Name of recommendations: Enable being reimbursed safeguard tariff for 8 shipments of imported steel to produce welding materials of the Viet Duc Welding Electrode Joint Stock Company

Status: Has been incompletly responded

Recommended by units: The Viet Duc Welding Electrode Joint Stock Company

Official letter: No 2047/ PTM - VP,, dated: 2017-08-21

Recommended contents:

In 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a Decision No. 862 / QD-BCT dated March 7, 2016 and a Decision No. 2968 / QD-BCT dated July 18, 2016 on the application of safeguard measures on long steels and steel billets imported into Vietnam, including steel wire code HS 7227.90.00 used to produce welding materials. In order to protect domestic production, following the recommendations of the welding materials manufacturers and the Vietnam General Mechanical Association, on September 29, 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a Decision No. 3914 / QD-BCT on the exemption of safeguard measures applied to steel products code HS 7227.90.00 imported to produce welding materials. In this decision, the Viet Duc Welding Electrode Joint Stock Company is granted a quota of 6,900 tons to produce welding materials in 2016.

The Viet Duc Welding Electrode Joint Stock Company is a manufacturing company, in order to reduce production costs, the company does not directly import but only make contracts to purchase imported steel through direct import businesses. This characteristic of the company has been reported directly to the Competition Management Authority of Ministry of Industry and Trade during the inspection and investigation team at the company and the company also issued a Official Document No. 358 / KT-QHD dated August 1, 2016 to the Ministry of Industry and Trade before the Ministry issued a Decision 3941 / QD-BCT on September 29, 2016.

In 2016, the company signed a contract with two trading companies to buy 8 imported steel lots with a total weight of 3,653 tons. The company selected trading companies, signed contracts to buy steel according to the type and production demand, then the new trading company signed the contract to import steel as required by the company. All imported steel was delivered to Viet Duc Welding Electrodes Company, there was no excess of steel sold on the market.

Thanh An Joint Stock Ccompany : 3 shipments, weight: 1,443 tons

Van Dat Co., Ltd: 5 shipments, weight: 2,210 tons

(These lots have sales contracts and VAT invoices as well as import declarations)

When trading companies carried out procedures for refunding imported lots to our company, they were not approved by Customs. On May 23, 2017, the General Department of Customs issued an Official Letter No. 3410 / TCHQ-TXNK officially responded to the refund of safeguard tariff in accordance with Decision No. 3914 / QD-BCT that the amount of taxes we paid through the trading companies in 2016 was  not eligible for exemption.

The Official Letter No. 3410 / TCHQ-TXNK of the General Department of Customs was a big shock to the Viet Duc Welding Electrode Joint Stock Company, a major policy of the Government that is to protect domestic producers becoming a direct blow to the business. Facing this situation, the company has written to call for the Government’s Prime Minister and the Minister, Chairman of the Government’s Office. Accordingly, on June 20, 2017, Minister and Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mr.  Mai Tien Dung sent an Official Letter No. 6356 / VPCP-DMDN  responding to the business and requested the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider and handle the interests. and equality between businesses. Then, on July 7, 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued an Official Letter No. 6046 / BCT-QLCT answering the business with the contents that will send a letter to the Ministry of Finance to recommend for consideration and resolving the case of the Viet Duc Welding Electrodes Company.

In order to ensure the interests of enterprises and equality between domestic producers, Viet Duc Welding Joint Stock Company would like to request  for permission us are exempted from safeguard tariff of 8 imported steel shipments through two companies namely Thanh An Joint Stock Company and Van Dat Co., Ltd.