The Government’s promulgation of Decree No. 111/2021/ND-CP dated 19/12/2021 (Decree 111) amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP dated 14/4/2017 (Decree 43) will help increase rights as well as enhance responsibilities of each enterprise. The new regulation ensures the transparency and flexibility, upholds the autonomy and self-responsibility of enterprises for the honesty and accuracy of commodities.
Over the past time, enterprises being unknowledgeable or fraudulent on the origin of exported commodities for profit and tax evasion has challenged authorities in their inspectorate and handling. Furthermore, the deviation of commodities origin also causes mass trade remedy investigations, reducing the reputation of enterprises and industries and reducing the competitiveness of Vietnam commodities.
Ms. Trinh Thi Thu Hien, Head of Goods Origin Department, Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that for standards and requirements on rules and origin, many exporting enterprises have encountered obstacles that with the same category and input material and output, it is applied by different requirements by different markets.
Specifically, for Singapore market, textile products of clothes are considered of Vietnam origin, namely they will enjoy preferential tariff treatment in the country while these categories being exported to the EU market must meet the two-step rule, i.e. the weaving and tailoring of clothes must be made in member countries of EVFTA Agreement to enjoy preferential tariff treatment within the framework of EVFTA.
“A product of the same export manufacture is granted a Certificate of Origin (C/O) in ASEAN while it fails to EU market as it shows Vietnam origin. Therefore, before exporting, it is necessary to carefully study the market for applying appropriate documents on the origin,” said Ms. Hien.
The recent Decree 111 has made amendment of Article 15 on the origin of goods.
Concretely, manufacturing, exporting and importing organizations and individuals shall identify and record the origin of goods by themselves, ensuring truthfulness, accuracy and compliance with legal regulations on origin of exported and imported goods manufactured in Vietnam or international commitments that Vietnam involves.
The origin of goods indicated on the label is shown by one of the following phrases “made in”; “manufactured in”; “manufacturing country”; “origin”; “made by”; “product of” accompanied by the name of the country or territory producing the goods or in accordance with the provisions of law on the origin of the goods.
In case of unable determination of the origin according to the captioned provisions, the final stage of the finished products shall be stated by one of the phrases or a combination of phrases expressing the finishing stage of goods as follows: “assembled at”; “bottled at”; “mixed at”; “completed at”; “packed at”; “labelled at” with the name of the country or territory where the final stage of the finished commodities are made. The name of the country or territory of such commodities shall not be abbreviated.
Experts assess that Decree 111 will help increase the rights and enhance the responsibilities of each enterprise.
The new regulation ensures transparency, flexibility, upholds the autonomy and self-responsibility of businesses for the honesty and accuracy of goods as well as complies with Vietnam regulations on origin and international commitments that Vietnam involves.
