Question:
We are a company called Delicious Classic Foods Limited Liability Company, and we are planning to import food products from European countries that are part of the EVFTA agreement, such as Italy, Spain, and France. However, our company has some questions that we would like to have clarified by your esteemed agency as follows:
– The products that our company imports have their origin in Europe and are transported from Europe to Vietnam. However, a shipment consists of various suppliers because each supplier has a small quantity of goods that is insufficient to fill an entire container. Therefore, one container of our imported goods will include products from multiple suppliers. These suppliers are from different countries, all of which are part of the EVFTA agreement.
For example, a container includes 10 products from 3 suppliers: A (France), B (Italy), and C (Spain). Each supplier will be listed as the shipper on their respective bill of lading, certificate of origin (C/O), invoice, packing list, etc. Suppliers B and C will transport their goods to France to consolidate them into the same container as supplier A. Subsequently, the container will be shipped from France to Vietnam.
In this situation, will our company be eligible for preferential tax rates under the EVFTA agreement? If not, what additional documents does our company need to provide to qualify for these preferential tax rates?
Answer:
– Based on Clause 3, Article 5 of Decree No. 111/2020/ND-CP dated September 18, 2020, issued by the Government, the conditions for applying preferential import duty rates under the EVFTA Agreement are as follows:
a) The imported goods must be subject to the preferential import duty rates as specified in Appendix II issued together with this Decree.
b) The goods must be imported into Vietnam from:
– The territories of the European Union members as specified in Appendix III issued together with this Decree.
– The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
– The Principality of Andorra; the Republic of San Marino; and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Goods imported from non-tariff zones into the domestic market).
c) The goods must meet the regulations on the origin of goods and have the certificates of origin as stipulated in the EVFTA Agreement.
– According to the above regulations, in the case of your company’s imported goods that meet the conditions in Clause 3, Article 5 of Decree No. 111/2020/ND-CP, and are imported into Vietnam from the specified territories, and the goods meet the regulations on the origin of goods and have the certificates of origin as stipulated in the EVFTA Agreement, then they are eligible for the preferential import duty rates under the EVFTA Agreement.
