Decision No. 1921/QD-TCHQ dated June 28, 2018 issuing the procedures for classification of commodities and imposition of tax rates on imports and exports

• Official number: 1921/QD-TCHQ
• Legislation Type: Decision
• Organization: The General Department of Customs
• Signer: Nguyen Duong Thai
• Issued Date: 28/06/2018

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE THE GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF VIETNAM CUSTOMS -------	THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness ---------------
No. 1921/QD-TCHQ	Hanoi, June 28, 2018

DECISION

ISSUING THE PROCEDURES FOR CLASSIFICATION OF COMMODITIES AND IMPOSITION OF TAX RATES ON IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

THE DIRECTOR OF THE GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMS

Pursuant to the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13 dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015 detailing and providing the measure for implementation of the Law on Customs Procedures, Inspection, Supervision and Control; the Government’s Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP dated April 20, 2018 on amendment and supplement to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015 elaborating on and providing the measure for implementation of the Law on Customs regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control;

Pursuant to the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC dated January 30, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance providing guidance on classification of commodities and analysis for classification of commodities and analysis for quality control and food safety inspection;

Pursuant to the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance providing guidance on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; export and import duties and management of import and export duties; the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance providing guidance on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; export and import duties and management of import and export duties;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 65/2015/QD-TTg dated December 17, 2015, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the General Department of Vietnam Customs under the direct management of the Ministry of Finance;

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HEREBY DECIDES

Article 1. The Procedures for classification of commodities and imposition of tax rates on imports and exports, and 03 attached Appendices shall be enclosed herewith.

Article 2. Entry into force

1. This Decision shall enter into force from the signature date.

2. This Decision shall repeal:

a) The Decision No. 2134/QD-TCHQ dated July 31, 2015 of the Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, issuing the procedures for classification of imports and exports subject to analysis and inspection;

b) The Decision No. 2134/QD-TCHQ dated July 31, 2015 of the Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, issuing the procedures for predetermination of codes of exports and imports;

c) Article 52, Article 53 and Article 54 on the customs procedures for exports and imports issued together with the Decision No. 1966/QD-TCHQ dated July 10, 2015 of the Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

d) The Official Dispatch No. 143/TCHQ-TXNK dated January 7, 2016 of the General Department of Vietnam Customs on submission of imported or exported commodity samples for analysis and MHS update;

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e) Point 1, Point 3 and Point 4 of the Official Dispatch No. 3511/TCHQ-TXNK dated May 26, 2017 of the General Department of Vietnam Customs on no sampling for analysis and classification.

Article 3. The Director of the Department of Import and Export Duties, the Directors of the Departments of Customs of cities and provinces, the Heads of affiliated units of the General Department of Customs, customs officers related to the procedures for classification of commodities, examination of commodity description, HS codes, duty rates and classification of imports and exports shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

PP. DIRECTOR
DEPUTY DIRECTOR




Nguyen Duong Thai

PROCEDURES

CLASSIFICATION OF COMMODITIES AND IMPOSITION OF TAX RATES ON IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
(Issued together with the Decision No. 1921/QD-TCHQ dated June 28, 2018 of the Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs)

Part I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

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These Procedures prescribe procedures and documentation requirements for operations related to examination of commodity description, HS codes and duty rates at the customs clearance stage; issue of the Notification of results of classification of commodities subject to analysis; actions on disagreement over the Notification of analysis results, the Notification of classification results; issue of the Notification replacing the Notification of classification results with respect to commodities subject to analysis; issue of the Notification of results of predetermination of HS codes of imports and exports; issue of the written document repealing the Notification of results of predetermination of HS codes; issue of the written document revoking the Notification of results of predetermination of HS codes; issue of the written document responding to recommendations of organizations or individuals about reconsideration of contents of the notification of predetermination of HS codes; examination of HS codes, duty rates and measures for dealing with difficulties in commodity codes and duty rates in the process of inspection, examination and investigation.

Article 2. Implementary principles

1. When carrying out the analysis and classification of commodities, and imposition of duty rates, the customs officer shall be obliged to consult the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13 dated June 23, 3014, the Government's Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015 detailing and providing the measure for implementation of the Law on Customs relating to customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control; the Government’s Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP dated April 20, 2018 on amendment and supplement to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015 elaborating on and providing the measure for implementation of the Law on Customs regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control; the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC dated January 30, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance providing guidance on classification of commodities, analysis for classification of commodities, analysis for inspection of the quality and inspection of safety of foods, the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance providing guidance on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; export and import duties and management of duties on exports and imports; the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance on amendment and supplement to the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance providing guidance on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; export and import duties and management of duties on exports and imports, the Decision of the General Department of Vietnam Customs issuing the Schedule of exported and imported commodities incurring risks arising from classification of commodities and application of duty rates and instructions set out herein.

2. Analysis and classification of commodities must ensure public availability and transparency.

3. During the process of receipt, circulation and study of customs dossiers for analysis and classification of commodities, the customs officer shall be obliged to comply with regulations on storage of customs dossiers and arrangement of customs dossiers according to the list of documents contained in the customs dossiers.

4. Lookup, use and update of the database in the process of classification of commodities for imposition of duty rates shall be subject to the Regulations on collection, update and use of the database of the Vietnam’s Schedule of exported and imported commodities, the database of the Tariff Schedule, the database of classification of commodities and imposition of duty rates (hereinafter referred to as MHS system).

Part II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section 1. PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR INSPECTION OF COMMODITY DESCRIPTION, HS CODES AND DUTY RATES AT THE CUSTOMS CLEARANCE STAGE

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1. Subject matters of the inspection:

a) Inspection of commodity descriptions:

a.1) The description of the declared goods must be clear, fully show the components, content, nature, composition, characteristics and functions of the goods, and satisfy the criteria concerning name and description of goods in the Vietnam’s Schedule of imported and exported goods and the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods.

a.2) The description of the declared goods shall be compared with notes of relevant sections, chapters, subchapters, headings and subheadings in the Vietnam’s Schedule of imported and exported goods; the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods in force at the time of submission of the customs declaration; technical materials and other evidencing documents relating to declared goods in the customs dossier.

b. Inspection of HS codes:

b.1) HS codes of the declared goods must be clear, complete and accurate according to the degree of specificity of commodities that need to be classified in the Vietnam’s Schedule of imported and exported goods and the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods.

b.2) The description of commodities and HS codes must be compared with those in the Schedule of imported and exported goods incurring risks arising from classification of goods and imposition of duty rates, the Vietnam's Schedule of exported and imported goods, and the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods in force at the time of submission of the custom declaration.

c) Inspection of duty rates:

c.1) The description of commodities, HS codes and declared duty rates must be compared with those in the Tariff Schedule and tax policies applicable at the time of submission of the customs declaration;

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Note: Imposition of duty rates must be checked under the provisions of the Tariff Schedule with respect to the manual declaration of duty rates (with the alphabetical symbol "M" at the right of the column "duty rate").

The customs officer committing any violation against regulations laid down in clause 1 Article 3 of Section 1 herein that may result in tax revenue losses shall be subject to actions under laws and sectoral regulations.

d) When dealing with customs procedures, in addition to checking information of customs declarants about the description of goods, HS codes and duty rates according to 1a, 1b and 1c of this Article, the customs officer must collate such information with those contained in technical materials and other evidencing documents relating to goods available in the custom dossier, and information available on the MHS system (paying attention to searching the following information: Information about the results of predetermination of HS codes at the function 2.02 section 2 – Search; the results of analysis and classification at the function 2.03 section 2 – Search; the written document providing instructions for classification at the function 3.03.06 section 3 – Website; the declaration of the description of commodities and HS codes of equivalent shipments already exported or imported at the function 2.08 section 2 – Search) and take appropriate actions under instructions given in clause 2 Article 3 herein.

dd) With respect to goods moved through the green channel, the customs officer shall be assigned to check these goods according to risk indicators warned by the Vnaccs system or carry out the assessment of risks relating to the description of goods, HS codes and duty rates as declared under the provisions of clause 1 of this Article with emphasis on information about risks arising from fraudulently describing goods, declaring purposes, goods types and HS codes in order to enjoy low duty rates, especially HS codes of those goods ineligible for special preferential tariff rates that are manipulated into HS codes of goods eligible to enjoy special preferential tariff rates, commonly confused goods, and goods imported from countries that are ineligible for MFN tariff rates and to which normal tariff rates must be applied, and then refer risk information to responsible customs officers for post-clearance inspection within a period of 60 days from the date of clearance of goods in accordance with regulations in force.

