Circular No. 07/2026/TT-BCT on amendments to Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT on import of cigarettes and cigars

CIRCULAR

On Amendments to certain Articles of Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT dated December 30, 2013 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on import of cigarettes and cigars

Pursuant to Decree No. 40/2025/ND-CP of the Government on functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to Decree No. 67/2013/ND-CP of the Government elaborating on certain Articles and providing measures for implementation of the Law on Tobacco Harm Prevention and Control regarding tobacco trading;

Pursuant to Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP of the Government elaborating on certain Articles of the Law on Foreign Trade Management;

Pursuant to Decree No. 94/2017/ND-CP of the Government on commercial goods and services on which monopoly is held by the State and geographical areas thereof;

At the request of the Director of the Agency of Foreign Trade;

The Minister of Industry and Trade hereby promulgates a Circular on amendments to certain Articles of Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT dated December 30, 2013 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on import of cigarettes and cigars.

Article 1. Amendments to Article 6

“1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall designate traders that hold licences to manufacture tobacco products and that are wholly owned by the State (with 100% charter capital held by the State) as entities authorized to import cigarettes and cigars in accordance with the State trading mechanism.

2. Traders holding licences to manufacture tobacco shall directly carry out the importation of cigarettes and cigars and shall not be permitted to authorize or entrust other traders to perform such importation.”

Article 2. Amendments to clause 3 Article 7 and annulment of clause 4 Article 7

1. “3. Traders importing cigarettes shall carry out conformity declaration in accordance with national technical regulations; traders importing cigars shall declare the applied standards in conformity with applicable regulations”.

2. Annulments of Clause 4 Article 7

Article 3. Amendments to clause 1 of Article 8

1. When carrying out import procedures, in addition to the import customs dossier as prescribed by the Customs authority, the trader shall present to the Customs authority one (01) original of the application for automatic import registration of cigarettes and cigars duly certified by the licensing authority, or submit such certified application to the Customs authority via the electronic customs data processing system (e-customs system); the trader shall be responsible for the legality and completeness of the documents submitted to the Customs authority.

Article 4. Amendments to Clauses 1, 2 and 3 Article 9

1. “1. Prior to carrying out import procedures, the trader shall submit one (01) dossier directly to the People’s Committee of the province or central-affiliated city where the trader’s headquarters is located, or submit the dossier via public postal services or through the online system of the licensing authority, comprising:

a) Application for automatic import registration of cigarettes and cigars: two (02) copies made in accordance with the form set out in Appendix II hereof;

b) Import contract: one (01) copy (certified as a true copy of the original by the trader);

c) Commercial invoice: one (01) copy (certified as a true copy of the original by the trader);

d) Bill of lading or transport document of the consignment: one (01) copy (certified as a true copy of the original by the trader) (if any);

dd) License to manufacture tobacco products: one (01) copy (certified as a true copy of the original by the trader).”

2. The phrase “Agency of Foreign Trade – Ministry of Industry and trade” in clause 2 Article 9 of Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT is replaced with the phrase “licensing authority”.

3. The phrase “Agency of Foreign Trade – Ministry of Industry and trade” in clause 3 Article 9 of Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT is replaced with the phrase “licensing authority”.

Article 5. Amendments to clause 1 and clause 2 Article 10

1. The phrase “Agency of Foreign Trade – Ministry of Industry and trade” in clause 1 Article 10 of Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT is replaced with the phrase “licensing authority”.

2. The phrase “Agency of Foreign Trade – Ministry of Industry and trade” in clause 2 Article 10 of Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT is replaced with the phrase “licensing authority”.

Article 6. Annulment of Article 11

Article 11 is annulled.

Article 7. Replacement of Appendix I and Appendix II

Appendix I and Appendix II enclosed with Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT are replaced with Appendix I and Appendix II of this Circular.

Article 8. Responsibilities for organizing implementation

Licensing authorities shall organize inspections and cooperate with relevant agencies in organizing inspections of the importation of cigarettes and cigars in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT and this Circular.

In cases where competent authorities concluded that traders fail to comply with the regulations relating to the importation of cigarettes and cigars in accordance with applicable regulations and the levels of violations are subject to administrative penalties, the licensing authorities shall consider refusing to certify the traders’ applications for automatic import registration of cigarettes and cigars until such violations have been fully remedied.

In cases where competent authorities concluded that traders fail to comply with regulations relating to the importation of cigarettes and cigars in accordance with applicable laws, and the levels of violations are subject to consideration for criminal prosecution, such traders shall not be eligible to act as a focal importers of cigarettes and cigars under the state trading mechanism as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular until the traders are granted exemption from penalties or have their criminal records expunged by competent regulatory authorities in accordance with the law.

Article 9. Implementation clauses

1. This Circular comes into force from April 10, 2026.

2. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration.

3. The Head of the Agency of Foreign Trade, Heads of units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies, organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.