New regulations on trading duty-free goods

Decree 100/2020/ND-CP on trading duty-free goods which has been newly issued by the Government, replacing Decree 167/2016/ND-CP, has many new regulations for buyers and goods sold at duty-free shops, the currency used in transactions

and procedures.

Regarding subjects and conditions for buying duty-free goods (Article 3), the decree

supplements the provisions at Point d, Clause 1: “d, besides the place of receipt of

goods specified in this clause, the customer purchases goods should comply the

provision specified at Points a, b and c of this clause (except customers buying goods on international flights exiting Vietnam) may receive goods from aboard.”

Regarding tax policies for goods sold at duty-free shops, it has been amended as

follows (Article 4): Tax policies for goods sold at duty-free shops and duty-free

warehouses need to comply with regulations on tax laws and management.

Regarding selling goods at duty-free shops, Decree 167/2016/ND-CP does not have

regulations on taking goods from non-tariff areas or from bonded warehouses to

duty-free shops. Therefore, Clause 1 of Article 6 of Decree 100/2020/ND-CP stipulates two flows of goods taken into duty-free shops: goods temporarily imported from

abroad, from non-tariff zones, from bonded warehouses and domestic goods (include domestically produced and imported goods that have completed import procedures).

Besides that, in Clause 2, Article 6 stipulates that goods from inland are allowed to be circulated in accordance with Vietnamese law and sold at duty-free shops and

supervised by customs authorities on the basis of notifying the list of goods

brought into duty-free shops and warehouses of enterprises operating duty-free

goods.

Regarding the handling of broken, damaged and low quality of goods, Clause 6,

Article 6 stipulates that before carrying out destruction, the enterprise must issue a specific notification on the destruction plan and send to the Customs department

and does not stipulate about the cancellation must be done before the time limit

of temporary import and re-export of the declaration expires.

Regarding currency used in transactions of selling duty-free goods (Article 7),

besides Vietnamese Dong, the currency of the country sharing the same border, in Article 7 specifies: the foreign currency is the USD or the EUR.

A new point in Decree 100/2020/ND-CP is a supplement of Article 12 stipulating

customs procedures and customs supervision for goods transported between duty-free warehouses of the enterprise and an aircraft for sale on international flights

departing or arriving in Vietnam if the aircraft entering the country at the INTL

airport which is different from the international airport the aircraft leaving the

country.

In addition, the decree supplemented procedures for selling duty-free to buyers

who are on exit, in transit, passengers on the aircraft leaving the country, tourists

travelling via seaway and seafarers who purchase duty-free goods for their needs

while the ship is anchored at a Vietnamese seaport (Article 13); procedures for

selling duty-free goods to buyers who are people waiting for exit buying goods at domestic duty-free shops (Article 16); and procedures for selling duty-free goods

for seafarers who are working on board in the international voyages (Article 18).

Besides that, the decree has a number of new points related to procedures for

goods sold to customers on leaving the country, such as delivered goods abroad

as the request of customers (except for customers buying on INTL flights

leaving from Vietnam) and procedures for changing the use purpose, transferring

the domestic consumption, re-export; about the settlement report.