To: Provincial Customs Departments.

Based on reports submitted by provincial Customs Departments, regulations on inspection, prevention and control of fraud and counterfeiting of goods origin, labeling, illegal transshipment, and infringement on intellectual property rights have been effectively implemented according to the direction of the General Department of Customs; many violations relating incorrect declaration of origin, transport of goods bearing forged or counterfeit brands or labels (Made in Vietnam), goods whose labels do not contain compulsory information, or goods produced from minimal operations and processes, etc. have been detected and handled in accordance with regulations of law.

Violations relating origin, labeling and infringement on intellectual property rights are forecast to be more and more complicated from now to the end of 2022, especially on the occasion of the Lunar New Year; convenient customs procedures shall be misused for the purposes of fraudulent or forged brands and origin of goods, tax evasion, or consumer deception. In response to such situation, the General Department of Customs hereby requests provincial Customs Departments to direct their divisions and affiliated units to implement the following solutions:

1. Continue requesting officials and public employees at relevant departments/divisions to strictly comply with instructional documents given by the General Department of Customs, including: the Official Dispatch No. 5189/TCHQ-GSQL dated August 13, 2019; the Directive No. 7988/CT-TCHQ dated December 25, 2019; the Official Dispatch No. 906/TCHQ-GSQL dated February 24, 2021, and the Official Dispatch No. 5951/TCHQ-GSQL dated December 17, 2021.

If the inspection of customs documents and/or physical inspection of goods are conducted while following customs procedures, attention should be paid to the following contents:

a) Regarding exported goods:

a.1) Subjects of inspection: wooden furniture, plastic products, rubber tyres, knives, scissors, tableware, and motocross motorcycles exported to USA and European countries, etc.

a.2) Inspection contents: Labeling and origin of goods shall comply with the provisions of Article 10 and Article 15 of the Government’s Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP, as amended in Clause 5 and Clause 7 Article 1 of the Government’s Decree No. 111/2021/ND-CP dated December 09, 2021. To be specific:

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+ In case goods are produced in Vietnam but the origin of a country other than the origin of Vietnam (such as Japan, Korea or Thailand, etc.) is shown on the goods and/or their packages, during the physical inspection of goods, customs declarants shall be requested to provide contracts on processing or production of goods for export, if the labeling of goods has been made under terms and conditions of such contracts, or to provide any documents or websites, etc. proving that the labeling has been made in accordance with the domestic regulations of the country of import.

b) Regarding imported goods:

b.1) Subjects of inspection: Foods, spirits, beer, miscellaneous goods, electrical and electronic household articles, cosmetics, clothes, and pharmaceutical products imported from primary markets for consumption in Vietnam.

b.2) Inspection contents:

- The inspection of labeling and origin of goods shall comply with the guidelines in Section 1.1 of the Official Dispatch No. 5189/TCHQ-GSQL dated August 13, 2019 of the General Department of Customs and relevant documents with paying attention to the following contents:

When following customs procedures, the imported goods must bear primary labels on which the information is written in a foreign language or Vietnamese and complies with the provisions of Article 10 of the Government’s Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP, as amended in Clause 5 Article 1 of the Government’s Decree No. 111/2021/ND-CP dated December 09, 2021.

If imported goods do not bear labels or bear labels which are separated from the goods or their packages for the purposes of evasion of origin, customs authorities are requested to strictly comply with the Government's Decree No. 128/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 and the Government's Decree No. 126/2021/ND-CP dated December 30, 2021, and refuse to grant customs clearance.

- Regarding intellectual property: Inspection of goods for preventing infringement on intellectual property rights shall comply with the provisions in Point b.2.9 Section 1.1 of the Official Dispatch No. 5189/TCHQ-GSQL dated August 13, 2019 of the General Department of Customs and relevant documents.

2. Provincial Customs Departments shall direct their divisions and affiliated units to develop specific plans for inspection, prevention and control of fraud and counterfeiting of goods origin, labeling, illegal transshipment, and infringement on intellectual property rights according to previously issued documents and this document of the General Department of Customs; promptly detect and take actions against violations against regulations on customs.

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PP. DIRECTOR GENERAL
DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL




Mai Xuan Thanh