2. Imports which are occasional and consist solely of goods for the personal use of the recipients or travellers or their families shall not be considered as imports by way of trade if it is evident from the nature and quantity of the goods that no commercial purpose is in view.
3. Furthermore, the total value of these goods shall not exceed US $300 in the case of small packages or US $1000 in the case of goods forming part of travellers' personal luggage.
Article 3.27. Supporting Documents
The documents referred to in Articles 3.16(3) and 3.19(2) and that are used for the purposes of proving that goods covered by a Certificate of Origin or an Origin Declaration can be considered as goods originating in Israel or in Viet Nam and fulfil the other requirements of this Chapter may consist inter alia of the following:
(a) direct evidence of the processes carried out by the exporter or supplier to obtain the goods concerned, contained, for example in his accounts or internal bookkeeping;
(b) documents proving the originating status of materials used, issued or made out in Israel or in Viet Nam where these documents are used in accordance with domestic law;
(c) documents proving the working or processing of materials in Israel or in Viet Nam, issued or made out in Israel or in Viet Nam, where these documents are used in accordance with domestic law;
(d) Certificates of Origin or Origin Declarations proving the originating status of materials used, issued or made out in Israel or in Viet Nam in accordance with this Chapter;
(e) appropriate evidence concerning working or processing undergone outside Israel or Viet Nam by application of Article 3.13 (Principle of Territoriality) of this Chapter, proving that the requirements of that Article have been satisfied.
Article 3.28. Preservation of Proofs of Origin and Supporting Documents
1. The exporter applying for the issue of the Certificate of Origin shall keep the documents referred to in Article 3.18 (Procedures for the Issuance of Certificates of Origin) for at least five years.
2. The exporter making out an invoice declaration shall keep a copy of this invoice declaration, as well as the documents referred to in Article 3.22 (Conditions for Making out an Origin Declaration) for at least five years.
3. The Competent Authority in the exporting Party that issued a Certificate of Origin shall keep any document relating to the application procedure referred to in Article 3.18 (Procedures for the Issuance of Certificates of Origin) for at least five years.
4. The Customs Authorities of the importing Party shall keep the Certificates of Origin and the invoice declarations submitted to them for at least five years.
Article 3.29. Discrepancies and Formal Errors
1. The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements made in a proof of origin and those made in the documents submitted to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the goods shall not ipso facto render a proof of origin null and void if it is duly established that the document does correspond to the goods submitted.
2. Obvious formal errors on a proof of origin should not cause it to be rejected if these errors are not such as to create doubts concerning the correctness of the statements made in it.
Article 3.30. Mutual Assistance
1. The Competent Authorities of Israel and Viet Nam shall provide each other with the addresses of the Competent Authorities responsible for verifying Certificates and origin declarations.
2. In order to ensure the proper application of this Chapter, Israel and Viet Nam shall assist each other, through their respective Competent Authorities, in checking the authenticity of the Certificates of Origin, the invoice declarations and the correctness of the information given in these documents.
Article 3.31. Verification of Proofs of Origin
1. Subsequent verifications of proofs of origin shall be carried out at random or whenever the Customs Authorities of the importing Party have reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of proofs of origin, the originating status of the goods concerned or the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter.
2. For the purposes of implementing the provisions of paragraph 1, the Customs Authorities of the importing Party shall transmit requests for verification of origin through electronic means to the Competent Authorities of the exporting Party. The request for verification by post or by email shall include the number of the Certificate or in the case of an Invoice Declaration, a copy thereof. In support of the request for verification, where needed, the reasons for the request should be indicated, and any documents and information obtained suggesting that the information given on the proofs of origin is incorrect should be attached.
3. The verification shall be carried out by the Competent Authorities of the exporting Party. For this purpose, they shall have the right to call for any evidence and to carry out any inspection of the exporter's books or any other check considered appropriate.
