Decree no. 59/2018/NĐ-CP on amendment to customs value: Many problems relating to customs export goods, inspecting, defining customs value has ben amended in Decree no. 59/2018/NĐ-CP (Decree no.59 for short), thereby overcoming the problems related to these issues during the past time. More methods were added to define export goods’ value – Decree no. 59/2018/ NĐ-CP
Supplementing valuation methods of export goods
Decree No. 59 has supplemented the Customs valuation methods of export goods, which is stated in Clause 8, Article 1 as follows;”Customs value of export goods is selling price of such goods determined upon its arrival at border gate of exportation, excluding without international insurance costs and freight, which is determined according to following methods:
a / The selling price of goods determined upon its arrival at border gate of exportation, which includes the selling price shown in the sale contract or commercial invoice and costs related to export goods in conformity with relevant documents if these costs are not included in the selling price.
b/ The selling price of identical or similar export goods on the basis of the Customs value data after the conversion into the selling price of goods determined upon its arrival at the export border gate at the latest time to the registration date of export declarations of the goods which is being valued;
c/ The selling price of identical or similar export goods in the Vietnamese market after the conversion into the selling price of the goods determined upon its arrival at the border gate of exportation at the latest time to the registration date of export declarations of the goods which is being valued.
d / The selling price of export goods collected, synthesized and classified by the Customs according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 22 of this Decree after the conversion into the selling price of goods at the export border gates.”
The above amendment and supplementation aim to ensure sufficient legal basis and to facilitate the Customs valuation of export goods in cases where the value is impossible to be determined by the sale contract and commercial invoice. The supplementation does not raise administrative procedures.
In addition, Decree 59 supplements the concept of border gate of exportation. Article 86 of the Customs Law stipulates that Customs value of export goods is the selling prices of goods determined upon its arrival at the border gate of exportation. However, Decree No. 08/2015 / ND-CP does not stipulate what is the export border (is it the border gate where the goods are loaded onto the means of transport or the border gate where the goods are cleared for export out of Vietnamese territory?). That leads to the failure to identify related costs when determining Customs value of export goods.
Therefore, Decree 59 supplements the concept of border gate of exportation. Specifically, for the transportation by sea way and air way, the border gate of exportation is the port where goods are loaded on means of transport described in the Customs declarations. For railway transportation, the border gate of exportation is a place where goods are loaded at international railway shown in the Customs declarations. For the road and inland water way transportation, the border gate of exportation is a border gate where goods are exported out of Vietnamese territory, shown on the sale contract or other relevant documents.
The amendment and supplementation of this concept will unify different ways of understanding the gate of exportation which lead to the inconsistent identification of arising costs added to the Customs value of export goods. The supplementation does not increase administrative procedures.
Unifying the examination process of value
Regarding the Customs examination and valuation, Decree 59 has amended and supplemented many provisions to ensure the uniformity of the examination process of the value at the Customs clearance stage; ensure fairness and equality for Customs declarants in making a declaration, valuation and ruling; remove overlapping examination and the situation of ruling and post-customs clearance audit at the same time; create an initiative for enterprises in fulfilling their tax obligations.
This content is prescribed in Clause 9, Article 1 of Decree 59: “In case of sufficient basis to denounce the declared value, the Customs shall notify and request a Customs declarant to make an additional declaration within 5 working days as from the date of announcing and releasing goods according to regulations. If a customs declarant make the additional declaration within the above time limit, the Customs shall clear the goods according to regulations. If the above time limit for declaration is over and a Customs declarant does not make additional declaration, the Customs shall determine the value and impose tax according to the provisions of the Law on Tax Administration for Customs clearance according to regulations.
In case of doubt about the declared value, the Customs shall notify the basis and proposed Customs valuation method for the release of goods under regulations, the declarant shall apply for consultation with the Customs to clarify the accuracy of declared value.
In cases where the customs declarant agrees with the value and proposed methods by Customs, they shall make additional declaration according to regulations within 5 working days as from the date when they arrive at the Customs office for consultation, the Customs shall shall clear the goods according to regulations. In cases where the customs declarant refuses to make additional declaration within the above-mentioned time limit, the Customs shall determine the value and impose tax according to the provisions of the Law on Tax Administration for Customs clearance of goods according to regulations.
In case of denouncing the declared value, the Customs shall request a Customs declarant to make additional declarations within 5 working days after finishing consultations. If the Customs declarant makes additional declarations within the above time limit, the Customs shall clear the goods according to regulations. If the time limit is over and a Customs declarant fails to make an additional declaration, the Customs shall determine the value and impose tax under the Law on Tax Administration for customs clearance according to regulations.
In case of insufficient basis for denouncing the declared value, the customs shall clear the goods according to the declared value.
