Vietnam investigates signs of source laundering, tax evasion with sugar of 5 ASEAN countries

Published Jan 14, 2022

Tridge summary

The Vietnam Customs department has been requested to submit copies of the certificate of origin (C/O) for batches of cane sugar imported from five ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar) between October 2020 and September 2021. This request follows concerns raised by the Vietnam Sugar Association (VSSA) about the origin of refined sugar imports from Indonesia and Malaysia, which are believed to originate from non-ASEAN countries despite the preferential tax rate granted under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) for products containing at least 40% of content from any ASEAN member country. The import of cane sugar from these countries surged by five times in the first 10 months of 2021 compared to the previous year.

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Original content

On January 12, the General Department of Customs said that it had received a document from the Trade Remedies Department, requesting to provide a copy of the certificate of origin (C/O) for imported batches of cane sugar. Imported from 5 ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar) from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, according to Tien Phong newspaper. The Trade Remedies Department requests the General Department of Customs to provide the above documents before February 11. Previously, on January 5, the Vietnam Sugar Association (VSSA) sent an official dispatch to the Trade Remedies Department and the General Department of Customs, saying that there were many unusual signs with C/O issued for refined sugar products. sugar imports from 5 ASEAN. Specifically, in terms of origin, most of the above refined sugar is produced at sugar refineries in Indonesia and Malaysia with raw materials mainly from imported raw sugar. Because, Malaysia does not grow ...

Source: Vietnambiz