4. If the Customs Authorities of the importing Party decide to suspend the granting of preferential treatment to the goods concerned while awaiting the results of the verification, release of the goods shall be offered to the importer subject to any precautionary measures judged necessary.
5. The Customs Authorities requesting the verification shall be informed of the results of this verification by post or email means as soon as possible. These results must indicate clearly whether the information contained in the proofs of origin and the supporting documents is correct, and whether the goods concerned can be considered as goods originating in Israel or Viet Nam and fulfil the other requirements of this Chapter.
6. If there is no reply within 10 months of the date of the verification request or if the reply does not contain sufficient information to determine the authenticity of the proofs of origin or the real origin of the goods, the requesting Customs Authorities shall, except in exceptional circumstances, refuse entitlement to the preferences.
7. This Article shall not preclude the exchange of information or the granting of any other assistance as provided for in customs cooperation agreements.
Article 3.32. Denial of Preferential Treatment
1. Only for the following specific reasons, the preferential treatment may be refused without verification of the Proofs of Origin:
(a) the requirements on direct transport of Article 3.14 (Direct Transport) have not been fulfilled;
(b) the importer fails to submit the Proof of Origin to the Customs Authority of the importing Party within the period specified in the importing Party’s law;
(c) the issuing authority of the exporting Party or the exporter did not sign the Certificate of Origin electronically or manually.
2. If the Customs Authority of the importing Party denies a claim for preferential tariff treatment, it shall provide the decision in writing to the importer that includes the reasons for the decision.
Article 3.33. Dispute Settlement
1. Where disputes arise in relation to the verification procedures of Article 3.31 (Verification of Proofs of Origin) which cannot be settled between the Customs Authorities requesting verification and the Competent Authorities responsible for carrying out the verification or where a question is raised by one of those Customs Authorities as to the interpretation of this Chapter, the matter shall be submitted to the Sub-committee on Customs and Rules of Origin established by the Joint Committee in accordance with Chapter 13 (Administration of the Agreement) of this Agreement. If no solution is reached, Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of this Agreement shall apply.
2. In all cases, the settlement of disputes between the importer and the Customs Authorities of the importing Party shall be under the legislation of said Party.
Article 3.34. Amendments to the Chapter
1. The Joint Committee may decide to amend the provisions of this Chapter.
2. The Joint Committee may modify specific rules of origin in the framework of Annex 3A (Product Specific Rules of Origin) of this Chapter by mutual agreement.
Article 3.35. Sub-Committee on Customs and Rules of Origin
1. The Sub-Committee on Customs and Rules of Origin established by the Joint Committee in accordance with Chapter 13 (Administration of the Agreement) of this Agreement may review the provisions of this Chapter and submit a proposal for a decision to be adopted by the Joint Committee to amend it.
2. The Sub-Committee on Customs and Rules of Origin shall endeavour to agree upon the uniform administration of the rules of origin and valuation matters relating to the rules of origin and technical, interpretative or administrative matters relating to this Chapter.
Chapter 4. CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION AND TRADE FACILITATION
Article 4.1. Customs Cooperation
1. The Parties shall cooperate in order to ensure the correct implementation and operation of the provisions of this Agreement as they relate to:
(a) importations or exportations within the framework of this Agreement;
(b) preferential treatment and claims procedures;
(c) verification procedures;
(d) customs valuation and tariff classification of goods; and
(e) restrictions or prohibitions on imports or exports.
2. Each Party shall designate official Contact Points and provide details thereof to the other Party, with a view to facilitating the effective implementation of this Chapter and Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin). If a matter cannot be resolved through the Contact Points, it shall be referred to the Subcommittee on Customs and Rules of Origin as set out in this Chapter.
3. The Parties, through their respective Customs Authorities, shall provide each other with mutual assistance in customs matters in accordance with the provisions of Annex 4A (Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters) in order to ensure the implementation of this Chapter.
Article 4.2. Customs Procedures
1. The Parties shall ensure that their customs procedures are applied in a manner that is predictable, consistent, fair and transparent.
