Announcement

The latest guide on the management of scrap imports from abroad into Vietnam

Summary

The General Department of Vietnam Customs has issued Official Letter No. 4202/TCHQ-PC guiding the Customs Departments of provinces and cities in the management of import scraps from abroad into Vietnam.

Updated on : 21-07-2018

This Official Letter no. 4202/TCHQ-PC replaces Official Letter No. 8154 / TCHQ-GSQL dated 8 September 2015 on examination of scrap imports without national technical standards on environment; 2443 / TCHQ-GSQL dated 7 May 2018 on the handling of goods being wastes in the area of Customs operation and Official Letter 3738 / TCHQ-GSQL dated 26 June 2018 on the management of scrap imports.

Accordingly, the provincial and municipal Customs Departments should base themselves on the legal basis for the management of waste and scraps imported from foreign countries into Vietnam as prescribed in Clause 12, Clause 16, Article 3; Clause 9, Article 7 of the Law on Environmental Protection dated 23 June 2014.

Scraps for Customs clearance must meet the following conditions: They are on the list of those permitted for import by the Prime Minister (Clause 1, Article 76 of the Law on Environmental Protection) in line with the Decision No. 73 / 2014 / QD-TTg dated 19 December 2014 of the Prime Minister stipulating the list of discarded materials allowed to be imported from abroad as raw materials for production.

According to the national technical standards on environment (Clause 1 of Article 76 and Clause 2, Article 141 of the Law on Environmental Protection), scrap imports shall comply with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Circular No. 43/2010 / TT-BTNMT of 29 December 2010 on national technical regulations on the environment.

Import enterprises must have certificates of environmental protection qualification for scrap imports as raw materials for production and within import limit (Clause 2 of Article 76 of the Law on Environmental Protection).

The provincial and municipal Customs departments shall also have to handle in the course of carrying out the entry procedures for transport means used for the transportation of discarded materials and used commodities.

Particularly, the provincial and municipal Customs Departments shall have to notify the shipping lines and shipping agents according to the provisions of Clause 1, Section II of this Official Dispatch.

Accordingly, the Customs officers shall only carry out the Customs procedures for imported scraps from foreign countries which satisfy the following conditions: They are on the list of those permitted for import, promulgated by the Prime Minister or national technical regulations, imported by a company which has a certificate of eligibility for environmental protection.

For goods being plaster scraps, glass scraps, scraps of chemical elements used in electronics, in the form of discs shall be declared as "PL # & Name of Goods".

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in recent times, the import activities, the purchase and sale of scrap in Vietnam has tended to increase sharply with a high risk of pollution affecting the living environment.

In the process of monitoring, inspection and supervision of goods, investigation and verification, the Customs authorities have discovered enterprises implementing fraudulent tricks in scrap imports such as forging, erasing documents, certificates of environmental protection eligibility in scrap imports as raw materials for production in order to legalize dossiers on import of scraps on the list attached to Decision No. 73/2014 / QD-TTg dated 19 December 2014 of the Prime Minister.

To prevent the above fraudulent behavior, not to make Vietnam becomelandfill of the world, Customs officers shall strictly comply with Customs inspections in accordance with the provisions of Articles 31, 32, 33 and 34 of the Customs Law of 2014, sanctions and penalties in Decree No. 45/2016 / ND-CP amending and supplementing Decree 127/2013 / ND-CP on the sanctioning of administrative violations and the enforcement of administrative decisions in the field of Customs and the provisions of the law on environmental protection, the direction of the Prime Minister in Official Dispatch No. 5290 / VPCP-KTTH dated 5 June 2018 on strict management of scrap imports into Vietnam.

The Department of Risk Management needs to support information analysis manifest and collaborate with the Department of Customs IT and Statistics, the Customs Supervision and Management Department and the Customs Inspection Department to develop criteria for examination of conditions to ban scraps without certificates of eligibility for environmental protection as raw materials for production.

The Customs Post-clearance Audit Department shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Department of Investigation and Anti-Smuggling, the Risk Management Department, the Customs Inspection Department and the Examination Department to gather and analyze information, carry out the inspection plan on the use of scraps as raw materials for production; strictly handle cases of violations according to the granted certificates of import of scraps.

The Customs Supervision and Management Department shall monitor, urge and inspect the provincial and municipal Customs Departments to carry out import procedures for scraps according to the guidance in this Official Letter and relevant documents.

Coordinate with the Department of IT and Customs Statistics to update the list of enterprises which are granted certificates of eligibility for environmental protection in import of scrap materials as raw materials for production.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs shall request units to thoroughly implement. If any problems arise in the course of implementation, units shall report to the General Department of Vietnam Customs for timely consideration and guidance.

Source:  Customs News