Comprehensive inspection on the granting of licenses for importing scrap

Customs authorities are implementing many measures to manage the operation of importing scraps. Photo: Quang Hùng

That is the content in the conclusion of the Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the meeting of the Government about the work of environmental management in the import and use of scrap as a raw material for production.

The recent situation of importing scrap into Vietnam is complicated and serious. The demand for scrap materials such as paper scrap, plastic scrap ... to make materials is real and necessary, and it brings economic advantages for manufacturers, but it is not beneficial for the environment. Currently there are many backlogged scrap containers at the seaports.

Hence, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Transport and the People's Committees of Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau (those provinces with seaports containing large quantities of backlogged scraps), based on the assigned functions and tasks to make reviews and learn from mistakes in the occurrence of the above situation; To intensify the coordination in order to closely control and better the import of scrap materials into Vietnam in the future. So that it could avoid letting Vietnam become a dumping ground, affecting the living environment and prestige of Vietnam. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible to the Government and the Prime Minister for the performance of this task.

Also, the Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to comprehensively inspect past imports of scrap, in order to strictly handle the related officials, and revoke licenses of the enterprises if they were detected making mistakes, and review all import permits which have valid quotas.

In the future, the granting of new licenses for scrap imports for entrusted import activities will not be allowed; Only consider the granting of a new scrap importing to enterprises when they have proved the demand and capability to use scraps as raw materials for production.

Moreover, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has promptly promulgated regulations on national technical standards on environmental necessities for all scraps eligible for import. To chair and coordinate with concerned authorities in order to urgently clarify the demand of using each kind of scrap as domestic raw materials for production, the possibility of using domestic scraps for production, the impacts of each kind of scraps on the environment, and the import criteria and standard of each type of scraps so as to have a basis for researching and amending Decision No. 73/2014/QD-TTg dated 19/12/2014, stipulating the list of scraps allowed to import from abroad as raw materials for production toward the direction of minimizing the list of imported scraps. This ensures publicity and transparency for then reporting to the Prime Minister in August of 2018.

The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Public Security to direct the local police, seaports and Customs authorities to provide a list to serve for the investigation and clarifying the reasons of importing scraps containers to Vietnam without recipients or transporters; To promptly investigate and prosecute a number of cases of violating the legislation on environmental protection due to the import of scraps into Vietnam.

The Ministry of Defense has to mobilize competent forces to avoid and prevent from a distance the import of illegal scraps into Vietnam.

The Ministry of Transport would chair and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Defense as well as localities to organize the destruction and removal of unused scrap containers in order to gain space for seaports.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall revise current regulations, take measures to control and limit the temporary import and re-export of scraps.

The Prime Minister urged the ministries, branches and localities to speed up the propaganda work to create a consensus among the people to promptly condemn wrongdoings in production and business, causing bad impacts on the environment, affecting their lives.