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On April 17, the Customs Department issued an urgent dispatch outlining procedures to be followed during a period when the electronic customs system is temporarily offline for maintenance, to ensure uninterrupted export, import, and movement of goods under customs supervision.
To prevent congestion and ensure continuity of export and import activities, the Customs Department requires relevant units to promptly inform the business community in their areas and to implement the procedures under the contingency plan.
During the system downtime, receipt and processing of customs procedures will be shifted to the Ecus6 software in accordance with Decision No. 1228/QĐ-CHQ dated August 13, 2025. This is designated as a backup technical solution to maintain customs clearance operations under all circumstances.
If issues arise during implementation, units and enterprises are instructed to proactively contact the Ecus deployment support team under Official Dispatch No. 19548/CHQ-GSQL dated August 14, 2025 for guidance and timely handling.
The Customs Department has also received petitions from some enterprises regarding how to process customs procedures when the VNACCS/VCIS system is offline for maintenance. The Department issued urgent dispatch No. 15395/CHQ-GSQL to regional customs sub-branches.
During the VNACCS/VCIS downtime, for export customs procedures, preferred enterprises may choose one of the following two methods:
Paper export declaration with two original copies
File and submit two original copies of the export customs declaration using form HQ/2015/XK Appendix IV issued with Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC, together with the documents in the customs file to complete customs clearance.
For paper declarations, follow the rules in Article 50, Article 51, Section 2, Part VIII of the Customs Procedures for import-export goods issued with Decision 1966/QĐ-TCHQ dated 10 July 2015 by the General Director of the General Department of Customs (now the Customs Department).
Incomplete paper declaration using Form 08/TKCHC
Use an incomplete declaration in paper form using Form 08/TKCHC Appendix XI issued with Circular 121/2025/TT-BTC, together with the accompanying customs documents to complete customs procedures.
After applying either method above, enterprises must proceed with subsequent steps according to the guidelines in Section 2, Article 17 of the Post-clearance Inspection and Priority Regime Procedure issued with Decision 2123/QĐ-CHQ dated 30 December 2025. Enterprises may apply the priority regime under Article 43 of the 2014 Customs Law as amended by Law No. 90/2025/QH15.
For enterprises that are not priority enterprises, implementation is required according to point (1) of the dispatch.
The Customs Department requests border and external border offices to keep a log for cases handled under the two methods during the downtime.
After maintenance ends and operations resume under the contingency plan, customs sub-branches are responsible for consolidating results and reporting to the Customs Department (Supervision and Management) on May 8, 2026 to support consolidation and evaluation.
The Customs Department requires units to implement the dispatch strictly and coherently, and calls on the business community to actively update information and cooperate with the guidance to ensure continuous clearance of goods.
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