2. Pursuant to paragraph 1, the Parties shall:
(a) simplify their customs procedures to the greatest extent possible;
(b) make use of information and communications technology in their customs procedures; and
the Parties recognise that electronic filing in trade and in the transfer of trade-related information and electronic versions of documents is an alternative to paper-based methods that will significantly enhance the efficiency of trade through the reduction of cost and time. Therefore, the Parties shall cooperate with a view to implementing and promoting paperless customs procedures.
Article 4.3. Release of Goods
1. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that its Customs Authority adopt or maintain procedures that:
(a) provide for the release of goods within a period no greater than that required to ensure compliance with its customs law;
(b) provide for advance electronic submission and processing of information before the physical arrival of goods to enable their release upon arrival; and
(c) allow goods to be released at the point of arrival, without temporary transfer to warehouses or other facilities.
Article 4.4. Risk Management
1. In administering customs procedures and to the extent possible, each Customs Authority shall focus resources on high-risk shipments of goods.
2. The above shall not preclude a Party from conducting control which may require more extensive examinations.
Article 4.5. Transparency
The Parties shall promptly publish or otherwise make publicly available, including on the Internet, their laws, regulations, administrative procedures, and administrative rulings of general application on customs matters that pertain to or affect the operation of this Agreement, so as to enable interested persons and parties to become acquainted with them.
Article 4.6. Advance Rulings
1. In accordance with its domestic law, each Party shall endeavour to provide, through its Customs Authority or other Competent Authority, for the expeditious issuance of written advance rulings as follows:
(a) the Customs Authority in the importing Party shall endeavour to issue advance rulings concerning the classification of goods and the appropriate method or criteria, and the application thereof to be used for determining the customs value under a particular set of facts; and
(b) the Customs Authorities in the exporting Party shall endeavour to issue advance rulings concerning compliance with the rules of origin as set forth in Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin).
2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain procedures for the issuance of such advance rulings, including the details of the information required for processing an application for a ruling.
3. A Party may decline to issue an advance ruling if the facts and circumstances forming the basis of the advance ruling are the subject of an investigation or an administrative or judicial review. The Party that declines to issue an advance ruling shall promptly notify the requester in writing, setting forth the relevant facts and the basis for its decision to decline to issue the advance ruling.
4. Each Party shall provide that advance rulings shall be in force from the date of issuance, or another date specified in the ruling. Subject to paragraph 1 to paragraph 3, an advance ruling shall remain in force provided that the facts or circumstances on which the ruling is based remain unchanged, or for the period specified in the laws, regulations or administrative rulings of the Party that provided the ruling.
Article 4.7. Review and Appeal
Regarding its determinations on customs matters, each Party shall grant access to:
(a) at least one level of administrative review, within the same institution, of the official or authority responsible for the determination under review; and
(b) judicial review of the determination or decision taken at the final level of administrative review.
Article 4.8. Confidentiality
1. A Party shall maintain confidentiality of the information provided by the other Party pursuant to Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin) and this Chapter, and protect such information from disclosure that could prejudice the competitive position of the person providing the information. Any violation of confidentiality shall be treated in accordance with the domestic legislation of each Party.
2. The information mentioned in paragraph 1 shall not be disclosed without the specific permission of the Party providing such information, except to the extent that it may be required to be disclosed for law enforcement purposes or in the course of judicial proceedings in accordance with the relevant applicable domestic law of the Party who received the information.
Article 4.9. Subcommittee on Customs and Rules of Origin
1. The Parties agree to establish a Subcommittee on Customs and Rules of Origin to address any customs-related issues relevant to:
(a) the uniform interpretation, application and administration of Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin), and this Chapter;
(b) addressing issues on tariff classification valuation and determination of the origin of goods for the purposes of this Agreement;
(c) reviewing rules of origin;
(d) including in their bilateral dialogue regular updates on changes in their respective law; and
(e) considering any other customs-related issues, referred to it by the Customs Authorities of the Parties, by the Parties or by the Joint Committee.
