New circular regulating e-customs procedures to imports and exports   Illustrative image (Source: VNA) The Ministry of Finance has issued a circular regulating e-customs procedures to commercial imports and exports, which comes into effect on April 1, reported the Government news portal. Accordingly, the procedures are applied to imports and exports in accordance with contracts of sale and to realise processing contracts with foreign traders. Those, which are imported as materials to produce exports, to implement investment projects and for processing businesses, are also mentioned in the circular. Digital signatures, which are used in e-customs procedures, must be equivalent to authenticated digital certificates recognised by authorised authentication organisations in accordance with Decree 170/2013/ND-CP. The digital signatures must be registered with the Customs before use. If the customs procedures are carried out by trustees, the trustees must use their accounts. Any changes, amendments or supplements to the signatures, which are accepted nationwide, must be informed to the customs. The circular regulates that customs procedures must be conducted to exports after they are transported to informed locations or within eight hours after they are exported. The procedures must be implemented before imports arrive at border gates or within 30 days from their arrival at border gates. The arrival date is the date of the customs' seal on the import declaration or the primary declaration at border gates; or the date of documents recognising the transport vehicles’ pass through border gates. If the vehicles enter the country by implementing e-customs procedures, the imports’ arrival date will be the date of the vehicles’ entry.-VNA