Vietnam legal Document page
Ministry of Trade      Socialist Republic of Vietnam
No. 08/TM-XNK       Independence - freedom - Happiness
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                                   Hanoi, 25 June 1994

DECISION Of THE MINISTER Of TRADE CONCERNING THE GOODS Of THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC Of CHINA BEING IN TRANSIT THROUGH TERRITORIES Of VIETNAM

THE MINISTER Of TRADE

- Pursuant to the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of the People's Republic of China concerning the goods in transit signed on 9 April 1994;

- Pursuant to the item 3, Article 26, Chapter V, Decree 33/CP dated 19 April, 1994 of the Government concerning the State management toward export and import activities.

- After having unanimously agreed with the General Department of Customs, the Ministry of finance and Ministry of Transport and Communication.

DECIDES

Article 1 :

To promulgate Regulation on the Goods of the People's Republic of China being in transit through territories of Vietnam attached to this Decision.

Article 2 :

The functional Department of the Ministry of Trade shall be liable to disseminate and guide the business to implement this regulation.

Article 3 :

This Decision shall come into effect from the date of its signing.

for The Ministry of Trade Deputy Minister

NGUYEN DINH TUYEN (Signed)


Ministry of Trade      Socialist Republic  of  Vietnam
                     Independence - freedom - Happiness
                        ___________________________

REGULATION CONCERNING THE GOODS Of THE PEOPLE' S REPUBLIC Of CHINA BEING INTRANSIT THROUGH TERRITORIES Of VIETNAM
(Attached to the Decision No. 08/TM-XNK dated 25 June, 1994 of the Minister of Trade)

Part One General Provisions

The Government of Vietnam agrees for the goods of the People's Republic of China to be sent to a third country and the goods of the People's Republic of China to be brought in from a third country via the territories of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam a ccording to the following provisions :

1. Goods in transit shall not be included in the list goods prohibited from import and export of Vietnam.

2. Goods in transit must have license granted by the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam on the basis of application for transit of Chinese goods owner.

Application for transit of the goods must be certified by the Ministry of Trade and foreign Economic Co-operation of China (or a body which was authorized by the Ministry of Trade and foreign Economic Co-operation) with regard to the content and proposal forwarded to the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam for the issue of license for transit of the goods.

Within seven (7) days from the date of receipt of the application, the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam shall have the answer in writing.

3. Goods in transit must comply with the law of Vietnam when they are imported exported stored at the bonded warehouse and transported, on the territories of Vietnam.

4. The transportation of goods of the People' Republic of China being in transit via Vietnam shall be carried out by Vietnamese enterprises.

5. Goods in transit must be transported rightly according to the route, border - gate, duration of time stipulated in the license and be subject to the supervision of the Customs of Vietnam.

The duration of time for the goods in transit which are allowed to be circulated on the territories of Vietnam shall be at most sixty (60) days from the date of completion of customs formalities at the border-gate where goods are imported, except the case where the goods are stored at bonded - warehouse or grounds (as point 6 below) or the case of incident (as Clause II/Part four).

6. Goods in transit which need to be stored at the bonded - warehouse or grounds in Vietnam must be permitted by the Customs of Vietnam and be subject to the supervision of the Customs of Vietnam.

7. Goods in transit shall not be sold on the territories of Vietnam. In special case, they must have license granted by the Ministry of Trade permitting the import of these goods into Vietnam, be subject to customs formalities according to the regulations concerning trading goods and pay taxes and other fees according to the law of Vietnam.

8. fees paid for goods in transit shall be contributed to the budget as stipulated by the Interministry of finance and Trade.

9. Goods in transit shall be allowed to pass through couples of border gates which are unanimously determined, and have already been opened, by the Government of Vietnam and Government of China. At present those couples of border gates are Lao Cai - Ha Kh au, Huu Nghi - Huu Nghi Quan, Mong Cai - Dong Hung.