2. The Subcommittee on Customs and Rules of Origin will meet within one year from the date of entry into force of this Agreement and shall meet thereafter as agreed upon by the Parties alternately in Israel or in Viet Nam.
3. The Subcommittee on Customs and Rules of Origin shall comprise representatives of customs and, if necessary, other Competent Authorities from each Party and shall draw up its own rules of procedure at its first meeting.
4. The Subcommittee on Customs and Rules of Origin may formulate resolutions, recommendations or opinions which it considers necessary and report to the Parties or to the Joint Committee.
5. The Subcommittee on Customs and Rules of Origin may draft uniform procedures, which it considers necessary, to be submitted to the Joint Committee for its approval.
Chapter 5. Trade Remedies
Section A. Bilateral Safeguard Measures
Article 5.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(i) for Israel, the Commissioner of Trade Levies, in the Ministry of Economy and Industry or the corresponding unit in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
(ii) for Viet Nam, Trade Remedies Authority, in the Ministry of Industry and Trade;
or their successors;
domestic industry means the producers as a whole of the like or directly competitive goods of a Party or whose collective output of the like or directly competitive goods constitutes a major proportion of the total production of such goods;
originating goods as defined in Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin);
serious injury means the significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry;
threat of serious injury means serious injury that is clearly imminent, based on facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility.
transition period means, in relation to particular goods, the three year period beginning on the date of entry into force of this Agreement, except where the tariff elimination or reduction for the good occurs over a longer period of time, in which case the transition period shall be the period of the staged tariff elimination for that good.
Article 5.2. Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure
1. Subject to Article 5.8 (Imposition of Global Safeguard Measures) of this Chapter, a Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure:
(a) only during the transition period; and
(b) if as a result of the reduction or elimination of a duty pursuant to this Agreement, an originating good is being imported into the Party’s territory in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions that the imports of the originating good from that Party alone constitute a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to a domestic industry.
3. If the conditions set out in paragraph 1 are met, a Party may to the minimum extent necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury, or threat thereof:
(a) suspend the further reduction of any rate of a customs duty provided for under this Agreement on the goods; or
(b) increase the rate of duty on the good to a level not to exceed the lesser of :
(i) the most-favoured-nation (MFN) applied rate of duty in effect at the time the measure is applied, or
(ii) the base rate as specified in the schedule to Annex 2B (Reduction or Elimination of Customs Duties)
3. A Party that applies a bilateral safeguard measure under subparagraph 2(b) of this Article may consider to minimize the negative impacts of the measure on bilateral trade by establishing a tariff quota for the product concerned under the agreed preference established in this Agreement.
(a) The tariff quota shall not be less than the average imports of the product concerned in the 36 months prior to the period used for determining the existence of serious injury.
(b) The amount of goods included in the tariff quota may be imported under the rate provided in the Annex 2B (Reduction or Elimination of Customs Duties).
(c) The amount of goods beyond the tariff quota may be imported under the rate of duty established in subparagraph 2 (b) of this Article.
Article 5.3. Limitations for Applying a Bilateral Safeguard Measure
1. Bilateral safeguard measures shall not be applied in the first year of the transition period.
2. A bilateral safeguard measure shall not be applied except to the minimum extent and for such time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and, it shall not be applied for a period exceeding two years.
However, this period may be extended for up to one additional year if the competent authorities of the importing Party determine, in conformity with the procedures specified in Article 5.4 (Investigation Procedures), that the measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting, provided that the total period of application of a safeguard measure, including the period of initial application and any extension thereof, shall not exceed three years. The Party maintaining the measure beyond a one year period shall progressively liberalise it at annual intervals during the period of application.
