To: Provincial Customs Departments

Pursuant to the Official Dispatch No. 137/BCT-XNK dated January 07^th 2013 and the Official Dispatch No. 12692/BCT-XNK dated December 28^th 2012 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, responding to queries about the implementation of FTAs, the General Department of Customs hereby provides the following instructions:

1. Small differences prescribed in Article 16 Annex 7 of the Circular No. 21/2010/TT-BCT dated May 17^th 2010:

The General Department of Customs issued the Official Dispatch No. 5517/TCHQ-GSQL dated October 22^nd 2012, providing guidance on 06 small differences as prescribed in Article 16 Annex 7 of the Circular No. 21/2010/TT-BCT .

In the 10^th meeting of the Sub-Committee on ATIGA Rules of Origin (SCAROO 10) on January 15^th – 16^th 2013 in Brunei, ASEAN Member States reached an agreement on adding small differences in commodity description among Certificates of Origin and other documents in the cases considered small differences as prescribed in Article 16 Annex 7 of the Circular No. 21/2010/TT-BCT. Accordingly, local Customs Departments are requested to follow these instructions while examining the legitimacy of Certificates of Origin (Form D)

2. Provide information about the importer in Box 7:

The customs authority that accepts the Certificate of Origin shall indicate the bank’s name in Box 2 and the information about the importer/consignee in Box 7 instead of Box 2 because it would be no sufficient space to provide all information necessary. The Certificate of Origin shall be duly completed and the origin of products shall not be in doubt.

3. The replacement and correction of incorrect Certificates of origin shall be carried out in one of the following manners:

- Directly correct the mistakes on the Certificate of Origin returned to the exporter and send it to the importer. The importer shall then submit it to the customs authority.

- Exchange mails and emails with the officials in charge of origins in FTA Agreements: provide explanation, certify the legitimacy of the Certificate of Origin, and request the customs authority to grant the preferential treatment.

- Issue a new Certificate of Origin to replace the incorrect Certificate of Origin that was rejected.

Where a new Certificate of Origin is issued but the relevant operational certification procedures (OCP) do not specify the reissuance or replacement, the issuing authority shall issue a letter of certification/notification of the replacement. For electronic Certificates of Origin (Form AK) issued in Korea, the customs authority shall accept the Certificate of Origin that indicates the replacement on the Certificate of Origin without a letter of certification.

4. Electronic Certificates of Origin (Form AANZ) with blank overleaf:

- For the shipments that are released and of which the Certificates of Origin are accepted: the General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall raise this issue in AANZFTA meetings about the rules of origin in order to reach an agreement on the modality

- From the date of issuance of this Official Dispatch, the electronic Certificates of Origin (Form AANZ) with blank overleaf shall not be accepted.

4. Documents proving the status quo of goods in cases in which goods are transited through an intermediate country:

Where goods are transited through the territory of a Non-member State (applicable to Certificates of Origin - Form D, Form E, Form AANZ, Form AI) and through the territory of a Non-member State or Member State (for Certificates of Origin - Form AK), one of the supporting documents submitted to the customs authority of the importing Member State is the document proving that all requirements of direct consignment are satisfied. In this case, one of the following documents may be submitted:

a) The document issued by the customs authority of the intermediate country certifying that the goods are under the control of a customs authority of that country, and the customs clearance formalities are not carried out; or

b) The written certification issued by the organization that issued the bill of lading to the shipment, proving that the transit entry is necessary due to geographical reason or requirement of transportation; the goods have not entered into trade or consumption there; the goods have not undergone any operation there other than unloading and reloading or any other operation to preserve them in good condition. For the written certification issued by a subsidiary company, branch, or agent of the shipper, or the organization that issued the bill of loading to the shipment in Vietnam, the Letter of attorney of the shipper is required; or

c) Where goods are consigned in a container, the container number and the seal number are not changed since goods are loaded at the loading port of the exporting Member State until they are imported into Vietnam, the document proving the direct consignment being the bill of lading and shipment order of the shipper, which indicate the unchanged container number and seal number, may be accepted.

The contents above replace the instructions in the previous Official Dispatches on supporting documents for goods in transit.