Custom Glossary

Authorized customs officer

Authorized customs officer is a person employed in the Customs Administration who performs operations in accordance with the provisions of the Customs and other laws, as well as in accordance with the powers delegated by the director.

Bank guarantee is a banking service business

Bank guarantee is a banking service business by which a bank guarantees a creditor that the debtor will duly fulfill its obligation, ie. that the creditor will settle the obligation of maturity if the debtor fails to do so. The Bank appears as a guarantor in these transactions.

Certificate of Origin

Certificate of Origin is a separate document proving that the goods being transported are indeed originating in a particular country. This certificate may also be enclosed with the declaration of the manufacturer, supplier, exporter or anyone who is competent to guarantee the origin of the goods.

A free zone is an area excluded from the customs territory of a country where a number of economic activities are carried out, such as manufacturing, finishing, processing, packaging, transport services, accommodation, storage and other activities. The area also includes customs offices, freight forwarding offices, quality and quantity control companies.

Country of Origin

The country of origin is a country where a product is extracted, produced or changed through production or processing processes, based on specified regulations in compliance with regulations on the application of the Customs Tariff Nomenclature and regulations on the determination of the content of the components or other regulations on trade. Country of origin is used to determine the country where goods are produced and are eligible to receive privileges for tariff reductions with respective countries with which a government has signed preferential trade agreements.

Goods originating in a particular country or community of states, in accordance with the law, include:
1) goods as a whole produced in that country;
2) goods that have been sufficiently processed in that country.

Custom operation principles:

1. Ensure uniform and centralized management throughout the country;
2. Ensure the promotion and growth of production, business operations and investments;
3. Ensure justice, modernity, transparency, and prompt service and accountability;
4. Facilitate trade and promote investment;
5. Collaborate harmoniously between vertical and horizontal lines of management;
6. Implement various obligations of regional and international agreements,
   treaties and conventions of which Lao PDR is a party to;

Customs Administration

Customs Administration means the Department of Customs, Regional Customs Offices,
Customs Border Checkpoints and other Customs organizations, which are organizations
under the Ministry of Finance that are responsible for implementing the Customs Law
and other laws and regulations in a centrally uniform manner throughout the country

Custom House

Customs house is an organizational or regional body within the structure of the Customs Administration, where all or part of the customs actions established by customs regulations can be carried out in whole or in part.

Customs control

Customs control is an application of procedures, methods, regulations and measures by customs administration according to this Law and other relevant laws to control the exportation, importation, transit and movement of goods.

Customs control includes certain actions taken by the customs authority,such as inspection of goods, sampling, control of the existence and authenticity of documentation, inspection of bookkeeping and other documents, inspection of means of transport, inspection of luggage and other goods the person carries with him or herself also the carrying out of official checks and similar actions in order to ensure the proper application of customs and other regulations.

In EU Jurisdiction
Customs are involved in the implementation and enforcement of EU legislation on import and export from and to non-EU countries.

Previously, customs controls focussed more on the fiscal aspects of customs work, but in recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on the importance of customs controls for purposes such as security, safety and protection of the environment.

This includes controls on:

• The duties to be paid, and the correct description of the goods, their origin and value
• Security and safety measures (smuggling, drugs, cigarettes, weapons, counterfeited products, fight against terrorism)
• Compliance with environmental legislation
• Compliance with Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) rules
• Health requirements, veterinary, phytosanitary and quality regulations.
• In addition, customs are also often supporting the work of other services such as police and immigration services

Custom seal

Customs seal is a customs feature affixed in certain customs procedures to prevent the unauthorized disposal of goods and to preserve the identity of the goods. Customs features also include a customs seal and a customs seal.

Custom goods

Customs goods are goods that are brought into or received in the customs territory, as well as goods that are exported or sent from that area. Customs goods are also goods that transit through that customs territory, that is, which are transmitted through that customs territory.

Custom Tariff

Customs tariff is a systematic list of goods with customs rates. The Customs Tariff consists of the nomenclature of goods and rates, that is, the amount of duty prescribed for certain goods in that nomenclature.

Custom Agent

Customs agent is a natural or legal person registered for the activity of international forwarding, authorized by the Customs Administration to carry out actions in the customs procedure or in connection with that procedure.

