The General Department of Vietnam Customs has issued a document guiding the customs departments of provinces and cities to inspect shipments of imported medicines and medicinal ingredients.

illustration image. Source: Internet

For customs declarations registered from August 1, 2021, the Customs authority will work based on the results of the channel classification and the inspection instructions on the customs electronic data processing system to process.

For yellow channel customs, customs authorities will check and compare the contents of the declaration with the customs dossier complied with the provisions of Decree No. 54/2017/ND-CP (amended and supplemented at Decree No. 155/2018/ND-CP) and the guidance of the General Department of Vietnam Customs in Official Dispatch No. 6068/TCHQ-GSỌL dated September 16, 2020 on strengthening the inspection of imported medicines and medicinal ingredients. If goods meet requirements, the customs authority will immediately carry out customs clearance in accordance with regulations.

In case dossiers are not appropriate or suspected on the authenticity of the documents in the customs dossier, it will be channelised to red channel for physical inspection following instructions.

For the red channel declaration, the customs authority will check and compare the actual goods with the information on the customs declaration and the customs dossier. At the same time, requesting customs declarant to present original papers: Power of attorney, certificate of free sale, analytical results for checking and comparing with the copy (certified by the enterprise) enclosed with the import dossier and handle in accordance with the instructions in the official dispatch No. 401/TCHQ-GSQL dated July 23, 2021 of the General Department of Vietnam Customs on dossiers inspection of medicines and medicinal ingredients shipments.

For customs declarations registered before August 1, 2021, the customs inspection will continue to comply with the notification of channelisation on the customs electronic data processing system and guidance of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Previously, the General Department of Vietnam Customs issued documents to guide implementation: Official Letter No. 6068/TCHQ-GS0L dated September 16, 2020 on strengthening inspection of medicines and medicinal ingredients; Official Dispatch No. 3639/TCHQ-GSQL dated 19/7/2021 on conducting physical inspection of imported goods with special preservation conditions; Official Dispatch No. 401/TCHQ-GSQL dated July 23, 2021 on checking records of shipments of medicines and medicinal ingredients.