2. Actions in response to inspection results:

a) With respect to application of the Notification of results of predetermination of HS codes issued by the General Department of Vietnam Customs:

a.1) In case where there is sufficient grounds for determining that information contained in the customs dossier are accurate and consistent with the declaration of commodity descriptions and HS codes according to the contents of the Notification of results of predetermination of HS codes issued to the customs declarant, the customs officer shall accept the contents of the declaration of the customs declarant, carry out the customs clearance of declared goods according to regulations in force, enter the updated inspection results in the box “Update the in-charge customs officer’s comments" on the VCIS system, update the information shown on the declaration form for use of the Notification of results of predetermination of HS codes at the function 1.02 “HS code predetermination”, the area “Declaration form” and update the results of the description of goods, HS codes and duty rates at the function 1.01.04 “HS code and duty rate checking” on the MHS system.

a.2) In case where there is not sufficient grounds for determining that information contained in the customs dossier are accurate and consistent with the declaration of commodity descriptions and HS codes according to the contents of the Notification of results of predetermination of HS codes which has already been issued, the customs officer shall do the same as prescribed in c.2 clause 2 of this Article.

b) With respect to application of the Notification of the results of classification of goods issued by the General Department of Customs, the Notification of the results of analysis of goods with HS codes issued by the Department of Customs Inspection according to regulations laid down in clause 1.g Article 18 of the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC and clause 13 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC:

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b.2) In case where there is not sufficient grounds for determining that information contained in the customs dossier are accurate and consistent with the declaration of commodity descriptions and HS codes according to the contents of the Notification of the results of classification of goods and the Notification of the results of analysis of the declared goods with their HS codes which has already been issued, the customs officer shall do the same as prescribed in c.2 clause 2 of this Article.

c) In the absence of declared information about use of the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes and the Notification of the results of classification of goods issued by the General Department of Customs, the Notification of the results of analysis of declared goods with their HS codes issued by the Department of Customs Inspection:

c.1) In case where there is sufficient grounds for determining that information contained in the customs dossier are accurate and consistent with the declaration of commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates, the customs officer shall accept the contents of the declaration made by the customs declarant, carry out the customs clearance of declared goods according to regulations in force, update the inspection results in the box “Update the in-charge customs officer’s comments" on the VCIS system, update the results of inspection of commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates at the function 1.01.04 “HS code and duty rate checking” on the MHS system.

c.2) In case where there is sufficient grounds for determining the customs declarant makes the incorrect declaration of commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates:

c.2.1) In case where the customs declarant's customs declaration of commodity descriptions and HS codes is not complete, explicit or specific according to regulations in force, the customs officer shall notify the customs declarant to make a supplementary declaration as prescribed in clause 9 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC by using "Customs authority's directive" through the operation IDA01/EDA01 (code A) on the VNACCS system; update the results of modification of HS codes at the function 1.01.07 on the MHS system.

In case where the customs declarant fails to make a supplementary declaration within duration of 05 days of receipt of the request of the custom authority, or supplementary information is not sufficient, the customs officer shall report this situation by entering on the VCIS system at the box "Update the in-charge customs officer's comments", re-identify HS codes, duty rates and impose corresponding duty rates and take actions against any violation in accordance with b.2 clause 1 Article 24 of the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance; update the results of modification of HS codes at the function 1.01.07 on the MHS system.

c.2.2) In case where the customs declarant declares incorrect commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates as specified in Tariff Schedules or there is any variation or inappropriacy in terms of commodity descriptions and HS codes between evidencing documents included in the customs dossiers and information declared on the system, make the declaration of the incorrect duty rates compared to the duty rates specified in Tariff Schedules, or does not satisfy requirements for application of duty rates defined in Preferential Tariff Schedules on the system:

c.2.2.1) If there are sufficient grounds for determining commodity descriptions and HS codes, the customs officer shall notify the customs declarant to make a supplementary declaration as prescribed in clause 9 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC by using "Customs authority's directive" through the operation IDA01/EDA01 (code A) on the VNACCS system.

In case where the customs declarant fails to make a supplementary declaration within duration of 05 days of receipt of the request of the custom authority, the customs officer shall report this situation by entering on the VCIS system at the box "Update the in-charge customs officer's comments", re-identify HS codes, duty rates and impose corresponding duty rates and take actions against any violation in accordance with b.2 clause 1 Article 24 of the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance; update the results of modification of HS codes at the function 1.01.07 on the MHS system.

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c.2.2.2.1) Within the maximum duration of 05 days from the date of the notification of submission of additional materials, if the customs declarant submits additional evidencing documents and materials according to the request, and the customs officer has sufficient grounds for determining commodity descriptions and HS codes according to criteria concerning HS codes and commodity descriptions in the Vietnam's Schedule of exported and imported commodities, the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods, that customs officer shall be responsible for guiding the customs declarant to make a supplementary declaration as per clause 9 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, and request the approval of the Head of the Customs Subdepartment for customs clearance of the declared goods in accordance with regulations in force.

In case where the customs declarant fails to make a supplementary declaration within duration of 05 days of receipt of the request of the custom authority, the customs officer shall report this situation by entering on the VCIS system at the box "Update the in-charge customs officer's comments", re-identify HS codes, duty rates and impose corresponding duty rates and take actions against any violation in accordance with b.2 clause 1 Article 24 of the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance; update the results of modification of HS codes at the function 1.01.07 on the MHS system.

c.2.2.2.2) Within the maximum duration of 05 days from the date of the notification of submission of additional materials on the system, if the customs declarant fails to submit the required evidencing documents and materials, or if the customs declarant has already submitted additional evidencing documents and materials, but the customs officer does not have sufficient grounds for determination of commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates, that customs officer may request the Head of the Customs Subdepartment to decide to carry out the physical inspection of the declared goods under the guidance given in Article 4 hereof, or decide to collect samples for analysis of the declared goods as per Article 5 hereof, and then clear the goods in accordance with Article 33 of the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance.

d) With respect to exported and imported shipments of which samples are collected for analysis for classification of goods, promptly after receipt of the Notification of the results of classification of the goods or the Notification of the results of analysis of the declared goods with their HS codes, the customs officer shall take the following actions:

d.1) In case where HS codes of the goods declared by the customs declarant are not different from those specified in the Notification of the results of classification of the goods or the Notification of the results of analysis of the declared goods with their HS codes, the customs officer shall accept the contents of the declaration made by the customs declarant, carry out the customs clearance of the declared goods according to regulations in force, update the inspection results in the box “Update the in-charge customs officer’s comments" on the VCIS system; update the results of inspection of commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates at the function 1.01.04 “HS code and duty rate checking” on the MHS system.

d.2) In case where HS codes of the goods declared by the customs declarant are different from those specified in the Notification of the results of classification of the goods or the Notification of the results of analysis of the declared goods with their HS codes, the customs officer shall adjust HS codes and inform the customs declarant of the supplementary declaration as per clause 9 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC by using the function "the Customs Authority's directive" through the operation IDA01/EDA01 (code A) on the VNACCS system; update the modified HS codes at the function 1.01.07 on the MHS system.

In case where the customs declarant fails to make a supplementary declaration within duration of 05 days of receipt of the request of the custom authority, the customs officer shall report this situation by entering on the VCIS system at the box "Update the in-charge customs officer's comments", re-identify HS codes, duty rates and impose corresponding duty rates and take actions against any violation in accordance with b.2 clause 1 Article 24 of the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance; update the results of modification of HS codes at the function 1.01.07 on the MHS system.

Article 4. Physical inspection of goods

1. Subject matters of the inspection:

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Upon carrying out the physical inspection, the customs officers shall be obliged to determine commodity descriptions and HS codes according to criteria specified in the Vietnam’s Schedule of imported and exported goods and the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods.