10. fees and expenses arising from activities concerning goods in transit shall be recovered according to the guidance of the State Bank of Vietnam in Circular No 06/TT-NH8 dated 18 March, 1994 named "Guidance for implementation of the Agreement on Paymen t and Co-operation between the State Bank of Vietnam and People's Bank of China".

11. Any dispute arising during the process of implementing contracts between businesses shall be settled by them through negotiation. If the negotiation fails to come to an agreement, if may be further settled by the International Arbitration Center besi de the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Part Two Transit of goods

Chinese businesses having demand for the transit of goods must :

1. Have application asking for the transit of goods submitted to the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam (as form No 01)

2. After receiving the permit, in writing, granted by the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam (as form No 02), Chinese businesses shall, in Co-ordination with Vietnamese businesses which were allowed by the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam to transport goods in tran sit) conclude the contract for transport of goods in transit (as form No 03).

3. Provide Vietnamese businesses with adequate information concerning goods, time when the goods arrive at Vietnamese border gates, means of transport of goods as well as adequate documents so that the Vietnamese businesses concerned may carry out formali ties for receiving goods at the border gate where they are imported, transporting goods, storing goods at the bonded warehouse or ground (if any) and delivering goods at the border gate where they are exported.

4. The delivery and the receipt of goods at time international border gates of Vietnam and/or at the border gate stated in Point 9/Part One.

Part Three Transport of goods in transit

A. in respect of formalities to permit the transport of goods in transit :

I. Objects to be considered for permitting the transports of goods in transit for Chinese businesses :

Vietnamese businesses which were granted license for trading in export, import and if they did not commit any mistakes in two years 1992 - 1993, they shall be considered by the Ministry of Trade to permit the transport of goods in transit for Chinese bus inesses basing on the following principles :

1. They must have function concerning foreign trade transport (stated in the Decision for the establishment of these businesses which were signed before 1 July, 1993) or,

2. They must belong to the provinces which have border gates and Hai Phong City (each province which has border gates stated in Point 9/Part One and Hai Phong City shall appoint only business) or.

3. They have ever transported goods in transit for Chinese businesses, in the last two years the total value of the goods, in transit amounted to USD 20 million upward and/or have ever exported goods to China according to the license granted by the Depart ment for Export Import license (Hereinafter referred to as License Department) of the Ministry of Trade with the total export value worth from USD 5 million upward for each of two years 1992 - 1993.

Based on the requirement for the transit of goods of Chinese businesses and the capacity in the transport of goods in transit of the Vietnamese businesses, the Ministry of Trade shall decide number of businesses which enjoy the transport of goods in trans it in a suitable way to ensure the most effective result concerning the management of the State and trading operation of the businesses.

II. Any businesses which find themselves adequate conditions as mentioned above must submit a set of file to the Ministry of Trade, if they have requirement for the transport of goods in transit for Chinese businesses, consisting of :

1. Application for transport of goods in transit for Chinese businesses (as form No 04).

2. Export - Import license (a photo - copy certified by Public Notary Agency).

3. Decision for the establishment of the businesses signed before 1 July, 1993 (if it is object 1 stated in Point I / 1 above).

4. Report on process of transport of goods in transit for Chines businesses and process of export of goods to China (as form No 05 if the businesses is object 3 stated in Point 1/3 above).

Within seven (7), from the date of receipt of legal file, the Ministry of Trade shall issue the reply, in writing (as form No 06).

B. In respect of rules for implementation :

1. Businesses concerned shall have to submit to the License Department the following documents :

1.1. Types of documents, which have validity for many times in one commercial affair :

1.1.1. Document of the Ministry of Trade permitting Vietnamese businesses to enjoy the transport of goods in transit for Chinese businesses (a Photo-copy)

1.1.2. Document of the Ministry of Trade permitting goods of Chinese businesses to be in transit.

1.1.3. Contract for transport of goods in transit signed by Vietnamese businesses and Chinese business (original copy).

In the contract for transport of goods in transit signed by Vietnam business there must be a provision stating that Chinese businesses authorized Vietnamese business to receive goods at .. (name of border gate where goods in transit are imported into Viet nam). Reference number of the contract for transport of goods in transit must be added by the words QC (e.g. contract for transport of goods in transit signed between Company A (Vietnam) and General Company B ( China), instead of reference number 01 whic h was formerly stated now it must be added by the works QC (initials of Qua Canh in Vietnamese that means in transit) after it and it will become 01/QC). This reference number must be recorded in transport bill (or Bill of Lading) in favor of consignee's part).

