Laws of Vietnam

No: 14/2011/ND-CP

Ha Noi, day 16 month 02 year 2011                          

DECREE

STIPULATING ON CONDITIONS FOR REGISTRATION AND OPERATION OF CUSTOMS PROCEDURE AGENT

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the June 29, 2001 Law on Customs and the June 14, 2005 Law of Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the June 29, 2001 Law on Customs
At the proposal of the Minister of Finance,

DECREES

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Customs procedure agent

Customs procedure agent (hereinafter summary called as customs agency) is a trader who is representative persons have export and import goods (hereinafter general called as goods owner) to implement the obligations of Customs declarers according to provisions in clause 1, article 16 of the Customs Law and implement other activities on customs procedures in accordance with negotiations in contract.

Article 2. Conditions for being Customs Agent

Customs Agent must get complete conditions as follows:

1. Having Business Registration under the provisions of law.

2. Having branches of business and service of handover and receipt of export and import goods or the service of making customs declarations on others’ behalf which are written in the Business Registration Certificates.

3. Having at least one (01) customs agent employee.

4. Satisfying conditions for connecting with computer networks of customs offices in order to execute electronic customs procedures at provincial/municipal Customs Departments (hereinafter short called provincial Customs Departments) where the electronic customs procedures have been carried out.

Article 3. Conditions for being customs agent staff

1. Customs agent staff member must satisfy following conditions:

a). Being a Vietnamese Citizen.

b). Having intermediate or higher diplomas in economics or law.

c). Having a customs professional Certificate.

d). Having working experiences for the Customs Agent where issued the card are at least 3 (three) months.

2. Any customs agent which issuing the cards for its staff members must bear law responsibility for conditions regulated in clause 1 of this article.

Article 4. Subjects who shall not be permitted to be customs agent staff

The following subjects shall not be permitted to be customs agent staff:

1. Adults who are limited or lost civil act capacity.

2. People who are being prosecuted criminal liability or serving imprisonment sentence.

3. Person who have been administratively handled for acts of breaking the customs and tax law within one (1) year up to the date of applying dossiers to suggest be issued customs agent staff card.

4. State officials, employee who are on service.

Article 5. Dossier of customs agent staff card issuing

1. Dossier of customs agent staff card issuing involves of

a). The application of card issuing in accordance with the form regulated by the ministry of finance.

b). Notarized copies of degrees, certificates regulated at point b, c, clause 1 of article 3 of this Decree.

c). Copy of customs agent staff’s identification Card.

2. The applicant must make dossier such as provisions in clause 1 of this article, then send it to the customs agent where working to be issued customs agent card.

Article 6. Issuing and management of the customs agent staff card

1. Staff member of custom agent satisfy conditions regulated in charter 1 article 3 and is not subjects stated in article 4 of this decree is issued the customs agent staff card by customs agent. The time limit for granting cards shall be more than 5 working days since receiving complete card granting dossier. In case of rejecting the card granting, customs agent must clearly notify card applicants in writing of the rejected reasons

2. The customs agent staff card must clearly state: full name, serial number of the identity card, name of customs agent where customs agent staff member is working.

3. After three-day-work, since date of card issuing, customs agent must send and post the list of persons who granted customs agent card in accordance with the form which is provided by the Financial Ministry in the electronic information website of the General Customs Department.

4. The customs agents are obligated to issue the regulation of management and using customs agent cards which are granted by them in accordance with the form provided by the Financial Ministry; and must be law responsible for management and using customs agent staff cards of unit.

Chapter 2

ANNOUNCEMENT, OPERATION OF THE CUSTOMS AGENT, RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GOODS OWNER

Article 7. Announcement and confirmation of satisfied conditions for customs agent operation

1. Before operation, customs agent must submit dossier of announcement on satisfying customs agent conditions, according to the provision in article 2 of this decree, send to the Customs Department of the province where set main office. The dossier includes:

a) The announcement written according the form stated by the financial ministry.

b) One (01) notarized copy of business registration certification.

c). Notarized copy of customs declaration professional certification of each customs agent staff member.

d). The sample of signature of the customs agent authorized person, who have the right to sign under the customs declaration forms.

2. In the limit time of five (05) working days, since the date of receiving completed dossier file, provided in clause 1 of this article, the Provincial Customs Department must confirm and send an announcement to confirm of having completed custom agent activity conditions for customs agents. In case need time to check more in customs agent conditions, the limit time to send announcement of confirming is more than ten (10) working days, since the day of receiving complete dossier file.

3. In the following with sending the announcement to confirm of having completed custom agent activity conditions in accordance with clause 1 of this article, the provincial Customs Department is obligated to send and post the announcement of confirming for customs agents which have completed custom agent activity conditions in the electronic information webpage of the General Customs Department.

