(VASEPNews) In March 23rd 2012, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) sent the official letter No.31/2012/CV-VASEP to Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to petition for reconsidering the quarantine fees applied on imported seafood consignments in order to help enterprises reduce input costs, fish price and increase their competitiveness.
In January 15th 2012, MoF issued the circular No.04/2012/TT-BTC stipulating fee collecting, paying, controlling and using for veterinary sector. The circular has been effective since the early March 2012.
The quarantine fees, stipulated in the circular, are VND200,000 for a consignment weighing below 12 MT and VND400,000 for a consignment weighing 12-24 MT.
Based on MoF’s Circular No.199/2010/TT-BTC which was issued in late 2010, seafood is subjected to a general fee of VND285,000 per a consignment regardless of size or weight. Under the new Circular, if enterprises imported a large weight consigments which packed in many containers, they must pay rocketing quarantine fees which have increased by 300 percent, too much from the levels regulated in the circular No.199/2010/TT-BTC.
In the current circumstance, raw fish materials is not enough for processing, many seafood enterprises are forced to import fish materials to keep their business. Quarantine fees regulated in the Circular No.04 affects negatively to enterprises’ raw fish imports to strengthen exports, VASEP said.
KT