A lack of paperwork makes car importer suffer

HCM City-based Tanamexco, which imported cars worth one million dollars five months ago, now finds itself unable to get cars through customs because it cannot submit the requisite paperwork.

Under the inter-ministerial circular No 03 launched in 2006, “used cars” refer to cars with a minimum mileage of 10,000 kilometers and they must be registered six months before they reach Vietnam’s ports.

When making customs declarations, car importers have to submit one original copy and a duplicate copy of the following four papers: the certificate on vehicle registration, the certificate on vehicle circulation, the paper that signs over the vehicle registration and the paper that signs over the vehicle circulation.

However, according to Tanamexco, under the laws of the US’ Oregon State, where the vehicles’ ownership were registered and were in circulation, vehicles were only granted a certificate of ownership which was also valid as a circulation certificate (Oregon Vehicle Certificate Of Title). Therefore, Tanamexco could only provide this kind of paper when it made customs declarations.

The car importer, anticipating the possible troubles due to the difference in the papers, tried to get the certification from San Jose chamber of commerce and Vietnamese Consulate General in San Jose.

Tanamexco said it has sent documents to the Ministry of Finance and General Customs Agency to ask for quick settlement of the problem, but it has not received reply from the agencies over the last five months. Tens of import cars worth over one million dollars are still uncleared at ports

Vietnamese newspaper VnMedia reported that in late November 2009, the Ministry of Finance sent a dispatch to the Ministries of Public Security, Transport and industry and Trade, requesting the three ministries accept the equivalent documents. However, there has been no reply from the ministries.