3. Neither Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure more than once against the same good.
4. Upon termination of the bilateral safeguard measure, the rate of duty shall be the level which would have been in effect had the measure not been imposed. If a tarrif quota was applied as a bilateral safeguard measure, it will be eliminated upon termination of the bilateral safeguard measure.
5. Bilateral safeguard measures shall not be applied or maintained after the transition period. Upon request of a Party, the Joint Committee shall evaluate whether to continue for certain goods the bilateral safeguard measure mechanism included in this Chapter. For greater certainty, such request by a Party to the Joint Committee should be made prior to the termination of the transition period.
6. No Party shall apply or maintain a bilateral safeguard measure under this section for any product imported under a tariff rate quota (TRQ) established by the Parties under this Agreement.
Article 5.4. Investigation Procedures
1. A Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure only following an investigation, by the Party’s competent authority in accordance with its internal legislation and Articles 3 and 4.2(c) of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards (hereinafter "the Safeguards Agreement"); and to this end, Articles 3 and 4.2(c) of the Safeguards Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. In the investigation described in paragraph 1, a Party shall comply with the requirements of Articles 4.2 (a) and 4.2 (b), of the Safeguards Agreement; and to this end, Articles 4.2(a) and 4.2 (b) of the Safeguards Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 5.5. Provisional Bilateral Safeguard Measures
1. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage that would be difficult to repair, a Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure on a provisional basis pursuant to a preliminary determination by its competent authorities that there is clear evidence that imports of an originating good from the other Party have increased as the result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, and such imports constitute a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to the domestic industry.
2. The Party intending to take provisional bilateral safeguard measures shall immediately notify the other Party and provide a notification containing all pertinent information, which shall include preliminary evidence of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports, a precise description of the product involved and the proposed measure, as well as the proposed date of introduction and its expected duration. A Party shall not apply a provisional bilateral safeguard measure until at least 45 days after the date its competent authorities initiate an investigation. The duration of any provisional bilateral safeguard measure shall not exceed 200 days, during which time the Party shall comply with the requirements of Article 5.4 (Investigation Procedures).
Article 5.6. Notification and Consultations
1. A Party shall promptly notify the other Party, in writing upon:
(a) initiating a bilateral safeguard proceeding under this Chapter;
(b) making a finding of serious injury, or threat thereof, caused by increased imports under Article 5.2 (Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure); and
(c) taking a decision to apply or extend provisional or final bilateral safeguard measures.
2. A Party shall provide to the other Party a copy of the public version of the investigation reports under Article 5.4.1 of its competent investigating authority.
3. If a Party whose good is subject to a bilateral safeguard proceeding under this Chapter requests within 10 days from receipt of a notification as specified in paragraph 1(b) to hold consultations, the Party conducting that proceeding shall enter into consultations with the requesting Party with a view to finding an appropiate and mutually acceptable solution. If the Parties fail to find a mutually acceptable solution within 30 days of the notification being made, the Party may apply the measures.
Article 5.7. Compensation
1. No later than 30 days after it applies a safeguard measure, a Party shall afford an opportunity for the other Party to consult with it regarding appropriate trade liberalising compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects or equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to result from the measure. The applying Party shall provide such compensation as the Parties mutually agree.
2. If the Parties are unable to agree on compensation through consultation under paragraph 1 within 30 days after consultations begin, the Party against whose originating good the measure is applied may suspend the application of concessions with respect to originating goods of the applying Party that have trade effects substantially equivalent to the safeguard measure.
3. A Party shall notify the other Party in writing at least 30 days before suspending concessions under paragraph 2.
4. The obligation to provide compensation under paragraph 1 and right to suspend concessions under paragraph 2 shall terminate on the date of the termination of the safeguard measure.
5. Any compensation shall be based upon the total period of application of the provisional safeguard measure and of the safeguard measure.
Section B. Global Safeguard Measures
Article 5.8. Imposition of Global Safeguard Measures
1. Each Party retains its rights and obligations under Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
2. A Party may not apply, with respect to the same good, at the same time: