Decision No. 431/QD-TTg dated March 27, 2020 on approving scheme for management of cross-border e-commerce

DECISION

APPROVING SCHEME FOR MANAGEMENT OF CROSS-BORDER E-COMMERCE

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP dated January 01, 2019 on main tasks and solutions for plan for socio-economic development and state budget estimate of 2019; 

At the request of the Minister of Finance,

HEREBY DECIDES:

Article 1. The scheme for management of cross-border e-commerce (hereinafter referred to as “the Scheme”), with the following contents, is approved:

1. Regulated entities and scope

a) Regulated entities

- Regulatory bodies involved in management of e-commerce imports and exports;

- Organizations and individuals engaged in cross-border e-commerce;

- Providers of e-commerce platforms and owners of single seller e-commerce websites;

- Carriers transporting e-commerce imports and exports and bonded warehouse proprietors;

- Customs brokers;

- Other organizations and individuals whose rights and obligations concern cross-border e-commerce.

b) Scope

The Scheme provides for cross-border e-commerce transactions carried out on e-commerce platforms and single seller e-commerce websites where information on their orders is sent to the electronic customs data processing system for e-commerce imports and exports (hereinafter referred to as “e-customs data processing system”) in advance.

2. Objectives and viewpoints

a) Objectives

First, establish a system for receipt and processing of information concerning e-commerce imports and exports based on Vietnam National Single Window and ASEAN Single Window to provide adequate databases for enhancement of transaction control and customs clearance.

Second, formulate policies on cross-border e-commerce regarding customs procedures, customs valuation, licensing, license conditions, inspection and exemption from licensing, license conditions and inspection.

b) Viewpoints

First, institutionalize the viewpoints and orientations of the Communist Party regarding socio-economic and international integration development and innovation;

Second, ensure comprehensiveness, feasibility, suitability for current capacity and resolution to difficulties and problems that arise during implementation of existing regulations;

Third, ensure existing import and export regulations inherit from previous ones and continue to develop;

Fourth, ensure compatibility with international practice, international agreements to which Vietnam is a signatory and regulations of Vietnamese laws. 

3. Solutions for management of cross-border e-commerce

a) Solutions concerning completion of legal grounds for cross-border e-commerce

- Solutions concerning customs procedures

Customs procedures must be simple and time efficient and facilitate management duties of customs authorities, accurate and adequate collection of export and import duties and prevention of trade fraud. To satisfy these requirements, request parties engaged in e-commerce transactions to submit information to the customs management system in advance, which leads to the following tasks:

+ Specify which relevant entities are required to participate or stop participating in the customs management system for e-commerce imports and exports.

+ Specify which entities shall submit information on their orders/shipments to the customs management system for e-commerce imports and exports in advance.

+ Stipulate the customs procedures to be carried out after orders are submitted to the system.

- Solutions concerning licensing, license conditions and inspection

+ Amend regulations on exemption from licensing, license conditions and inspection for the following cases:

. Goods whose customs value is equal to or less than VND 1.000.000, excluding the cases not eligible for exemption from licensing, license conditions and/or inspection notified to the General Department of Vietnam Customs by supervisory ministries.

. For goods the customs value of which exceeds VND 1.000.000, if they are included in the list of goods exempt from licensing, license conditions and/or inspection when imported/exported in prescribed amounts, they may be exempt from licensing, license conditions and/or inspection. Organizations and individuals shall not collect goods granted this exemption from other e-commerce buyers. All violations against this regulation shall be handled as regulated.

+ Stipulate time limit for announcement of inspection results as follows:

. The result of an e-commerce import/export inspection must be announced on the e-customs data processing system within 02 working hours after such result is available and no later than the deadline currently applied to announcement of import/export inspection results.

. To ensure food safety, prevention of infectious diseases and environmental pollution, and protection of national security, stipulate that exemption from licensing, license conditions and/or inspection shall not be granted to the cases issued with warnings about food safety, infectious diseases, health or life hazard, environmental pollution, corruption of moral values or fine traditions and customs, or risks to national security or economy or with notifications of cessation of exemption from pre-customs clearance inspection by supervisory ministries.

+ Provide for duties of professional regulatory bodies to process license applications and perform inspection for goods stored in bonded warehouses (yet to undergo import procedures) at the request of enterprises being owners of such goods or authorized to carry out procedures in Vietnam by owners of such goods. After the license application status and/or inspection result are/is available, customs authorities shall deduct the amount of goods being imported from the pre-licensed amount to handle the import procedure for each order.

- Solutions concerning customs valuation

To facilitate e-commerce development and ensure consistence with regulations on customs valuation in guiding documents, rules and methods for customs valuation applicable to e-commerce imports and exports shall be stipulated as follows:

+ For exports:

. Rule for customs valuation: the customs value is the selling price of goods at exporting checkpoint exclusive of international insurance cost (I) and international freight cost (F).

. Method for customs valuation: selling price of goods at exporting checkpoint is the value stated in the electronic invoice or an equivalent document exclusive of international insurance cost and international freight cost

+ For imports:

. Rule for customs valuation: the customs value is the actual price of goods at the first importing checkpoint inclusive of international freight cost and international insurance cost (if any).

. Method for customs valuation: actual price of goods at the first importing checkpoint is the value stated in the electronic invoice or an equivalent document inclusive of international freight cost and international insurance cost (if any).

b) Solutions concerning development of cross-border e-commerce databases

To provide databases for management of e-commerce imports and exports, it is necessary to develop an e-customs data processing system with the following attributes:

- The system is a part of the general import and export management system;

- It is capable of receiving and storing information related to e-commerce transactions;

- It is capable of updating information on e-commerce platforms, single seller e-commerce websites (information on promotions, sales policies, carriers, sellers, etc.) and policies and mechanisms for e-commerce management (tax policies, HS codes, list of goods subject to inspection, etc.);

- It is capable of processing information received and sharing information with other systems for management purpose;

- It is capable of granting access to authorized entities;

- It is capable of processing information in its system to give feedbacks to relevant regulatory bodies and data senders; assess risks and give warnings to management units; and transmit processed data to other relevant systems for customs clearance purpose;

- It is capable of storing information necessary for statistical work and reporting, which is inputs to ministerial and state information processing processes. 

c) Solutions concerning formulation of policies for management of e-commerce transactions and development of mechanisms for electronic duty payment and guarantee provision applicable to cross-border e-commerce transactions.

Ministry of Industry and Trade and State Bank of Vietnam shall study, assess and report on this task to the Prime Minister before the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.

4. Funding for the Scheme

The Scheme shall be funded by state budget and other legal sources as prescribed by law.

5. Implementation

a) Ministry of Finance shall:

- Take charge in formulating and proposing a Decree on customs management of e-commerce imports and exports to ensure implementation of solutions concerning completion of legal grounds provided for in section 3 of this Decision before the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.

- Develop and complete the customs management system for e-commerce imports and exports from 2020 to 2022.

- Take charge in summarizing and evaluating management of cross-border e-commerce from 2020 to 2025 and submit proposals for management of e-commerce imports and exports for the following period. Report on these tasks to the Government before the end of the first quarter of 2026.

b) Ministries assigned import/export licensing, license conditions and inspection management shall:

- Proactively review list of imports and exports requiring licensing, license condition fulfillment and/or inspection to compile list of goods exempt from licensing, license conditions and/or inspection when traded via e-commerce, which must include HS code, description and quantity granted exemption of each good, and send the latter list to the Ministry of Finance before the end of the second quarter of 2020 for it to be proposed to the Government.

- Formulate procedures for update of license application status and inspection results in consistence with the prescribed time limit.

- Cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in monitoring licensing and information update on the customs management system for imports and exports.

c) State Bank of Vietnam shall:

- Study, assess and submit proposals regarding mechanisms for electronic duty payment and guarantee provision applicable to cross-border e-commerce transactions and report on this task to the Prime Minister.

- Review and amend out of date legislative documents on payment, money transfer and collection of import and export duties of service to cross-border e-commerce transactions.

d) Ministry of Industry and Trade shall:

Proactively formulate policies on management of cross-border e-commerce transactions.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect from the date on which it is signed.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of Governmental agencies, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities and heads of relevant bodies, organizations and individuals shall implement this Decision./