy preferential tariffs so that enterprises can actively implement the production and business plan; handling when there is a difference in import units on the customs declaration; the declaration of origin criteria of raw materials and auxiliary materials for export goods; and regulations on labeling of goods and technical problems of the draft circular.

On the basis of recognizing the comments of enterprises, the drafting board said that they will continue to study and complete the draft.