VAMA does not want to reveal car import price

Vietnamese automobile manufacturers, who are also car importers, want to keep the import price a business secret, rather than making the information open to the public.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) has sent a document to the Ministry of Finance, proposing to adjust the requirements on the documents car buyers have to show to management agencies when they pay their car ownership registration. According to the association, the customs declaration paper should not be required to be submitted to the agency.

VAMA said that clients who purchase imported cars can get sufficient information about the cars they purchase without having to read customs declaration paper.

According to VAMA, currently, when selling import cars to clients, import companies have to provide to buyers with a lot of papers, including the invoice, the documents relating to technical safety and environment protection, the declaration about the origin of import cars with the cars’ parameters (chassis number, engine number, and colour). These documents can provide a lot of information which is also shown on the customs declaration paper. Therefore, VAMA believes that in this case, the customs declaration paper is not necessary.

VAMA writes in its document sent to the Ministry of Finance that it would cause inconvenience to both clients and importers if clients have to submit customs declaration papers as well. Meanwhile, the procedure will cause difficulties to local taxation agencies in their fee collection management work.

Analysts commented that VAMA proposes to remove one kind of paper not just simply to help ease the complicated procedures car buyers have to follow when they pay ownership registration tax, but that the fact that importers have to provide to car buyers the customs declaration paper will provide to car buyers with the information about the cost price of the cars, which may cause queries from buyers about prices.

Currently, there is always a large gap between the CIF (cost, insurance, freight) import price and the sale price, because cars bear many different taxes. However, car buyers, who do not understand much about the tax, will not understand why they pay two to three times the original prices.

VAMA has proposed to the Ministry of Finance allowing its members to send the customs declaration paper directly to local taxation agencies instead of giving them to car buyers.

Many members of VAMA are importing cars for domestic sale, such as Mercedes Benz, Toyota and Ford.