2. Actions in response to inspection results:

a) In case where it is not determined that there is no variation in commodity descriptions and HS codes declared on the customs declaration form compared to the actual conditions of the exported and imported goods; there is no variation in duty rates compared to Tariff Schedules in force at the time of inspection, the customs officer shall accept the contents of the declaration of commodity descriptions and HS codes of the customs declarant, clear the declared goods in accordance with regulations in force, update the results of the inspection on the VCIS system, update the results of the inspection of commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates at the function 1.01.04 “HS code and duty rate checking” on the MHS system.

b) In case where there are sufficient grounds for determining that the customs declarant has made the incorrect declaration of commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates, the customs officer shall enter the correct commodity descriptions and HS codes at the box “Update the in-charge customs officer’s comments” on the VCIS system; update the results of the inspection of commodity descriptions, HS codes and duty rates at the function 1.01.04 “HS code and duty rate checking” on the MHS system; take actions against any violation and request the customs declarant to make a supplementary declaration according to regulations laid down in clause 9 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018.

In case where the customs declarant fails to make a supplementary declaration, the customs officer shall re-identify HS codes, duty rates and impose corresponding duty rates and, depending on the degree of variation between the declared contents and the results of the physical inspection to take actions against any violation under law, update the results of the inspection at the box “Update the in-charge customs officer’s comments" on the VCIS system, update the modified HS codes at the function 1.01.07 on the MHS system, and clear the declared goods in accordance with laws.

c) In case of being unable to determine accurate commodity descriptions and HS codes according to the criteria specified in the Vietnam's Schedule of exported and imported commodities and the Tariff Schedule applicable to exported and imported commodities, the customs officer shall collaborate with the customs declarant in carrying out the analysis according to instructions given in Article 5 hereof, requesting the Head of the Customs Subdepartment to make a decision on clearing of the declared goods in accordance with regulations in force, keeping a timely and complete update of information related to the Request form for analysis together with the sampling Report form at the function 1.03.01 “Enter the request form” on the MHS system within the duration of 05 days from the date of submission of samples required for analysis.

Article 5. Collection of samples for analysis and documentation requirements for analysis

1. The goods of which collection of samples for analysis is required shall be subject to Article 3 of the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance.

2. The sampling request applicable at the requesting customs subdepartment and customs authority shall be subject to the regulations laid down in clause 1 Article 10 of the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, regulations on inspection and analysis of exported and imported commodities of the General Department of Customs, particularly in Section 13 "Analysis request and sampling report form” where criteria of the analysis for classification of the goods must be clearly stated according to the Vietnam’s Schedule of exported and imported commodities and the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported commodities.

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a) The analysis request and sampling report form No. 05/YCPT/2015 given in the Appendix to the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC.

b) The form recording numbers and dates of written documents and other evidencing documents included in the customs dossier related to the sample of the commodity;

c) The screenshot showing the completion of information required in the analysis request form of the customs subdepartment on the MHS system;

d) The report form informing the results of the physical inspection (if any) No. 06/PGKQKT/GSQL given in the Appendix No.5 to the Circular No.38/2015/TT-BTC;

dd) The screenshot displaying the completed searching on the database without available reference information;

e) Copies with adjoining stamps of evidencing documents currently available in the customs dossier (if any), such as commercial contract (or sales invoices), technical materials of the goods, certificate of origin (C/O), certificate of analyst (C/A), certificate of quality (C/Q);

f) Commodity samples.

4. Exemptions from sampling for analysis for the purpose of classification thereof:

a) The goods have their nature that may be determined as a basis for classification through attached technical materials and documents thereof, or the goods may be classified through their information declared on the MHS system.

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c) With respect to the goods which have received the Notification of the results of classification of the goods or the Notification of the results of analysis of the goods with their HS codes, the customs declarant requests customs classification as prescribed in 1.g, Article 18 of the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC, and the customs authority uses the Notification of the results of classification of the goods or the Notification of the results of analysis of the goods with their HS codes for dealing with the customs procedures as prescribed in clause 13 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC.

d) The exported or imported goods are eligible for tax exemption or tax-free policies.

5. With respect to exported or imported goods stated in point a, b and c clause 4 of this Article, if there is a suspicion about inaccurate declaration or the likely fraud, the customs officer shall carry out sampling for analysis and clearly specify fraudulent codes compared to declared codes, reasons for such suspicion and indicators that need to be identify through analysis as a basis for classification of the goods in the Section 13 "Analysis request and sampling report form".

Section 2. PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUE OF THE NOTIFICATION OF THE RESULTS OF CLASSIFICATION OF THE GOODS SUBJECT TO ANALYSIS

Article 6. Receipt, processing and return of documentation submitted to request the analysis

1. Receipt of the documentation submitted to request the analysis:

If the submitted documentation meet clause 3 Article 5, and samples submitted for analysis meet clause 2 Article 5 hereof, the receiving customs officer shall issue the note of receipt of the analysis request (02 copies) according to the form No. 06/PTNYCPT/2015 given in the Appendix to the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC, and send the requesting entity 01 copy.

2. Processing of the analysis request documentation:

a) The inspecting officer verifies documents submitted to request the analysis promptly after receipt of the request documentation, and checks information on the MHS system to return the request documentation or proceed to carry out the analysis.

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c) In case of lack of required conditions for analysis, an assessment shall be needed:

c.1) The inspecting body shall send a written request to the customs authority requesting the analysis to witness the splitting of sample.

c.2) The sample-splitting report shall be prepared according to the form No. 01/BBTM/2018 issued herewith. The sample sent for the assessment must be split from the sample received for the analysis and must be customs sealed.

c.3) When sending out the sample for the assessment, the inspecting body must clearly specify analyzed indicators to carry out classification of commodities according to the Vietnam’s Schedule of imported and exported goods and the Tariff Schedule applied to imported and exported commodities, and send the note stating sending of the sample for the assessment prepared by using the form No. 02/YCGD/2018 hereto attached.

c.4) The inspecting body shall be responsible for showing assessment results in the Notification of the results of the analysis of the goods.

3. Cases in which the analysis request documentation are returned:

a) Request documentation have been sufficient for the classification purposes but the requesting unit fails to identify suspicious factors that need to be analyzed for the classification purposes.

b) Samples are collected from the goods not in the List of goods exempted from sampling for analysis for classification, and the Section 13 "Analysis request and sampling report form” does not clarify HS codes on suspicion of any fraud in comparison with the declared HS codes, reasons for such suspicion, ingredients of the samples and indicators that need to be analyzed as a basis for classification.

c) The samples have not been customs sealed separately or customs seal has been torn apart; packages of the samples are perforated or subject to any damage causing them to leak out; the samples are deteriorated, decomposed and lose their original properties; the samples are collected without satisfying required dimensional and quantitative standards.

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1. The notification of the results of the analysis of the goods with their HS codes:

a) If the samples have the analysis results and HS codes conforming to provisions laid down in point a clause 1 Article 11 of the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC, the Notification of the results of the analysis shall be issued together with respective HS codes.

b) In case the samples are not sent for the assessment, the duration for issue of the Notification of the results of the analysis with HS codes of the goods shall be 5 days. If the extension of the duration for the analysis is needed due to technical requirements, the maximum duration for issue of such Notification shall be 10 days from the date of receipt of full documentation and samples for analysis.

c) In case the samples are sent for the assessment, the duration for issue of the Notification of the results of the analysis with HS codes of the goods shall be 5 days from the date of receipt of the assessment results.

2. The Notification of the results of the analysis of the goods with their suggested HS codes:

a) If the samples have the analysis results and HS codes which are not prescribed in point a clause 1 Article 11 of the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC, the Notification of the results of the analysis with respective HS codes shall be issued.

b) If the assessment is not needed, the maximum duration for issue of the Notification of the results of the analysis with suggested HS codes shall be 2.5 days from the date of receipt of all required documentation and samples. If the extension of the duration for the analysis is needed due to technical requirements, the maximum duration for issue of such Notification shall be 10 days from the date of receipt of all required documentation and samples for analysis.

c) If the assessment is needed, the maximum duration for issue of the Notification of the results of the analysis with suggested HS codes shall be 2.5 days from the date of receipt of the assessment results.

