Instruction of Minister of Finance on the Implementation of Customs Law No. 1559/MoF, dated 24 May 2016
财政部长关于实施海关法的指导意见（第1559号/财政部，2016年5月24日）
ບົດແນະນຳຂອງລັດຖະມົນຕີກະຊວງການເງິນ ກ່ຽວກັບ ການຈັດຕັ້ງປະຕິບັດກົດໝາຍ ວ່າດ້ວຍ ພາສີ ສະບັບເລກທີ 1559/ກງ, ລົງວັນທີ 24 ພຶດສະພາ 2016
Summary
This guideline establishes the principles, policies, regulations, methods, and measures for implementing certain provisions of the Customs Law, so as to ensure the unified and effective implementation by individuals, legal persons, or organizations engaged in import, export, transit, and cargo transportation operations within the territory of Laos. It clarifies that the customs domain encompasses the entire national territory, airspace, waters, and bordering areas, and regulates customs control procedures, including declaration steps, risk management classification, and guarantee requirements, while also stipulating that the Director General of the Customs Department may suspend cargo transportation in cases of violations.
Articles
Article 1
Article 1: Objectives
This Guidance provides principles, policies, regulations, methods and measures on implementing the
contents of certain articles of the Law on Customs to ensure that individuals, legal entities or
organisations running business on import and export, transit, movement of goods into Lao PDR,
implement the Law on Customs effectively, strictly, and uniformly across the country.
Article 2
Article 2: Customs Territory
Customs territory as prescribed in Article 7 of the Law on Customs are the total land of Lao PDR,
which covers the sky, water, areas bordered with foreign countries according to the memorandum of
understanding of international recognition in order to determine the working area for customs
authority.
Customs authority are allowed to perform their functions outside customs territory and customs
authority of member countries are allowed to perform their functions together with the customs
authority of Lao PDR in accordance with the Greater Mekong Sub-Region Cross Border Transport
Agreement on single inspection that the Government of Lao PDR has signed.
Article 3
Article 3: Customs Control
Customs Control as prescribed in Article 8 of the Law on Customs is the implementation of the
procedures, methods, regulations, and measures by the customs administration in order to control the
import, export, transit and movement of goods as followings:
3.1 Customs Declaration Procedures: shall follow the regulations and customs declaration
procedures as prescribed in Part II of the Law on Customs. The procedures for import consist of four
steps such as: Transport Documentation Declaration Procedure, Detailed Customs Declaration
Procedure, Customs Inspection and Control Procedure, and Goods Release from customs checkpoints
or warehouse Procedures. For export, there are three steps: 1) Detailed Customs Declaration
Documentation Procedure, 2) Detailed Customs Declaration Procedure, and 3) Customs Inspection
and Control Procedures for releasing the goods from the customs checkpoint or warehouse.
Upon receiving documents, customs authority shall check the information in the customs declaration
system by comparing with the actual presented documents. The Automated System for Customs Data
(ASYCUDA) will analyse the risk management on the detailed customs declaration with three levels:
1) first level (green), 2) second level (yellow), and 3) third level (red). Customs Declaration Procedure
shall be improved periodically in order to be concise, simplified, and complied wit international
regulations.
3.2 Methods: Customs Declarant shall declare information on goods correctly in the detailed
Customs Declaration form following the specified regulations completely. In the case of taking the
goods, items out of customs checkpoint or warehouse, customs declarant shall made a request letter
for a security with the customs administration. The security can be cash or a guarantee letter from a
legal entity or bank.
3.3 Regulations and measures for customs control: Upon the completion of the procedures and
methods in 3.1 and 3.2 above, there is a requirement for control of goods subject to management and
prohibition, warehouse, movement of goods in the warehouse system, temporary import-export, duty-
tax exemption and other obligations, transit, goods subject to the movement control, and all type of
conveyance must be under the customs control.
In case that customs declarant does not follow the procedures, methods, regulations and measures on
the management of import-export, transit, movement of goods, they shall be prosecuted customs case
proceeding, re-inspect customs declaration, and/or during the customs prosecution duration, Director
General of Customs Department shall has the right to issue an order on temporary termination or
suspension of the import-export, transit or movement of goods.
Customs Department shall issue a detailed technical guidance on the implementation.
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