Article 8. The customs agent’s operation

1. Signing contract in writing with goods owner.

2. Asking the goods owner for supplying complete and exact documents and information which are necessary for carrying out customs procedures of each export or import goods lot.

3. Implementing customs procedures activities in accordance with agreements in the contract, including:

a) Making declarations, giving signatures and affixing seals on customs declaration forms.

b) Submitting and presenting all of customs dossier sets related to export or import goods lots.

c) Presenting goods in order to be inspected by customs office.

4. Implementing all procedures after being authorized according to the agreement composed in the contract, including:

a) Submitting taxes, fees, costs, and other collections according to the law provisions in related to export or import goods.

b) Complain, request of handling or adjustment customs office’s decisions in related to the export or import goods.

5. Taking responsibility before the law in cases failing to properly perform authorized jobs, or declaring untruthfully of information and related documents supplied by goods owners.

Article 9. The responsibilities of goods owner

1. Signing contract with the customs agent about the scope of authorization and each contracting party’s responsibilities.

2. Supplying to customs agents fully and accurately documents, information which be necessary for customs procedures of the export or import goods lots.

3. Taking responsibilities before law in case of supplying inaccurate, incomplete information and documents related to goods lots or supplying unlawful, invalid documents as provided to customs agents, thus entailing acts breaking of law.

Article 10. Inspection and supervision of the customs agent’s operation

Customs offices inspect and supervise the customs agency’s operation and implementing provisions in this decree.

Article 11. Proof papers have to present when making customs procedures

When make customs procedures at the Customs Office, the customs agent staff have to wear the custom agent staff card and present the people’s identity card when requested.

Article 12. Assistances and foreground processing to the customs agent

1. The customs office freely assistant to the customs agent in the following fields:

a) Technical assistance in connecting the networks between the customs office and the customs agent.

b) Assistance of the customs and tax procedures on the export or import goods.

c) Updating new provisions in related to the Customs Law.

d) Practicing and fostering in customs law.

2. Export or import goods lots implemented by the customs agent in accordance with provisions in this decree shall foreground process about customs procedures in accordance with the Customs Law and guiding of the Financial Ministry.

Chapter 3

COMMENDATION AND HANDLING OF THE LAW-BREAKING

Article 13: Commendation

The customs agents obey customs law and gain good performance of implementing the Customs Law shall be commended, rewarded according the laws.

Article 14. Handling of the law-breaking

1. Regarding to the customs agents

a) The provincial Customs department suggests the Planning and Investment department of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces to issue a decision of stopping activities of customs agents in the following cases:

- The customs agents act when fail in conditions provided in article 2 of this Decree.

- The customs agents connive with goods owners to break of the customs law.

- The customs agents self-willed change their names, addresses without informing to the Provincial Customs department, where set their main offices.

- The customs agents self-willed terminate their activities.

- The customs agents have been suspended of their activities two (02) times within one year, but continue to break the customs law.

b) The heads of provincial Customs departments decide to suspend the customs agents’ operation in the following cases:

- The customs agents do not implement fully customs agent responsibilities which are regulated in article 1 of this Decree and other related laws.

- To disobeys or fail in obeying the punishment decisions of the Customs Office.

- To lend the customs agent’s name.

- The customs agents have administrative violation handled two (02) times in one year or have three (03) staff members who are withdrawn of the customs agent staff cards.

The suspension duration shall count from the time when the above-stated acts are detected to the time when customs agents complete remedying consequences.

c. The customs agent which has been stopped or suspended of operation under provisions in point a or b of this article have responsibility to withdrawal the issued customs agent cards. The reissuing customs agent staff card shall be permitted to implement when the customs agents are approved of operation continuing by the state authorized organize.

2. Regarding to the customs agent staff:

a) The customs agent staff shall be withdrawn the customs agent staff card in the following cases:

- Having activities of smuggling, commercial fraud or tax evading;

- Lending others to use their cards or using other’s cards;

- Using the cards to execute customs procedures for goods lots of enterprises which have not yet contract with customs agents where they are working;

- Having activities of bribing customs cadres, public servants or having customs procedure law violations related to export or import goods.

b) The customs agents take responsibility to withdrawn the customs agent cards provided in point a this clause, and simultaneous inform the list of customs agent staff members who are withdrawn cards in accordance the form provided by the Financial Ministry to the provincial Customs departments where set their main office and send to post in the electronic information webpage of General Customs department.

Chapter 4

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 15. Implementation Effect

This Decree takes effect since the first of April 2011 and replace the Government’s Decree No 79/2005/ND-CP of June 16, 2005 which providing on the registration conditions and operations of the customs procedure agents.

Article 16. Implementation responsibilities

1. The Financial Ministry guides execution of this Decree.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the Government-attached agencies, and the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities and related organizes, individuals shall be responsible for implementation this Decree.