An indirect agent is a legal entity registered for international freight forwarding and registered in a special register of agents with the Customs Administration. The intermediary agent is obliged to keep a record of all actions taken as an intermediary agent before the customs authorities, in the manner determined by the Customs Administration.

Customs clearance brokers have the following obligations:

1. Conducting transaction with the Customs Administration for goods declaration
   procedures; completing customs documentation, customs clearance, payment of duty and other obligations; and removal of goods from a warehouse or checkpoint on behalf of the goods owner;
2. Contacting the Customs Administration to register their electronic declaration system;
3. Declaring goods correctly to the Customs Administration and submitting supporting
   documents in accordance with customs protocols and procedures;
4. Signing detailed customs declarations in electronic format and/or other formats on behalf of the goods owner when authorized;
5. Paying customs duty and other obligations on behalf of the goods owner;
6. Participating in the inspection of goods with Customs Officer, for instance, opening
   containers and boxes of goods, counting the quantity of goods, weighing and measuring
   goods;
7. Representing owners of goods, transporters or other clients in dealing with the Customs Authority for any breach of the Customs Law and regulations and other relevant laws and regulations;
8. Being responsible for the costs of transportation, unloading, warehousing and other expenses occurring during the inspection of goods.

Customs debt

A customs debt is a person’s obligation to pay the amount of customs duty and other import duties on certain goods, in accordance with the regulations.

Customs surveillance

Customs surveillance is a set of general measures and actions taken by the Customs Administration to enforce customs and other regulations in relation to goods subject to customs control, including measures to ensure the identity of goods from arrival at the customs territory until the completion of the customs procedure (monitoring and safekeeping of customs goods, sampling , prospectuses, photographs or other information), affixing customs declarations and verifying the documents required.

Customs authority

Customs authority is the competent organizational unit or authorized officer of the Customs Administration.

Customs procedure

Customs procedure is the procedure for placing goods for free circulation, transit procedure, customs warehousing procedure, inward processing procedure, processing procedure under customs control, temporary importation procedure, outward processing procedure and export procedure, where the participants in the procedure acquire rights and obligations related to the goods.

Customs crossing

Customs crossing is a place designated for the import, export and transit of goods, as well as for the crossing of persons and means of transport through a customs line at a border crossing.

Customs declarant

Customs declarant means an individual, legal entity, organization, customs clearance broker or authorized person who is authorized to prepare and submit customs declarations and sign the detailed customs declaration forms.

Customs status

Customs status is the status of goods in the customs procedure, which designates the goods as domestic illustrations.

Customs territory

Customs territory includes territory, territorial waters and airspace above a specific country.

Custom Warehouse

A customs warehouse may be a public warehouse or a private warehouse:

Public warehouse is a customs warehouse in which a person may store goods

Private warehouse is a customs warehouse intended for the storage of warehouse keeping goods.

A warehouse user is a person who is required by the declaration to place goods under a customs warehousing procedure or a person to whom the rights and obligations of that person have been transferred.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The purpose of this international agreement is to ensure that international trade in wildlife and plant specimens, parts and derivatives thereof does not endanger the survival of the same species in nature.

Duty-free zone

A duty-free zone is an area usually located adjacent to an international port and to which imported goods may be unloaded, stored and re-embarked without payment of customs duties or other types of indirect tax, provided they are not imported into the country in to which the duty free area is located. Duty free areas are usually considered to be areas outside the country’s national territory, as well as areas where traders can operate without restrictions.

Delivery parties

Delivery parties are international rules for the interpretation of trade terms in domestic and international trade, which define: the price paid by the buyer, the party who bears the cost of transportation and shipping, the party who bears the risk (insurance of the goods). Parities are revised every ten years.

Declaration is an act whereby a person requires the customs authority, in the prescribed form and in the prescribed manner, to carry out the appropriate customs procedure for goods.

Declarant (declarant) is the person who submits the declaration on his own behalf or the person on whose behalf the declaration is filed.

Domestic goods are:

– goods wholly obtained or produced in the customs territory
– goods imported from other countries and put into free circulation
– goods obtained or produced in the customs territory, if obtained or produced from goods imported from other countries which have been put into free circulation or which have been wholly obtained or produced in the customs territory, and which contain goods imported from other countries which have been released for free traffic.

The warehouse keeper is the person authorized by the customs office to operate the customs warehouse.

