Procedures for importing natural stone facing slabs into Vietnam

Procedures for importing natural stone facing slabs into Vietnam

I. Definitions

Natural stone facing slabs means stone slabs processed from natural block stone of the group of granite, quartz stone, marble stone, calcite, slate and other groups, used for paving process in constructions.

According to Vietnam”s national standard TCVN 4732:2016, natural stone facing slabs include:

1. Group of granite: Volcanic rock with visible crystalline grains, pink to light or dark gray in color, consisting mainly of quartz, feldspar and a few other minerals, with uniform characteristic structure. or doped with gneiss and pofirite. Some black-grained volcanic rocks are also included in this group. Including rocks such as: granite, xienit, permatite, gabbro, diorite, tonalite, labradorite, anorthosite, granodiorite, andesite...

2 Group of quartz: Including rocks: sandstone, quartzitic sandstone, quartzite, bluestone.

3 Group of marble: Stone with different composition and structure, from completely carbonated stone to very little carbonate rock. Most marble has a dense structure and has crystals up to 5 mm in size. All types of marble are capable of surface polishing. Including types of stone: marble (marble), limestone (limestone marble), onyx marble.

4 Group of calcite: including rocks: limestone, cancarenite, coquina, dolomite, microcrystalline limestone, olitic limestone, recrystallized limestone.

5 Group of slate: Including rocks: slate, shale.

6 Other group:
6.1 Serpentin: Rock consisting mostly or entirely of serpentine (hydrated magnesium silicate), usually blue, but also greenish, black, red and other colors; usually the rock has streaks of calcite, dolomite or magnesite (magnesium carbonate) or a combination of both.
6.2 Travertin: A crystalline calcite rock of chemical origin and with many pores.

II. Procedures for importing natural stone facing slabs into Vietnam:

Natural stone facing slabs are not on the list of banned import and export, so the entity can carry out the procedures for importing natural stone facing slabs like normal goods.
According to the provisions of Circular 19/2019/TT-BXD of the Ministry of Construction, natural stone facing slabs which are products that must go through the procedures for declaration of conformity and inspection of the quality for conformity when imported into Vietnam.

Procedures for importing natural stone facing slabs into Vietnam include the following steps:

1. Declaration of conformity of natural stone facing slabs in accordance with Vietnam”s national standards according to Circular 19/2019/TT-BXD (QCVN 16:2019/BXD). National technical standards for natural stone facing slabs are specified in Appendix G: QCVN 16:2019/BXD. The declaration of conformity must be certified by an confirmity certification organization appointed by the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam. List of appointed confirmity certification organizations to assess national standard conformity QCVN 16:2019/BXD, click here. Declaration of conformity of natural stone facing slabs must be registered with the local Department of Construction according to regulations.

2. Determination of HS code of imported natural stone facing slabs:
Before carrying out the procedures for importing natural stone facing slabs, the entity shall determine the HS code of the imported goods. The correct identification of HS codes is an important basis for comparing technical regulations and import tax rates when importing goods into Vietnam.
Natural stone facing slabs, according to Appendix G: QCVN 16:2019/BXD, has the corresponding HS codes as follows: 2515.12.20; 2515.20.00; 2516.20.20; 2516.12.20; 6802.21.00; 6802.23.00; 6802.29.10; 6802.91.10; 6802.91.90; 6802.92.00; 6802.93.10.

3. Registration for quality inspection of imported natural stone facing slabs in accordance with the declaration of conformity:
Before importing natural stone facing slabs into Vietnam, the entity shall prepare a set of documents to register for quality inspection of goods in conformity with regulations at the inspection and confirmity certification center appointed by the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam.
The dossier set includes:
• Form of registration of conformity with construction materials. Registration form according to each inspection center): 4 copies (with company seal, full signature).
• Commercial contract: 1 copy
• Commercial Invoice: 1 copy
• Packing List: 1 copy y
• Other certifications such as ISO, product catalog quality certification, C/O, etc.
• Customs declaration (In case you opened the declaration before applying for certification of conformity)

* Exemption from goods quality inspection:
Applying the measure of exemption from quality inspection of imported group 2 goods according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 1 of the Government”s Decree No. 74/2018/ND-CP dated May 15, 2018 amending and supplementing a number of products. Articles of Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Product and Goods Quality (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 74/2018/ND-CP) and Clause 3, Article 4 of Decree No. 154/2018/ND-CP.
For imported goods with the same name, utility, brand, type, and technical characteristics of the same manufacturer and origin imported by the same unit, after three consecutive imports, If the assessment results are in conformity with this standard and are certified in writing by the Ministry of Construction, they will be exempted from quality inspection for a period of 02 years.
The importing unit, when wishing for inspection exemption or reduction, shall make 01 application for inspection exemption or reduction as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 4 of Decree No. 154/2018/ND-CP, and send it to the Department of Science and Technology. and Environment - Ministry of Construction to consider and confirm exemption or reduction.
During the period of exemption from quality inspection of imported goods: every 3 months, the importing unit must report on the import situation together with the results of assessment of conformity with national technical regulations and announced standards. applied to Department of Science, Technology and Environment - Ministry of Construction and local Department of Construction to monitor and perform post-inspection work.

4. Import customs declaration and submit documents to the customs office

The entity shall prepare a set of customs dossiers for importing natural stone facing slabs, including:
• Import customs declaration
• Commercial Invoice (Commercial Invoice)
• Packing List (Goods packing slip)
• Bill of lading (Bill of Lading)
• Certificate of origin (Certificate of origin – in case the importer wants to enjoy special preferential import tax)
• Registration certificate of conformity and quality inspection: 1 original
• Form 09 to bring goods to the warehouse for storage
• Letter of introduction: 4 originals

In case the documents are valid, the Customs Offrice will allow the entity to deliver the goods to the warehouse to serve the sampling for inspection.
On the contrary, if the enterprise”s shipment is in doubt about the value of the goods, the entity will be asked to consult and the goods that have not been released will be brought back to the warehouse. At the end of the consultation process and the final results allowing the goods to be brought back to the warehouse, the enterprise will return the goods according to the instructions.

5. Sample inspection and certification of conformity of imported shipment.

After transporting the goods to the warehouse, the entity shall contact the inspection center so that they can send someone to get samples of  the product.
In order for the sample inspection to take place smoothly, the entity should note the following:
• Prepare samples for testing. When importing, entity should import surplus to use residual samples for inspection procedures.
• While waiting for the sample test results and the certification of conformity, entity is not allowed to sell goods to the market. In this case, the entity may be fined when the Market Management Team checks it.
• Time to get the inspection results is usually 5-7 working days. When the results are available, entity shall pay fees, get inspection results or  conformity certification according to the registered form.
Certificate of conformity for a sample can be used for 1 year or one shipment. It depends on the choice of the entity, the term of conformity certification will be different.

6. Submit the shipment conformity certificate and customs clearance declaration

Finally, after having the certificate of conformity, the entity submits it to the customs office and conducts customs clearance for the shipment.

II. IMPORT TAX POLICY ON NATURAL STONE FACING SLABS

When importing natural stone facing slabs into Vietnam, enterprises must pay VAT and import tax.
According to regulations, the tax rate that entity must pay when importing this type of goods is:
• Value Added Tax (VAT): 10%
• Import tax rate: 12%

In the case that entity import natural stone facing slabs from countries that have signed the Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam, the goods may enjoy special preferential import tax. However, the imported goods must meet the specified conditions.

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