On July 27, 2022, the Minister of Finance issued Circular 45/2022/TT-BTC (“Circular 45”) amending and implementing Circular 143/2015/TT-BTC (“Circular 143”) dated September 11, 2015 stipulating the procedure for customs clearance and management of motor vehicles, motorcycles of entities granted permission for import or temporary import for non-commercial purposes.
Simplification of procedures for import or temporary import
One of the new crucial points in Circular 45 is the annulment of the procedures for granting permits for import or temporary import of automobiles and motorcycles in Article 4 of Circular 143. Simultaneously, when it comes to stipulate the procedures for import or temporary import of automobiles and motorcycles, Circular 45 has also revoked all contents relating to permits for import or temporary import as aforementioned. Therefore, Circular 45 had an adjustment towards simplifying the procedures for customs clearance of motor vehicles, motor vehicles of entities being permitted for import or temporary import for non-commercial purposes.
Tightening of import conditions under the form of gifts or donations
In contrast to the simplification procedure, Circular 45 has a tightening on the conditions for importing automobiles and motorcycles under the form of gifts or donations. Previously, Circular 143 did not provide detailed conditions for import in the form of gifts and donations, but only limited the quantity of 01 motor vehicle and 01 motorcycle. However, Circular 45 has revoked this regulation and stated that policies for the import of automobiles and motorcycle as gifts or donations must comply with the regulations of the Government and the Prime Minister. In other words, when there has yet an official document of the Government or the Prime Minister, this import activity is considered impossible to implement or will only be implemented for particular cases after getting the Government and the Prime Minister’s approval. This constriction will limit cases of deriving benefits from vehicle imports in the form of gifts and donations to evade taxation and take advantages illegitimately.
Supplementation of steps for tax value determination and tax imposition in the process of import or temporary import
Simultaneously with the tightening of conditions, Circular 45 also added various new regulations on the prevention of fraudulent declaration of import value and tax loss. Specifically:
(i) If the determination of the declared value of the goods is inconsistent with the reality, the customs authority will re-determine and issue the Notice of customs value within 08 working hours from the completion time of the actual inspection of the imported goods.
(ii) The customs authority will issue the Decision of tax imposition within 05 working days from the issuance date of the Notice of customs value.
(iii) The Sub-department of Customs must monitor and inspect within 30 days from the date the goods are put into storage.
(iv) In case of re-determination of the customs value and issuance of the Decision of tax imposition, the Sub-department of Customs shall send an additional document to the provincial Department of tax managing the taxation of importing organizations and/or individuals, in order to notify the re-determined value of the vehicle(s), the amount of tax (specify each type of tax) that the customs authority has supplemented to coordinate tax collection as prescribed.
(v) After accomplishing the procedures for importing automobiles and motorcycles (in case of the form of gifts or donations), the Sub-department of Customs, which implements the import procedures, must provide the following information: number and date of customs clearance being customs cleared; name and tax code of organization or individual importing the vehicle(s) to the provincial Tax Department governing such organization or individual for tax management and collection as prescribed.
Circular 45 will take effect from September 10, 2022.
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