NEW REGULATIONS ON THE PROCEDURE FOR CUSTOMS CLEARANCE AND IMPORT MANAGEMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES

The Minister of Finance has issued Circular No. 45/2022/TT-BTC (“Circular 45”) on amending and supplementing some Articles of Circular No. 143/2015/TT-BTC streamlining the procedure for customs clearance and management of motor vehicles, motorcycles of entities granted permission for import or temporary import for non-commercial purposes.

Circular 45 has amended and supplemented conformance requirements, and procedures for the management of motor vehicles and motorcycles of entities that have been granted permission for import or temporary import for non-commercial purposes as follows:

• Complying with the national technical regulations on technical quality, safety, and environmental protection applied to motor vehicles and motorcycles (QCVN 14:2015/BGTVT).
• Conformance requirements for import or temporary import of motor vehicles and motorcycles for non-commercial purposes, include:

– Those permitted to import or temporary import which are brand-new;

– Those permitted for registration and operation in Vietnam (except when they are imported or temporarily imported without registration, or are on display at fairs, exhibitions, product launches, promotion events, or used for research and experimentation purposes).

• The policy on the management of motor vehicles and motorcycles for import or temporary import in the form of gifts, donations, samples, and movable property shall comply with the regulations of the Government and the Prime Minister.
• Procedures for customs clearance for import or temporary import of motor vehicles and motorcycles for non-commercial purposes must comply with new regulations:

– An import, temporary import dossier for vehicles shall include documents such as the declaration, bill of lading or transport documents, registration form of inspection, letter of authorization, etc. by paper copies or electronic means according to the prescribed form.

– The person implementing the procedure shall make the customs clearance at the Customs Department by electronic means or in-person and take responsibility for the custody of the vehicle at a place where it is allowed for storage for 30 days while waiting for the inspection result by the quality control agency.

– The Customs Department taking charge of customs procedures for import or temporary import shall only allow customs clearance whenever it obtains the certificate of technical quality, safety, and environmental protection for imported motor vehicles (applicable to motor vehicles) and the certificate of inspection of imported motorcycle quality granted (applicable to motorcycles) by the quality control agency. When receiving the certificate (electronic version, and paper version), the Customs Department will check and compare it with the original.

– In case the customs declarant does not submit the certificate of technical quality, safety, and environmental protection within the prescribed time limit (more than 30 days from the date of putting the vehicles into storage), the Customs Department will record the violation unless the customs declarant has an objectively valid reason confirmed by the quality control agency. If being handled by the Customs Department, after the customs declarant has executed any sanctioning decisions, they will continue to implement the procedures for the customs clearance as prescribed by law.