1.2. Types of documents which have validity only for one delivery or receipt of goods :

1.2.1. Transport bill or Bill of Lading (a photo-copy)

1.2.2. Commercial invoice formulated by the business of third country which sells goods claiming for the total amount of money paid by Chinese business or the commercial invoice formulated by Chinese business claiming for the total amount of money paid b y the business which purchased goods in a third country (a Photo-copy).

1.2.3. Packing list (original copy). The License Department shall look into the above - mentioned documents to grant the license for transport of goods in transit for each batch of goods, if they are legal, (as from No 07).

2. The business concerned must submit to the Customs agency at border at border gate where goods are imported the following documents :

2.1. License for transit of goods granted by the License Department (original copy).

2.2. Contract for transport of goods in transit as stated in point 1.1.3 which was sealed with the works "Da Dang Ky", which means "Registered" by the License Department ( a Photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency).

2.3. Transport bill (or bill of lading) as stated in point 1.2.1 (a photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency).

2.4. Commercial invoice as state in point 1.2.2 (a photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency).

2.5. Packing list as state in point 1.2.3 (a photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency).

2.6. If goods in transit are self - moving vehicles, a temporary circulation license shall be required additionally which was granted by the Police at provincial level of City under Central level where exist border gates to import goods in transit (a phot o-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency).

2.7. If goods in transit are stored at bonded-warehouse or grounds, an additional document granted by the Head of Department of Customs Management Inspection of the General Department of Customs certifying permission for the goods to be stored at bonded-w arehouse or grounds shall be required (original copy).

Based on the above - mentioned documents, the Customs agency at the border gates where goods are imported shall carry out Customs formalities to import goods and transport goods, to the border-gates where they are exported. In case where goods in transit are transported without being stored at bonded-warehouse or grounds and are contained in specialized means of transport, the Customs agency at border gated where goods are imported shall seal up, plumb before allowing the transport. In case where goods i n transit have no such conditions for sealing up or plumbing or bulk goods the Customs at the gates where goods are imported shall appoint its staff to march. In case where goods in transit are stored bonded - warehouse. The marching of the Customs from the border gates where goods are imported to the bonded-warehouse shall be compulsory and the Customs shall carry out the inspection over this bonded-warehouse according to the provisions of the law on Customs of Vietnam.

The Customs at the border gate where goods in transit are exported shall base on the declaration of imported goods which were certified of the Customs at the border gate where goods in transit are imported to make a comparison with the license and the set of proofs and to control the sealing or the plumbing situation. In case the sealing or the plumbing are found damaged, the Customs shall draw up a statement of the case control the goods (only the goods which were damaged). If actually the goods are cor responding to the set of proofs, the Customs shall carry out formalities to export those goods through border gate ; in case if actually the goods fail to correspond to the set of proofs the Customs shall not allow the export of these goods and draw up a statement of the case concerning the infringement carry out the sealing again and assign the Vietnamese business to protect the real-state of the goods; in case of necessity the Customs shall draw up a statement to keep the goods temporarily then inform t he General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Trade for further treatment. Vietnamese businesses must create favorable conditions for and suffer the expenses related to the control of the goods in transit carried out by the Customs agency.

The marching of goods from the border gate where goods are imported to the border gate where goods are exported shall be implemented according to the Regulations of the General Department of Customs Businesses must pay Customs fees items according to the provisions in Interministerial circular signed by the Ministry of finance and General Department of Customs No 31/TTLB dated 7 April 1993.

