The automobile market is the ground for heavy industries to develop and make huge profits. To protect domestic producers in the course of accelerating inroads of foreigners, the State needs to introduce sound policies to harmonise domestic and foreign enterprises.
A tight management on taxable prices is one of methods adopted by customs authorities to prevent budget losses and increase the State budget revenues.
Recently, the General Department of Customs keeps close watch on supervising, examining and instructing the management over on important imports like milk and automotive glass and most recently automobiles at local customs offices.
Which principles?
The highest preeminence of currently applied import price taxation principle is based on transaction value provided by importers and exporters. This principle matches the GATT/WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation Vietnam has joined and its customs sector has applied for years.
However, it is very important and challenging to determine exact transaction prices that importers and exporters declared because not a few enterprises use this regime as an instrument to declare intentionally lowered prices to dodge import tariffs and create a fair competing environment for concerned enterprises.
Even, an enterprise can declare very different prices for the same product. If customs authorities lack price examination and updating, that enterprise will dodge considerable tax amount. The price examination is more important in prices of highly taxed imports like automobiles.
For instance, in July 2009, a company imported 2.7L and 3.5L Toyota Venza cars made by the United States in 2009. It declared the price of 2.7L Toyota Venza at US$18,500 and the 3.5L model at US$19,000. Meanwhile, this company declared the two models at US$19,500 each at local customs offices.
In another customs office, similar 3.5L Toyota Venza were quoted imported prices of US$20,000 – US$21,000. The price of US$21,700 was previously declared by this very enterprise.
A 2.0L Huyndai Genesis coupe made by South Korea was declared by the importer at US$12,000. According to the General Department of Customs, the price was not suitable for a coupe and multipurpose sport vehicle.
Boosting import and export activities
According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), in July 2009, Vietnam imported some 7,000 finished automobiles worth some US$106 million. The import of the four-wheeler was fluctuant this year.
The GSO said Vietnam spent some US$271 million on importing automobiles and parts in July, an increase of US$10 million from a month earlier. The rise was attributed to soaring demand for locally assembled automobiles amid limited supplying sources. Like automobile, the import of motorbikes in July slid from June, with 7,000 units. The value was US$100,000 lower than June. In June, the country imported over 7,000 finished automobiles worth over US$98 million. However, the officially revised figures showed the import of 8,000 units and more than US$105 million.
Thus, to tighten over taxable price calculation management provided in the Decree 40/2007/ND-CP dated March 16, 2007 of the Government, the Circular 40/2008/TT-BTC dated March 21, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance and other instructive documents, the General Department of Customs instructed local customs authorities to examine imported Toyota Venza made by the US and seek consultancies for prices declared by importers.
The rejection of declared prices by importers and the re-examination of taxable prices need to be in line with the Circular 40/2008/TT-BTC dated May 21, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance and the Process 1636/QD-TCHQ dated June 1, 2009 of the General Department of Customs and prevailing legal documents.
The General Department of Customs also guided local customs authorities to collect information concerning prices of Huyndai Genesis coupe to analyse and build price rates for this imported model.
P.V
Vietnamese
