Procedures for issuance of certificate of registration of import and export rights of foreign traders without presence in Vietnam

A. CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

This procedure applies to foreign traders in countries, territories which are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and countries, territories that have bilateral agreements with Vietnam about import and export rights and other organizations, individuals relating to import and export of foreign business entities without presence in Vietnam.
This procedure shall not adjust business operation at border markets, border-gate markets, markets in border-gate economic zones of traders of countries with common borderline.
The foreign trader without presence being granted a certificate on registration of import and export rights shall perform import/export rights as follows:

To import/export goods not on list of goods banned from import/export, list of goods temporarily suspended for import/export, list of goods having no right to import/export according to international commitments. For goods the import/export of which is conditional, they must satisfy conditions as prescribed by law;
To import/export goods on the list of imports/exports under the schedule in international commitments, performance complies with the committed schedule;
To directly perform import/export procedures for goods at Customs as prescribed by law based on the sale of goods contract signed with Vietnamese trader;
The import/export goods must be suitable to content of certificate on registration of export and import rights.
The trader without presence is entitled to directly sell import goods or buy goods for only Vietnamese traders with business registration or right to distribute such goods; not entitled to organize or participate in network to distribute goods in Vietnam, unless otherwise provided by Vietnamese law or International Treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

B. SUBJECT FOR IMPLEMENTATION

The foreign traders without presence in Vietnam;
Other organizations, individuals relating to import and export of foreign business entities without presence in Vietnam.

C. PROFILE COMPOSITION

An application for the request of certificate of registration of import and export rights made according to the Form MD-1 in Annex I enclosed with Circular 28/2012/TT-BCT);
An original certification of the foreign competent authority where the trader registered for establishment confirms that the trader without presence is not deprived of the right to conduct commercial activities or being subject to sanctions or punishments related to commercial activities under law of that country;
An original certification of the foreign competent authority where the trader registered for establishment confirms that a trader without presence has no criminal record, is not restricted or lost his/her civil act capacity for the trader without presence being an individual or the legal representative for trader without presence being an economic organization;
A certified copy of the enterprise registration certificate or papers of equivalent validity for traders being economic organizations; A certified copy of identity card, passport or other lawful personal identification for traders being individuals;
A certified copy of the audited financial statement or a document certifying the fulfillment of tax or financial obligations in the latest fiscal year issued by the competent authority where the foreign trader is established or other documents issued by a competent authority or certifying the real status and operation of the foreign trader in the latest fiscal year in accordance with the laws of that country;
An original written certification of the business capital and bank account number of the foreign trader in the country or territory where it makes enterprise registration;
A written agreement between the representative of the foreign trader in Vietnam and the trader without a present, clearly stating the name, contact address, phone number;
A copy of the enterprise registration certificate of economical organization which is the representative of the foreign trader without presence in Vietnam, or a copy of the identity card, passport or another lawful personal identification paper for individual as the representative;

The documents specified at Points 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 mentioned above must be translated into Vietnamese and consular legalized in accordance with Vietnamese law. If the document specified at Point 7 mentioned above is made in a foreign language, it must be translated into Vietnamese with notarization or consular legalization.

D. SEQUENCE

A foreign trader without presence in Vietnam sends via post (one) set of the dossier to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Agency of Foreign Trade).
the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall examine the validity and completeness of the application:

If the dossier is complete and valid: Within 30 (thirty) working days from the date of receipt of a valid dossier, the Ministry of Trade shall issue a certificate of registration of the import and export right to the concerned foreign trader;
If the dossier is neither complete nor valid: Within 10 (ten) working days from the date of receipt of a dossier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall notify the concerned foreign trader to supplement or remake the dossier. In case of refusal to issue a certificate of registration of export and import rights, the competent authority shall deliver a written notice clearly stating the reason therefor to the foreign trader without a present in Vietnam;

Within 05 (five) working days after being granted a certificate of registration of the import and export right, the concerned foreign trader without presence in Vietnam shall make a public announcement on the contents of its Certificate in the mass media or on a national newspaper of Vietnam for three consecutive issues.