3. Businesses should have the following documents to present to the bodies which may check up or control goods during the process of transportation

3.1. License for transit of goods as stated in point 2.1 (original copy).

3.2. Customs declaration (original copy)

3.3. Contract for transport of goods in transit as stated in point 1.1.3 which was sealed with the words "Da Dang Ky" which means "Registered", by the License Department ( a photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency).

3.4. Packing list as stated in Point 1.2.3 ( a photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency)

3.5. If goods in transit are self-moving vehicles, a temporary circulation license as stated in point 2.6 shall be required ( a photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency).

3.6. If goods in transit are stored at bonded-warehouse an additional document granted by the Head of Department of Customs Management Inspection of the General Department of Customs certifying permission for the goods to be stored at bonded-warehouse ( a photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency).

4. Businesses shall be liable to submit to the Bank where they have accounts opened a contract for transport of goods in transit as stated in point 1.1.3 which was sealed with the words " Da Dang Ky", which means "Registered" by the License Department ( a photo-copy certified by the Public Notary Agency) then formalities to recover the expenses are carried out.

Part four Some other provisions

I. In case where a Chinese business, due to objective reasons, returns the goods to the business of a third Country, then all formalities must be carried out from the beginning, i.e. from the link where Chinese businesses has the application for transport of goods in transit (as form No 01), the link where the contract for transport of goods in transit with the business permitted by the Ministry of Trade for transport of goods in transit (as form No 03). to the link where the business which transport good s in transit submit and present the file according to the rule for implementation as stipulated in Point B/Part Three.

II. In case where goods in transit meet incident (breakage, damage, etc.) in process of transportation, Vietnamese business shall, in co-ordination with the Customs officers who march the goods, request the Customs agency (or authorities from commune leve l upward where no Customs agency is available) at the place where incident happened to draw up a statement justifying the state of the goods.

Vehicle alone, after the statement was drawn up, if it still remains in a self-moving state, it may be continuously allowed a self-moving means, if impossible it must be carried by other means of transport to reach border gate where goods are exported.

III. Goods in transit are banned from selling in the territories of Vietnam. The Ministry of Trade shall consider the permission to sell goods in transit in the territories of Vietnam when it receives the document of Chinese business asking for permission to sell and document of the export import businesses of Vietnam asking for permission to purchase this quantity of goods.

If this quantity of goods are among the list of exports, imports as guided by specialized branch management bodies, an additional document of the specialized branch management body which allows the Vietnamese businesses to use or trade in that item of goods at home shall be required (original copy).

In case where the Ministry of Trade agrees, Vietnamese business and Chinese businesses shall conclude the contract for trade purchase or sale (according to the Decision No 299/TMDL-XNK dated 9 April 1992 of the Ministry of Trade and Tourism-now the Minis try of Trade).

Vietnamese businesses shall submit to the License Department in charge of the region :

1. Agreement in writing of the Ministry of Trade.

2. Contract of trade purchase and sale signed with Chinese business.

If seeing that the contract for trade purchase and sale is legal, License Department shall grant the license for the import of goods for Vietnamese businesses to go to the Customs agency to carry out formalities and pay import duty according to the regula tions in force.

IV. After each period where the goods are delivered completely to the Chinese business the General Department shall make a report on the implementation and result of the implementation.

V. During process of implementing this Regulation, Vietnamese businesses, License Department and Customs Offices of the provinces and City under Central level shall be entitled to propose to the Ministry of Trade and General Department of Customs effectiv e management measures in order to create favorable conditions for businesses and legal foundations for the state bodies in charge of management, control, inspection to better manage the activities concerning transit of goods and transport of goods in tran sit.

VI. Any organization which and individual who infringe provisions stated in this Regulation shall be settled according to the laws in force of Vietnam.

VII. This Regulation shall replace Temporary Provision No 4795/TN-XNK dated 3 July, 1991 of the Minister of Trade on "Business-operation, services and formalities for the goods in transit via territories of Vietnam" and come into effect from 25 June 1994.

for The Ministry of Trade Deputy Minister

Truong Dinh Tuyen