Continue reforming customs procedure and supporting enterprises after Covid-19 pandemic

Professional activities at Vinh Phuc Customs Branch. Photo: N.Linh

Strengthen application of IT

At Dong Nai Customs Department, to facilitate enterprises in import – export activities, the unit has exploited the utilities of IT application in supporting enterprises activities such as receiving and responding in the “Information exchange of Customs – Business system” which allows the exchange of information; documents, questions and petitions. The system has been upgraded to run on the website providing services similar to online public services at the highest level, providing utilities including monitoring professional activities effectively as well as supporting Covid-19 pandemic prevention efforts. Collecting, analysing information, assessing import and export activities through enterprises due to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, especially affected enterprises from markets of China, Korea, Japan, the US and European countries to report to the leaders provinces, the General Department of Vietnam Customs, develop solutions to support businesses synchronously and comprehensively.

To help enterprises quickly overcome difficulties after the pandemic, Dong Nai Customs Department continues to strengthen effective implementation of IT application, customs management software, administrative reform and closely coordinate with authorities in the professional process like Bank, Treasury, Customs at border gate and quality control agencies, speed up dossiers processing, quickly solve problems and arrange customs officials to work overtime to ensure customs procedures, cargo clearance/releasing goods quickly for enterprises, to avoid congestion, delays to delivery time of enterprises; arranging customs officials to support enterprises via phone and email, using the online public service system and Dna-Info system to minimise direct contact but still ensure quick cargo clearance.

At the same time, working with other competent authorities to assist enterprises in finding domestic raw material market to replace imported raw materials that are interrupted by the impact of the pandemic.

Along with Dong Nai, at Hai Phong Customs Department, solutions to support enterprises are also implemented depending on specific areas. The unit has signed a cooperation agreement with the City Post Office to receive dossiers and return results of processing administrative procedures via public post service for seven administrative procedures: Extending the deadline of tax payment, late payment interest, and fines; paying tax debt in instalments; sign up for the list of tax exemption; considering tax reductions for damaged or lost imported goods; tax refund to utilise IT's benefits in communication, receiving and the explanations of documents, thus minimising direct contact between customs officials and enterprises, reducing time for cargo clearance and releasing goods.

At customs branches, arranging division of receiving/returning dossiers at the gate area of ​​the head office, and outside the lobby (for documents that must be submitted with the original documents), ensuring safe distance, encouraging enterprises and customs brokers to work via phones, emails, limiting direct contact between customs officials and citizens and enterprises. For container screening, arranging customs officials to guide, dividing channel for the vehicle to go in and out for conducting quick scanning; arranging experienced officials to focus on analysing images, processing records right after scanning, reducing clearance time and releasing goods. Up to now, the models are still being implemented effectively, cutting time that enterprises have to wait and look up information about the dossiers, helping to reduce time and people in implementing import and export activities.

Continue to review and cut administrative procedures

Besides such effective solutions and continuing to support enterprises, local units also proposed many solutions to facilitate import and export activities. For example, Hai Phong Customs Department proposed reviewing plans of reducing and simplifying administrative procedures, enhancing the IT application in all professional stages. Continuing to implement effective solutions in the past such as promoting 24/7 tax payment, applying IT in the field of work, innovating the way of collecting information when consulting taxed values, increasing exchange information on the website of the Customs Department to limit direct contact between customs officials and customs declarants.

Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department proposed to ministries and sectors to continue promulgating the list of goods in group 2 towards cutting half of the items in the list of specialised inspection items; recognise results of assessing the conformity of foreign organisations for products and goods with higher standards and technical regulations than Vietnam; recognise and accept quality of famous brands, manufacturers and, goods produced in countries and territories with high and advanced quality standards.

Hanoi Customs Department proposed applying risk management to increase the rate of green channel, minimise the rate of red channel for import and export declarations of goods of various types: processing, export production, export processing and importing goods for export production.