3. Issue of the Notification of the results of the analysis shall be prescribed hereunder in the event that collection of the samples for the analysis conforms to clause 4 Article 5 hereof or the affiliations of the General Department of Customs (e.g. Post-customs Clearance Inspection Department, Smuggling Investigation and Prevention Department, and Inspection - Audit Department) send the samples for analysis to serve the needs of post-customs clearance inspection, anti-smuggling investigation, inspection and audit:

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b) If the assessment is requested, the Notification of the results of the analysis shall be issued within the maximum duration of either 2.5 days or 04 days (applicable to the case in which the analysis timelength depends on technical requirements for that analysis) from the date of receipt of the assessment results.

4. In case where there are at least 02 samples sent along with the analysis request documentation and the samples are complicated and need more time for the analysis, the duration for issue of the Notification of the results of the analysis shall be extended by not more than 05 working days.

5. In case where the samples need uniform suggested HS codes (through the convey of production processes and collection of opinions from specialized units), the inspecting body shall send a written request to the analysis-requesting body 1 day before the deadline, inform reasons for any delay in issuing the Notification of the results of the analysis and suggest the time of sending of its response within the duration for issue of the Notification of the analysis results as prescribed in clause 1 and clause 2 of this Article.

5. An update of data on the MHS system shall be required with respect to the Notification of the results of the analysis with respective HS codes subject to clause 1 of this Article, the Notification of the results of the analysis with respective suggested HS codes subject to clause 2 of this Article, and the Notification of the results of the analysis of the goods prescribed in clause 3 of this Article at the function 1.03.02 “Enter the analysis results”.

Article 8. Issue of the notification of the results of the classification

1. Analysis documents and results:

The Customs Inspection Department shall prepare analysis documents and analysis result reports for submission to the Import and Export Duty Department, including:

a) Request documentation prepared under instructions given in Article 5 hereof;

b) The Notification of the results of the analysis issued by the Customs Inspection Department and its affiliated subdepartments (original copy), specifically including commodity descriptions, ingredients, composition, physical and chemical characteristics, functions, packaging size and other properties of the analyzed goods according to the Vietnam’s Schedule of exported and imported goods; suggested HS codes;

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2. Checking of analysis documents and handling of the results of the checking of analysis documents:

The in-charge customs officer shall take the following steps:

a) Checking of analysis documents:

The in-charge customs officer shall carry out the physical inspection and take the following actions:

a.1) If the goods are not subject to the analysis for classification purposes under instructions given in clause 4 Article 5 hereof, the customs officer prepares a written request form and draft the written document stating return of the submitted documents to the Customs Inspection Department to inform the analysis-requesting customs authorities for their reference and compliance.

a.2) If the goods are subject to the analysis and all required documents are submitted under instructions given in clause 1 Article 8 hereof, the customs officer accepts the documents and proceeds to the next step as prescribed in point b clause 2 of this Article.

b) Searching of information on the MHS system:

The customs officer shall search information about the results of the predetermination of HS codes (at the function 2.02 section 2 – Search), analysis and classification results (at the function 2.03 section 2 – Search), manuals for classification (at the function 3.03.06 section 3 – Website), and the previous results of declaration and classification of exported and imported shipments on the interface of the MHS system, and take the following actions:

b.1) If the samples receive the analysis results meeting groups of indicators a.1 and 1.3 or a.2 and a.3 point a clause 1 Article 11 of the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC, the customs officer prints out the search results attached to the documents, prepares the request form, and drafts a written document stating return of the submitted documents so that the Customs Inspection Department performs its assigned functions.

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b.2.1) The samples have commodity descriptions which are determined in the Notification of the results of the analysis to be the same as those specified in the section “Name identified by composition or functions" and to have HS codes the same as those specified in the Notification of the predetermination of HS codes in the database of classification and imposition of duty rates; or

b.2.2) In case where the samples have the characteristics (e.g. types, ingredients and functions) specified in the Notification of the results of the analysis which are the same to those specified in the Notification of the predetermination of HS codes in the database of classification and imposition of duty rates,

The customs officer prints out the search results attached to the documents, prepares the request form, and drafts the notification of the classification results by using the report form approved by the leadership.

b.3) In case where the samples included in the Notification of the analysis results do not fall in the cases stated in b.1 and b.2 clause 2 of this Article, or there is no information about the goods in the database of classification and imposition of duty rates, the customs officer prints out search results attached to the documents and proceed to take the action specified in point c clause 2 of this Article.

c) Determination of HS codes:

The customs officer shall compare the analysis results (e.g. commodity name, ingredients, composition, physical and chemical characteristics, functions, packaging size and other properties of the analyzed goods according to the Vietnam’s Schedule of exported and imported goods), and suggested HS codes in the Notification of the analysis results issued by the Customs Inspection Department and attached analysis documents with bases and principles of classification of the goods in accordance with Article 26 of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13, Article 16 of the Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP and the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC for the purposes of determination of HS codes and take the following actions:

c.1) If there are sufficient grounds for determining HS codes of the goods and there is no suspicion about information related to the goods available in the analysis request documentation, the customs officer determines HS codes, prepares the request form and drafts the Notification of the classification results and reports to the leadership to seek their approval.

c.2) If there are not sufficient grounds for determining HS codes or there is any suspicion about information relating to the goods available in the analysis documents:

c.2.1) In case where the information provided in the Notification of the analysis results of the Customs Inspection Department has not constituted sufficient grounds for classification or there is no consent to the suggested HS codes in the Notification of the analysis results, or irrelevance of the suggested HS codes to the analysis results has been detected, the customs officer shall directly contact via phone with the analyzing officer in the simple case or prepare the request form or draft the written document to consult with the Customs Inspection Department in the complicated case, specifically including suspicious indicators that need to be supplemented or clarified, and report to the leadership to seek their approval decision.

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Note: After receipt of the information that need to be supplemented as stated in c.2 clause 2 of this Article, the customs officer shall proceed in accordance with c.1 clause 2 of this Article.

Article 9. Documentation approval

1. The leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division shall check the documents and request its customs officers to take the following actions:

a) If the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division agrees, the customs officer shall sign a written request, submit it to the leadership of the Export and Import Duty Department and proceed to implement clause 2 of this Article.

b) If the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division does not agree to the customs officer’s proposal, they must write reasons and their directions in the request form and return the documents in order for the customs officer to give any explanation or follow these directions from the leadership of the Classification Division.

c) If the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division and the customs officer has not yet reached a consent to the plans to deal with the submitted documents, or the customs officer reserves his/her classification viewpoints different from those of the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division, the leadership of the Division must collaborate with the customs officer in preparing a report clearly stating their viewpoints of actions that should be taken and asking for opinions from the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department.

2. The leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department shall check the submitted documents and proposal of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division and then shall take the following actions:

a) If the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department agrees to the proposal of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division:

a.1) the customs officer shall proceed to implement clause 3 of this Article (in case of signing the documents and submitting them to the leadership of the General Department); or

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b) If the leadership of the Export and Import Duty Department disagrees to the proposal of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division, they must write reasons and their directions in the request form and return the documents in order for the Classification Division to give any explanation or follow these directions from the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Division.

Note: If the analysis documents are complicated, the Vice Head in charge of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division shall report to the Head to seek his/her directions.

3. The leadership of the General Department shall check the submitted documents and the proposal of the Import and Export Duty Department and then shall take the following actions:

a) If the leadership of the General Department agrees to the proposal of the Import and Export Duty Department, the Department shall sign the written document and proceed to implement Article 10 hereof.

b) If the leadership of the General Department disagrees to the proposal of the Import and Export Duty Department, they must write their directions in the request form and return the documents in order for the Import and Export Duty Department to give any explanation or follow these directions from the leadership of the General Department.

Article 10. Issue of the written document, document storage and update of the notification of the classification results

After being signed by the leadership of the General Department or the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department, the written document must be promptly released. Regulations on this issue shall be as follows:

1. If the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department signs the outgoing document, the customs officer shall refer that document to the clerical division of the Department for its release.