EUR 1

IT is a form which is a document of particular importance to importers as it indicates the possible preferential origin of goods in their country and thus reduces the cost of customs clearance of the goods.

Import is a term used to refer to listings of products, services, or businesses that come from outside the country. Imports form part of foreign trade. The opposite process is referred to as export.

Import duties include customs duties and other charges having equivalent effect, payable on importation of goods.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property constitute special, specific rights held by authors, inventors and other intellectual property right holders. Intellectual property is not concrete, material ownership of an object, but a right, that is, a set of powers recognized by the legal order of the country to the holder of intellectual property rights.

International customs transit document

An international customs transit document that is synonymous with goods passports worldwide. In practice, it is most commonly used for temporary import / export of trade fair goods, as well as goods intended for personal or professional use, trade samples, professional and scientific equipment. The specificity of this document is reflected in the fact that it can be used without hiring a freight forwarder.

International customs law

International customs law is a branch of international economic law, comprising the international obligations undertaken by States—as well as supranational entities, such as European Community, and customs territories, eg Taiwan—with respect to the legal regulation, administration, and control of customs duties and other means of control of the trans-frontier movement of goods.

Personal Luggage

Personal luggage mainly covers clothing, personal hygiene, nutrition, various technical goods, sports equipment, medicines, etc. These are, in fact, items needed for the trip, and their necessity is appreciated in each case, based on the season, occupation, purpose and duration of the trip, etc.

The holder of the authorization is the person who has obtained the authorization in the customs procedure.

Phytosanitary control

Phytosanitary control is the control to which, at border crossings, consignments of plants, plant products and prescribed facilities, plant nutrition and plant protection products are subject to in accordance with the Law on Plant Health, the Law on Plant Nutrition Products and Plant Breeders and the Law on Plant Protection Products. herbs. It is implemented by the ministry responsible for agriculture – phytosanitary inspection.

Phytosanitary examination certificateis a certificate issued by the competent state authority (Ministry of Agriculture) as proof that the contents of the consignment meet the import regulations of the delivery destination. The certificate guarantees that the contents of the consignment have been tested and are free from dangerous pests and plant diseases.

Red control passage

Red control passage used by travelers who report everything they carry with them in passenger traffic.

A green checkpoint is a border crossing that can be used by passengers without goods subject to import duties.

Residents

Residents are all natural and legal persons, enterprises or organizations that do not have the status of legal persons, which under the legislation of one of the States Parties in it are subject to taxation on the basis of residence, permanent residence, seat, registration. However, this term does not include persons who, in a State Party, are only subject to taxation on income derived from operations not related to the acquisition and / or sale of goods.

Seizure of goods

Seizure of goods means withholding the goods temporarily while waiting for the results
of legal proceedings.

Smuggling

Smuggling is the movement of goods through the customs line in a hidden manner and avoiding customs control measures, avoiding, in whole or in part, the payment of import duties, the application of prohibitions or restrictions, or the provision of benefits contrary to the provisions of the laws applicable by the customs authorities.

Suspension of Custom Duty

Suspension of Custom Duty means to suspend for a designated period of time the
customs duty during the exportation-importation of goods, but should not be beyond the
time identified in the laws and regulations.

Temporary import is a customs – approved procedure whereby foreign goods are used in the country with the obligation to re – export in the unaltered state, except for abnormal reductions in value due to their use. Temporarily imported goods are not subject to customs duties or at a reduced rate and are not subject to commercial policy measures (foreign trade restrictions), unless otherwise regulated by special regulations.

Hidden goods is goods which have not been declared to the customs authority which are transported or transported in such a way as to prevent or impede recognition or detection in the ordinary course of inspection by the customs authority.

 Placing of goods in free circulation implies

It implies the completion of the prescribed procedures in relation to the importation of goods, as well as the payment of all prescribed import duties, taxes, excise duties and other fees. By doing so, foreign goods acquire the status of domestic goods.

Foreign goods is goods not defined as domestic goods, as well as domestic goods taken out of the customs territory

Freight forwarding usually refers to the customs clearance procedure, and generally to cases where a third party provides freight forwarding services to the consignor or consignee, whether it is the customs clearance of import or export consignments.

Transit is a procedure which begins with the declaration of goods at the frontier customs office or in the customs office where the goods have been previously declared and ends when the goods are delivered to the office of destination with the appropriate documents.