HANOI: The latest batch of luxury German cars imported by an authorized Vietnamese BMW dealer has been suspended from customs clearance and is facing further investigation for myriad business violations, the Ministry of Finance announced Wednesday. In an urgent dispatch, the finance ministry requested that the Ho Chi Minh City customs department suspend a shipment imported by BMW Euro Auto, located in District 7, from clearing customs due to a breach in the country’s regulations on Completely Built Up (CBU) car imports.
The customs department should also consider working with the city’s procuracy to launch a probe into the import and business activities of BMW Euro Auto, according to the document. The requests followed an inspection by the finance ministry which found the car dealer violating multiple regulations. According to inspectors, BMW Euro Auto sold a shipment of imported cars while it was still pending clearance from the municipal customs agency.
The auto dealer was also unable to present certificates of origin (C/O) and other papers, documents, and receipts for its imports – a sign of fraud and customer scamming. The inspection found that that BMW Euro Auto had used fake documents, such as sales contracts and commercial receipts, to import the latest batch of BMW cars. The finance ministry said its measures against BMW Euro Auto aim to prevent smuggling, trade fraud, and tax evasion activities, as well as protecting the rights and interests of consumers. Founded in November 2006, Euro Auto is the BMW official authorized importer in Vietnam providing renowned BMW products and services.