2. If the leadership of the General Department signs on the outgoing document, the general administrative division of the Office of the General Department shall refer the document to the clerical division of the General Department for its release.

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4. The Notification of the classification results shall be updated at the function 1.03.03 “Enter the request form” and the function 1.03.04 “Enter the classification results” within duration of 5 (five) days from the date of issue of the Notification of the classification results.

Article 11. Public disclosure of information on the Information Portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs

After updating information in the classification database and applying duty rates to the exported and imported goods, based on the information given in the Notification of the classification results, the customs officer of the Information Technology and Statistics Department shall update the contents of the notification on the Information Portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs according to instructions given in the Regulations on establishment, collection, update and use of data available in the Database of the Vietnam’s Schedule of exported and imported goods; the Tariff Schedule Database; the Database of classification and imposition of duty rates on exported and imported goods of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Article 12. Instructions for searching and use of information available in the Notification of the classification results

1. With respect to the customs unit sending the samples for analysis for classification purposes:

a) The Notification of the classification results shall be sent in a form of a paper copy according to documentary regulations of the General Department of Customs to the customs unit sending the samples and the analysis request form, and to the enterprise owning the goods subject to the analysis and classification (in case of carrying out procedures for clearing the goods and collecting samples for analysis for classification purposes).

b) Immediately after receipt of the Notification of the classification results, the customs unit sending the samples, and the request form for the analysis of the goods falling in the case where clearing of the goods and collection of the samples for analysis for classification purposes are required, shall carry out the classification of the goods and imposition of duty rates according to the contents of the Notification of the classification results, and the customs clearance of the goods as per point d clause 2 Article 3 hereof.

2. With respect to the customs unit not sending the samples for analysis for classification purposes:

The customs unit shall make best use of the Notification of the classification results which has already been issued at the folder "Notification of classification results" placed inside the tab "Document management/Notification of classification results" on the local network edoc.

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Article 13. Procedures for handling of complaints arising for the customs declarant's discontent with the analysis and classification results

1. If the customs declarant has a dissenting opinion about the classification results, he/she should lodge his/her complaint about the Notification of the classification results with the General Department of Vietnam Customs, follow the prescribed procedures and documentation requirements relating to handling of complaints in accordance with the Law on Complaints.

2. If the customs declarant has a dissenting opinion about the analysis results given in the Notification of the classification results, the inspecting body shall take the following actions:

a) Give the written explanation or enter into a direct conversation with the customs declarant in order to clarify the analysis results that it has already issued. If the customs declarant still disagrees, the inspecting body shall report to the leadership of the General Department of Customs and request them to allow splitting a part of the samples remaining within the storage duration in order for the customs declarant to send it for the assessment according to Article 30 of the Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, point b clause 3 Article 10 of the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC.

b) Make a report on splitting of the samples according to the form No. 08a/BBTM/GSQL in the Appendix V to the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC, which is signed by the customs declarant, the analysis requesting unit and the inspecting body.

Upon splitting the samples for the assessment, it shall be necessary to clarify indicators that require the assessment as prescribed in regulations in the Vietnam’s Schedule of imported and exported goods and the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods to serve the purposes of classification of the goods and identification of HS codes.

c) If the customs declarant provides the assessment results within duration of 30 days from the date of splitting of the samples, the inspecting body shall judge the assessment results (without any conversation with the assessment body or organization) in order to determine the relevance of the indicators needing the assessment to the samples requiring the analysis, and shall take the following actions:

c.1) With respect to the customs authority’s agreement on the assessment results:

c.1.1) If there is any discrepancy between the assessment results and the analysis results which have already been issued, the Customs Inspection Department shall report to the leadership of the General Department on the assessment results and suggested HS codes, send them to the Import and Export Duty Department to counsel the leadership of the General Department to issue an official dispatch to give a response regarding the classification of the goods to the customs declarant on the basis of the assessment results, and inform the suspension of implementation of the Notification of the classification results which has already been issued.

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c.2) With respect to the customs authority’s disagreement on the assessment results, instructions given in Article 14 hereof shall be followed.

d) In case where the customs declarant has not yet submitted the assessment results by the final day of the duration of 30 days from the sample splitting date, the customs authority shall use the Notification of the classification results or the Notification of the analysis results with respective HS codes which have already been issued for implementation of the next steps.

3. In case where the customs declarant disagrees on the Notification of the analysis results with respective HS codes, the Customs Inspection Department shall consider granting a decision on splitting of the samples, handle the assessment results provided by the customs declarant in any case specified in clause 2 of this Article, inform the Import and Export Duty Department to request any action approved by the leadership of the General Department to handle the Notification of the classification results which is used for issuing the Notification of the analysis results with respective HS codes in the event that there is any discrepancy between the assessment results and the analysis results.

Article 14. Procedures for handling of complaints arising for the customs authority's discontent with the assessment results provided by the customs declarant

1. The inspecting body shall give the customs declarant a written notice clearing stating the reasons for its disagreement on the assessment results, and report to the leadership of the General Department to split the remaining samples sent for the re-assessment in accordance with laws on commercial assessment services. The splitting of the samples must be witnessed by the customs declarant, the customs authority requesting the analysis and the inspecting body, and must clearly address indicators that require the assessment for classification of the goods according to the Vietnam's Schedule of exported and imported goods and the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods.

The form of sending of the samples for the assessment shall be prepared according to the form No. 02/YCGD/2018 in the Appendix I hereto attached.

2. After receipt of the re-assessment results from the assessment body or organization, the inspecting body shall judge the assessment results (without any conversation with the assessment body or organization) in order to determine the relevance of the indicators needing the assessment to the samples requiring the analysis, and shall take the following actions:

a) If there is the consistency between the re-assessment results and the analysis results given in the Notification of the classification results which has already been issued, the Customs Inspection Department shall report to the leadership of the General Department to inform the customs declarant in writing of implementation of the Notification of the classification results.

b) If there is any discrepancy between the re-assessment results and the analysis results given in the Notification of the classification results which has already been issued, the Customs Inspection Department shall report to the leadership of the General Department on the re-assessment results and suggested HS codes, send them to the Import and Export Duty Department to counsel the leadership of the General Department to issue an official dispatch to give a response regarding the classification of the goods to the customs declarant on the basis of the re-assessment results, and inform the suspension of implementation of the Notification of the classification results which has already been issued with respect to the goods of which the samples are sent for the re-assessment purposes.

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d) If there is any discrepancy between the re-assessment results and the analysis results given in the Notification of the analysis results with respective HS codes, the Customs Inspection Department shall issue a written response to the customs declarant regarding HS codes on the basis of the re-assessment results and inform the suspension of implementation of the Notification of the analysis results with respective HS codes, request the customs unit requesting the analysis to adjust HS codes and implement legally prescribed further procedures.

Section 4. PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUING THE NOTIFICATION AS A REPLACEMENT FOR THE NOTIFICATION OF THE CLASSIFICATION RESULTS

The General Department of Vietnam Customs shall issue the Notification as a replacement for the Notification of the classification results within a maximum period of 10 days of receipt of the written request from the Customs Departments of cities and provinces; affiliations of the General Department (e.g. the Customs Inspection Department, the Post-customs Inspection Department, the Inspection - Audit Department and the Smuggling Investigation and Prevention Department, etc.); enterprises and other entities, or due to the inappropriate implementation of the contents of the Notification of the classification results by the customs officer and leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department on their own, according to the following procedures:

Article 15. Carrying out the inspection and giving proposals

After receipt of the written request from the abovementioned entities and enterprises or detecting any error related to the contents of the Notification of the classification results which has already been issued on his/her own, the customs officer of the Commodity Classification - Tariff Schedule Division shall check the contents of the Notification of the classification results and related documents to take the following actions:

1. If he/she discovers after inspection that HS codes or other contents of the Notification of the classification results which has already been issued are not relevant, the customs officer prepares a request form and draft the Notification as a replacement for the Notification of the classification results (according to the form No. 03/SDTT-TBKQPL/2018, Appendix I hereto attached) for submission to the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division and the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department, and the leadership of the General Department for their signing for approval, and then proceeds to implement Article 16 hereof.

2. If he/she discovers after inspection that HS codes or other contents of the Notification of the classification results which has already been issued are relevant, the customs officer prepares a request form specifying the grounds and reasons for keeping the Notification of the classification results unchanged and drafts the written response to the unit submitting the written request to inform it of the contents of the inspection for review for submission to the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division and the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department, and the leadership of the General Department for their signing for approval, and then proceeds to implement Article 16 hereof.

3. In case where there is not sufficient grounds for determining that the proposals of the abovementioned entities or enterprises are accurate, depending on the nature and contents of the proposals, the customs officer prepare the request form to collect opinions from the affiliated units of the General Department, the affiliations of the Ministry of Finance, specialized Ministries, drafts the written request to relevant units to contribute their opinions (clearly stating the contents on which opinions should be collected), reports to the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division and submits the report to the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department for their signing for approval (in case of collection of opinions from affiliations of the General Department) or submits the report to the General Department to seek its approval (in case of collection of opinions from the affiliations of the Ministry of Finance or specialized Ministries), and then proceeds to implement Article 16 hereof.

Article 16. Approval of the submitted documents, issue of the written documents, storage of the submitted documents and publication of the written documents on the information portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs

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Section 5. PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUE OF THE NOTIFICATION OF THE RESULTS OF PREDETERMINATION OF HS CODES FOR EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

Article 17. Receipt and assignment of tasks of processing of the application documentation for the predetermination of HS codes

1. The Office of the General Department of Vietnam Customs shall receive the request documentation for the application documentation from organizations or individuals in accordance with regulations in force on receipt and processing of incoming documents, immediately refer the submitted documents and the prototype of the goods (if any) to the Import and Export Duty Department.

2. Promptly after receiving these documents and the prototypes of the goods (if any) from the Office of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the Import and Export Duty Department shall receive, handle and circulate the received documents in accordance with regulations in force on receipt and processing of incoming documents, and refer them to the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division (hereinafter referred to as Classification Division) so that the Classification Division assigns its personnel to deal with these documents.

Article 18. Checking of the received documents and handling of the checking results

1. Checking the received documents:

a) In case where the received documents do not satisfy regulations laid down in clause 11 Article 1 of the Decree No. 59/2018/ND-CP and the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC, the customs officer shall prepare the request form and draft the written document stating the refusal to predetermine HS codes informed to requesting organizations or individuals and the return of the submitted documents, which clarifies the reasons for such refusal, and then submit a report on this case to the leadership. Cases in which the application documentation for predetermination of HS codes are rejected shall include the followings:

a.1) The documentation submitted to apply for predetermination of HS codes are not complete, such as incompletely filling in the request form, failing to enclose technical materials in the application documentation for predetermination of HS codes; failing to inform the scheduled time of export or import of the goods; failing to present the assessment certificate of the samples of the goods as the subject of the predetermination of HS codes carried out by using technical machinery or equipment to determine their ingredients, composition, physical and chemical properties as well as functions.

a.2) The goods are specified in the application form for the predetermination of HS codes which is under process at the state regulatory authority, including:

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a.2.2) The goods under discussion in the application form for the predetermination of HS codes which have been received and under process by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

a.3) The goods under discussion in the application form for predetermination of HS codes which have received the instructional documents on HS codes of the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs, other Ministries, Ministry-level agencies vested with sector-specific state management as per Article 19 of the Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP.

b) In case where the samples of the goods that requesting organizations or individuals have sent for analysis (in case an analysis is required) do not meet the prescribed requirements concerning their quantity, specifications, etc. according to the instructions of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the customs officer shall prepare the request form and inform these requesting organizations or individuals in writing to request them to send the samples conforming to the instructions of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, and then shall report to the leadership to seek their approval decision.

The timelength of processing of the application documentation for predetermination of HS codes shall start from the date on which the General Department of Vietnam Customs has received the supplemental samples of the goods from the requesting organizations or individuals in accordance with applicable regulations.

c) If the submitted documentation are adequate as prescribed in clause 3 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC, and the commodity samples are sent in adequate quantity and in a correct manner according to the instructions of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, and the application form has been completely filled out according to the given form, the customs officer shall proceed to implement clause 2 of this Article.

2. Searching information on the MHS system:

The customs officer shall search information about the results of the predetermination of HS codes (at the function 2.02 section 2 – Search), the analysis and classification results (at the function 2.03 section 2 – Search), the manuals for classification (at the function 3.03.06 section 3 – Website); the declaration of commodity descriptions and HS codes of equivalent shipments already imported or exported (at the function 2.08, section 2 – Search) on the interface of the database of commodity classification and imposition of duty rates.

a) In case where there is any information about the goods available on the MHS system and the goods do not need the analysis or assessment:

a.1) If there is the consistency between the information about the goods available at section B and C, and HS codes specified in the application form for predetermination of HS codes, and the information specified at section 1 and 2 and the HS codes stated in the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes kept on the MHS system, the customs officer shall print out the Notification of the results of the predetermination of HS codes which has already been searched (as an attachment to the submitted documents) and take the following actions:

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a.1.1.1) The customs officer shall prepare the request form and inform these requesting organizations or individuals and return their submitted documents and, if the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes remains valid, shall report to the leadership to seek their approval decision.

a.1.1.2) The customs officer shall prepare the request form and inform these requesting organizations or individuals and return their submitted documents and, if the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes remains valid, shall report to the leadership to seek their approval decision.

a.1.2) If the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes which has already been searched is other than that regulated in a.1.1 above, the customs officer shall prepare the request form, draft the notification of the results of the predetermination of HS codes clearly stating HS codes, reasons, suggestion bases, and shall report to the leadership to seek their approval decision.

a.2) If the goods needing the predetermination of HS codes have not received the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes, but the information about the goods available in the application form for predetermination of HS codes meets criteria set forth in a.1 and 1.3 (commodity name and HS codes) or a.2 and 1.3 (commodity name and nature) point a clause 1 Article 11 of the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC, the customs officer shall prepare the request form and draft the notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes which clearly state recommendations about HS codes, reasons, recommendation bases, and shall report to the leadership for their approval.

b) In case where there is no information about the goods available in the database of classification and imposition of duty rates, the customs officer shall print out the search screenshot and proceed to implement clause 3 of this Article.

3. HS code determination:

The customs officer shall compare the goods described in the submitted documents with bases and principles of classification of the goods referred to in Article 16 of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13 and the Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC for the purposes of determination of HS codes and shall take the following actions:

a) If there are sufficient grounds for determining HS codes of the goods, the customs officer shall determine HS codes, prepare the request form and draft the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes (according to the form No. 04/TB-XDTMS-2018, Appendix I hereto attached), report to the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department and the leadership of the General Department of Vietnam Customs to seek their approval, and shall proceed to implement Article 20 hereof.

b) If there is not sufficient grounds for determining HS codes of the goods:

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Note: If the requesting organization or individual is invited to the customs authority’s office to clarify the information available in the application documentation for predetermination of HS codes, the customs officer must prepare the working agenda. The working agenda must be made in writing, specify time, location, participants, contents and opinions of participants, agreed contents, discrepancies and signatures of all involved parties. The report on the meeting shall be made into two copies and each involved party keeps one. The report shall constitute an integral part of the application documentation for predetermination of HS codes.

After receiving the report bearing all required signatures, the customs officer shall proceed to implement point a clause 3 of this Article.

b.2) If the goods need to be analyzed, the customs officer shall prepare the request form for the analysis (according to the form No.05/PYCPT-XDTMS/2018, Appendix I hereto attached), clearly specifying the indicators that need the analysis or the suspicious indicators along with the samples of the goods and the request documentation for predetermination of HS codes for submission to the Customs Inspection Department for analysis purposes; shall report to the leadership for their approval.

If it is necessary to obtain more information about the goods for analysis for the determination of the accurate HS code after receipt of the analysis results, the customs officer shall send the Customs Inspection Department the request form for approval of supplementation of the information about the analysis results, and shall proceed to report to the leadership for their approval.

b.3) If it is necessary to collect opinions from relevant affiliations of the General Department, affiliations of the Ministry of Finance and other sectoral Ministries, the customs officer shall prepare the request form, draft the written document to request relevant entities to contribute their opinions (clarifying the contents on which opinions are needed), and shall proceed to report to the leadership for their approval.

b.4) In case where it is necessary to obtain opinions from the HS Committee of the World Customs Organization or the ASEAN Secretariat, or to consult with Customs Authorities of the member states about the goods requiring the predetermination of HS codes, the customs officer shall prepare the request form for submission to the leadership of the General Department, and draft the written document to request the International Cooperation Bureau of the General Department of Vietnam Customs to play a pivotal role in contacting the aforesaid foreign entities (clarifying the information that need to be verified), and shall proceed to report to the leadership for their approval.

Note: After receipt of the results of the analysis and assessment, and opinions from relevant entities of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, entities affiliated to the Ministry of Finance, specialized Ministries, HS Committee and ASEAN Secretariat, the customs officer shall proceed to implement point a clause 3 of this Article.

Article 19. Documentation approval

1. The leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division shall check the documents and the request of the customs officers and take the following actions:

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b) If the leadership of the Classification Division does not agree to the customs officer’s proposal, they must write reasons and their directions in the request form and return the documents in order for the customs officer to give any explanation or follow these directions from the leadership of the Classification Division.

2. The leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department shall check the submitted documents and proposal of the Classification Division and then shall take the following actions:

a) If the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department agrees to the proposal of the Classification Division:

a.1) the customs officer shall proceed to implement clause 3 of this Article (in case of signing the documents and submitting them to the leadership of the General Department); or

a.2) the customs officer shall proceed to implement Article 20 hereof (in case of signing the outgoing documents).

b) If the leadership of the Export and Import Duty Department disagrees to the proposal of the Classification Division, they must write reasons and their directions in the request form and return the documents in order for the Classification Division to give any explanation or follow these directions of the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Division.

3. The leadership of the General Department shall check the submitted documents and the proposal of the Import and Export Duty Department and then shall take the following actions:

a) If the leadership of the General Department of Vietnam Customs agrees to the proposal of the Import and Export Duty Division, they shall sign on the documents and proceed to implement Article 20.

b) If the leadership of the General Department disagrees to the proposal of the Import and Export Duty Department, they must write their directions in the request form and return the documents in order for the Import and Export Duty Department to give any explanation or follow these directions from the leadership of the General Department.

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1. Issue of the Notification of results of predetermination of HS codes shall be subject to regulations on documentary affairs of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

2. The officer of the Import and Export Duty Department shall collect the information available in the application documentation for predetermination of HS codes and update them at the function 1.02 “HS code predetermination” within duration of 5 (five) days from the date of issue of the Notification of the predetermination results according to the following order:

a) The information of the request form for predetermination of HS codes of the customs declarant shall be updated at the section “Add documents”.

b) After completion of update of the information requested by the system, the in-charge officer shall select “Save” to change to the interface "Add notification" to give an update on the information about the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes which has already been issued.

3. With respect to the goods of which HS codes is predetermined for analysis or classification at the request of the Import and Export Duty Department, the in-charge officer of the Customs Inspection Department shall give an update on the information about the results of the analysis of the samples of the goods requiring the predetermination of HS codes at the function 1.02 "HS code predetermination" and the section "Notification of the analysis results".

4. After the officer of the Import and Export Duty Department in charge of the application documentation for predetermination of HS codes completes the update on the information in the database according to the instructions given in clause 2 Article 20 hereof, based on the contents of the notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes, the officer of the Customs Information Technology and Statistics Department shall update the contents of the predetermination results on the Information Portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs according to instructions given in the Regulations on establishment, collection, update and use of data available in the Database of the Vietnam’s Schedule of exported and imported goods; the database of Tariff Schedules; the database of classification and imposition of duty rates on exported and imported goods of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Section 6. PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUE OF THE WRITTEN DOCUMENT STATING CANCELLATION OF THE NOTIFICATION OF THE RESULTS OF PREDETERMINATION OF HS CODES

The General Department of Vietnam Customs shall issue the written document stating revocation of the Notification of the predetermination results in the event that it finds that the application documentation for predetermination of HS codes submitted by any organization or individual are inaccurate and unauthentic, or if it receives reports and proposals from customs entities (such as the Customs Departments of cities or provinces, the Post-customs Clearance Inspection Department, the Smuggling Investigation and Prevention Department, and the Inspection – Audit Department, etc.), enterprises and other relevant entities.

Article 21. Inspection and recommendation

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1. If, in the course of the inspection, the customs officer finds that the information provided by the requesting organizations or individuals in the application form for predetermination of HS codes are inaccurate and unauthentic, he/she shall prepare the proposal and draft the written document stating cancellation of the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes (according to the form No. 06/HKQXDTMS/2018, Appendix I hereto attached), inform the requesting organizations or individuals, clearly stating bases and reasons for such cancellation, and report to the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Division, and the leadership of the General Department for their approval.

2. If, after inspection, the customs officer has established that the information provided by the organizations and individuals requesting predetermination of HS codes are correct and authentic, he/she shall prepare the request form which clarifies bases and reasons for keeping the Notification of the predetermination results unchanged, and draft the written document to respond to the entity requesting cancellation of the Notification of the predetermination results, report to the leadership of the Classification Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Division and the leadership of the General Department for their approval.

Article 22. Documentation approval, issue of the written document stating cancellation of the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes, update on the database and publication of such document on the Information Portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs

The inspection and approval of the submitted documents by the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Division and the leadership of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, issue of the written document stating cancellation of the Notification of the predetermination results, update on the database, and publication of that written document on the Information Portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, shall be subject to Article 19 and Article 20 hereof.

Section 7. PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUE OF THE WRITTEN DOCUMENT STATING TERMINATION OF THE NOTIFICATION OF THE RESULTS OF PREDETERMINATION OF HS CODES

Article 23. Inspection and recommendation

Whenever legislative documents on classification of the goods are subject to any change, the Classification Division of the Import and Export Duty Division shall assign its customs officers to check the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS code that remains valid to ensure whether it conforms to modified legislative documents, based on which the predetermination of HS codes is carried out.

a) If the legal grounds for producing the predetermination results have changed, the customs officer shall prepare the request form and draft the written document stating termination of the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes, report to the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department and the leadership of the General Department of Vietnam Customs to seek their approval.

Note: The written document stating termination of the Notification of the results of predetermination of HS codes shall be in force at the effective date on which the written document serving as a basis for issue of the Notification of predetermination of HS codes takes effect after being amended, supplemented or replaced.

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The inspection and approval of the submitted documents by the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Division and the leadership of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, issue of the written document stating termination of the Notification of the predetermination results, update on the database, and publication of that written document on the Information Portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, shall be subject to Article 19 and Article 20 hereof.

Section 8. PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUE OF THE WRITTEN RESPONSE TO THE ORGANIZATION OR INDIVIDUAL’S REQUEST FOR REVIEW OF THE CONTENTS OF PRDETERMINATION OF HS CODES

Article 25. Inspection and handling of inspection results

After receipt of the written request for review of the contents of predetermination of HS codes from any organization or individual, the customs officer shall be authorized to check the contents of the organization or individual’s request and compare them with those given in the Notification of the predetermination results, collect more information (if any) and take the following actions:

1. If there is sufficient grounds for determining that the Notification of the predetermination results is not appropriate, the customs officer shall prepare the draft Notification amending and replacing the Notification of the predetermination results (according to the form No. 07/SDTT-XDTMS/2018, Appendix I hereto attached) and send it to the organization or individual requesting the review of the predetermination results, report to the leadership of the Classification Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department and the leadership of the General Department for their approval.

2. If there is sufficient grounds for determining that the Notification of the predetermination results is appropriate, the customs officer shall prepare the request form for keeping the previous predetermination results unchanged and send it through to the organization or individual requesting the review of the predetermination results, report to the leadership of the Classification Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Department and the leadership of the General Department for their approval.

Article 26. Documentation approval, issue of the written document in response to the request for review of the results of predetermination of HS codes, update on the database and publication of such document on the Information Portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs

The inspection and approval of the submitted documents by the leadership of the Commodity Classification – Tariff Schedule Division, the leadership of the Import and Export Duty Division and the leadership of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, issue of the written document in response to the request for review of the predetermination results, update on the database, and publication of that written document on the Information Portal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, shall be subject to Article 19 and Article 20 hereof.

Section 9. PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR INSPECTION OF HS CODES, DUTY RATES AND RESOLUTION OF DIFFICULTIES ARISING AFTER CUSTOMS CLEARANCE OF THE GOODS

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The customs officer shall carry out the discreet inspection and examination of information related to the goods in the customs cleared shipments, search available data in the sector, compare such information with the documents providing guidance on classification and HS codes, issued by the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Vietnam Customs, notification of the classification results, notification of the predetermination results and notification of the analysis results with suggested HS codes (hereinafter referred to as instructional documents for classification), and shall take the following actions:

1. In case there are sufficient grounds for determining the goods have the same descriptions, nature, functions, useful effects, but there is the variation between their HS codes declared and those specified in the instructional documents for classification, the customs officer shall re-identify HS codes, duty rates and report to the leaderships of all levels to decide imposition of duty rates and actions for violations as per laws, and update the inspection results in the database; update the results of modification of the HS codes at the function 1.01.07 on the MHS system.

2. In case there are not sufficient grounds for determining the goods have the same descriptions, nature, functions, useful effects, but there is the variation between their HS codes declared and those specified in the instructional documents for classification, the customs officer shall keep a record of the information about any suspicious sign, report it to the leadership to seek their approval of the enterprise’s request for supplementation of the information or collaborate with the related enterprise in collection of the samples for analysis. In case of the collection of the samples for analysis, the customs officer must guarantee that the samples of the goods sent for analysis must be those collected from the shipments which have already been customs cleared before.

Article 28. Handling of difficulties related to HS codes and duty rates which may arise during the inspection, examination and investigation process

1. The presiding entity shall inspect, examine and investigate, based on the actual documents, the information and the data collected during the inspection, examination and investigation process, and compare them with regulations set forth in relevant regulatory documents and policies in order to take initiative in implementing inspection, examination and investigation conclusions in accordance with relevant laws.

2. When implementing the notification of the classification results and the regulatory document providing guidance on HS codes for a single commodity, issued by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in order to determine HS codes for other shipments, the customs officer shall be obliged to ensure that these two shipments are identical in terms of the nature (i.e. two shipments have the same descriptions, components, physical and chemical properties, functions and useful effects, and are imported from the same manufacturer) in accordance with Clause 13 Article 1 of the Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC amending and supplementing the Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance. Classifying the goods only based on their name or commercial information shall not be allowed.

3. If the entity subject to the inspection, examination and investigation is found to use unidentical HS codes, the presiding body in charge of the inspection, examination and investigation shall send the information about such situation to the Import and Export Duty Department for its consideration and consolidation of such information for the purpose of building the List of exported and imported goods facing risks arising from the classification of the goods and imposition of the duty rates.

4. Before reaching a conclusion, the presiding body conducting the inspection, examination and investigation shall consult with the Import and Export Duty Department in writing with the aim of determining HS codes in the following cases:

a) A commodity is affected by different viewpoints of classification and determination of HS codes.

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5. In case where the Import and Export Duty Department and the entities presiding over the inspection, examination and investigation have dissenting opinions, the Import and Export Duty Department shall consolidate these opinions in a report to the leadership of the General Department of Vietnam Customs for its consideration and grant of its decision.

Part III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 29. Responsibilities of the entities for classification of the goods and imposition of duty rates on the goods

1. The Directors of the Customs Departments shall assume the following responsibilities:

a) Based on the organizational structure, resources, workloads and actual conditions of each Customs Department, assign the customs officer to carry out the inspection of classification of the goods, imposition of duty rates and post-customs clearance inspection in accordance with legislative documents, Tariff Schedules applied to exported and imported goods, instructional documents for classification of the goods, imposition of duty rates, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Vietnam Customs, and instructions given herein.

b) During the process of classification of the goods and imposition of duty rates on the goods, provide guidance on classification of the goods and imposition of duty rates to ensure the uniform implementation by the affiliated Customs Subdepartments. If there is any difficulty that arises, the Director shall be responsible for reporting to the General Department of Vietnam Customs to clearly address such difficulty, handling measures and enclosing all relevant documents.

c) Assign and authorize the customs officers who are trained in classification of the goods, have actual skills and experience in determining whether the descriptions and HS codes of the goods are correct.

d) Organize practical training classes for customs officers tasked with classification of the goods at each entity and provide them with training to promote their skills in evaluation of any suspicious sign on the basis of the information about risks in order for them to implement customs procedures in accordance with regulations; prepare the instruction manual for inspection of the classification of the goods and update of the information on the electronic customs system.

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e) Employ experts in classification of the goods according to the standards regulated by the General Department of Vietnam Customs and pay attention to the rotation of customs officers depending on their specialties and ensuring the restriction on the ineffective utilization of trained workforce.

2. The Director of the Import and Export Duty Department shall assume the following responsibilities:

a) Direct counseling and propose issue of the Notification of the results of classification of the goods in accordance with laws.

b) Take immediate actions against any complaint received from the Customs Departments of cities or provinces, organizations or individuals with regard to issue of the Notification of the classification results.

c) Organize the inspection of compliance of the Customs Departments of cities or provinces with regulations on classification of the goods and imposition of duty rates through the inspection carried out on the system.

d) Employ experts in classification of the goods according to the standards regulated by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

dd) Organize training in classification of the goods and provide updated information about the classification decisions and recommendations of the World Customs Organization.

e) Distribute resources to ensure the timely and sufficient update of data of the Notification of the classification results and the Notification of the predetermination results on the MHS system in accordance with regulations in force.

3. The Director of the Customs Inspection Department shall assume the following responsibilities:

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b) Direct the counseling and propose issue of the Notification of the results of analysis of the goods in accordance with laws.

c) Take immediate actions against any complaint received from the Customs Departments of cities or provinces, organizations or individuals with regard to the analysis results.

d) Distribute resources to ensure the timely and sufficient update of data of the Notification of the analysis results and the Notification of the analysis results with respective HS codes on the MHS system in accordance with regulations in force.

dd) Organize the training in identification of the goods and the nature of the goods according to the Vietnam’s Schedule of imported and exported goods and the Tariff Schedule applied to exported and imported goods.

4. The Customs Information Technology and Statistics Department shall assume the following responsibilities:

a) Build, update and provide instructions for use of the MHS software in conformity with requirements of the operations of the Import and Export Duty Department;

b) Connect the database of classification of the goods and imposition of duty rates with relevant information and data systems to serve the needs of classification and determination of HS codes;

c) Maintain and ensure stability and security for the database of classification of the goods and imposition of duty rates during the process of update, operation and use of that database;

d) Handle any technical breakdown arising in the process of operation and use of the database of classification of the goods and imposition of duty rates.

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5. The Post-customs Clearance Inspection Department, the Inspection – Audit Department and the Smuggling Investigation and Prevention Department shall assume the following responsibilities:

a) Exchange the information in writing with each other and provide a full amount of materials and documents related to the goods, falling in the cases referred to in clause 4 Article 28 hereof, in which resolutions should be clearly stated.

b) Promptly exchange the information with the Import and Export Duty Department whenever HS codes, duty rates and other contents of the Notification of the predetermination results and implementation of the Notification of the predetermination results are found improper during the process of inspection and audit at the customs authority’s office or at the enterprise's workplace.

6. Customs officers shall assume the following responsibilities:

Receive, check, process, report on, circulate, release, update and store documents in accordance with regulations in force. In case of any violation arising, depending on the nature and seriousness of that violation, they shall be subject to disciplinary actions or the prosecution process in accordance with laws.

Article 30. Implementation organization

1. The Heads of the entities shall be responsible for thoroughly understanding and strictly complying with these procedures. In the course of implementation, if there is any difficulty, the entities shall be advised to send their feedbacks to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (the Import and Export Duty Department) to seek its further instructions and responses.

2. Upon implementation, if any relevant reference document sited in these Procedures is amended, supplemented or replaced, the new document coming into existence after such amendment, supplementation or replacement shall prevail./.

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