VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Industry and Trade last week issued a new rule removing obstacles shouldered by auto importers since Circular 20/2010/TT-BCT, allowing them to enjoy simpler procedures in clearing vehicles of less than nine seats that have got stuck at ports.

In its Document 7860/BCT-XNK issued last Wednesday, the ministry says that shipments of cars loaded onboard before June 26 and arriving at Vietnamese ports before July 24 will apply the old import procedure rather than Circular 20. This is the solution of the trade ministry after collecting opinions from related parties, including the Ministry of Finance, the State Bank of Vietnam and the General Customs Office.

Previously, some 50 auto importers have sent a petition to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and related agencies suggesting removing obstacles in Circular 20 implementation. Due to the circular effective from June 26, those failing to meet its requirements had their imported vehicles stuck at the ports, leading many importers to the verge of bankruptcy.

Besides, auto firms found it impossible to timely submit warranty and maintenance certificates along with distributorship licenses to customs offices on July 24 as required in the previous regulation. Due to the lack of such papers, thousands of auto importers were forced to halt their import on July 26.

There are currently as many as 1,000 cars stored at the port warehouses. Many importers expressed their surprise at the issue of Circular 20, saying many shipping containers could not arrive prior to June 26 when the circular took effect.

Auto importers said the cars being kept at the ports pushed up their costs because the warehouse fee for each container is US$1,000-1,500 per month let alone the loan interest while the goods are stored.

Some enterprises appreciated Document 7860 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for helping them with the imported cars stuck at the ports. However, several importers face another problem for having paid for their imported cars before May 12 but their partners in the U.S. or the Europe have not delivered the vehicles yet because of the import procedure regulated by Circular 20.

It takes at least two months for a shipment from the U.S., Dubai or Europe to arrive in Vietnam, said some auto firms, but these orders cannot be canceled.

SGT