Customs accelerates building of digital customs model

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Customs officers of Hoa Lac Customs Branch (Hanoi Customs Department) at the office.

Application of the most advanced technology

Deputy Director of the Customs Management and Supervision Department Dao Duy Tam said, based on the assessment of the current situation of the Customs sector and the development trend of Customs around the world, the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) has built the digital customs model. The GDVC has seriously followed Decision 97 of the Ministry of Finance dated January 26, 2021 on hiring IT services to implement digital customs.

Accordingly, the IT outsourcing must be done publicly and transparently in accordance with the law and the successful implementation of IT service outsourcing is an important driving force for building a smart customs management model.

The new IT system is built on the basis of applying the most advanced technology achievements, in line with international standards and smart management requirements. It can integrate, connect and share information with ministries, government agencies and businesses and is ready to exchange customs data with countries in the region and the world.

Mr. Dao Duy Tam said the GDVC has focused on building and perfecting the requirements of customs operations and procedures to ensure that the new IT system can handle all customs operations. Through the review, the GDVC has detailed 106 operations with 15,261 functions. In the foreseeable future, the GDVC will continue to review and may add operations but add approved costs.

Regarding technical requirements for IT service outsourcing, the customs sector has developed a list of functions of nine current systems to transfer to the new system; requirements for data conversion from the current systems to the new system; technical requirements for software, hardware, technical infrastructure, information security, user support services, maintenance services; system administration and operation services and user training.

Towards a high degree of automation

The digital Customs model will have a high degree of automation and apply new and modern scientific and technological achievements on a digital and paperless platform. This model ensures transparency, fairness, effectiveness, and efficiency, predictability; adapts to fluctuations of international trade, management requirements of Customs administrations requirements on information sharing and connection with ministries and government agencies and conforms to international standards and better serves people and businesses.

The Digital Customs model will be characterized by functions of smart border management, chain management and digital ecosystems, smart connection and processing towards providing optimal services for Customs administrations and Customs declarants. This will create transparency, fairness and consistency in carrying out customs procedures for import and export goods, goods in transit, means of transport on exit, entry and in transit in order to implement administrative reform towards simplification and optimize IT application in customs processing in accordance with the standards and recommendations of the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Government's orientation on building a digital Government.

By applying new and modern scientific and technological achievements on a digital and paperless platform, the digital customs model will enhance the automatic information collection and processing on the principle of risk management to strengthen customs management for those with signs of violations and shorten the clearance time for businesses who comply with the law.

Accordingly, the digital customs model will ensure that risk management activities are closely linked with other operations in the overall process. All requirements on management, inspection and supervision are supported by risk management. This will ensure the roles and responsibilities of direct participation of customs units at all levels in identifying, assessing, handling risks and reporting on the performance.

Information and data for customs risk management will be linked from operations before, during and after customs clearance as well as data outside the customs sector to form a chain of risk management; and automatically updated and integrated and highly standardized to promote the system's capabilities in big data analysis and artificial intelligence application for risk management.

The channelization model for inspection in customs clearance applied by many advanced countries' customs administrations includes three classes of criteria.

In the future, the GDVC will submit the Ministry of Finance to report the Prime Minister on the implementation of IT services outsourcing to build the digital customs; review estimates of the outsourcing in according to funds approved by the Ministry of Finance.

Moreover, the GDVC will develop a specific plan for hardware systems six months after the IT outsourcing ends. Besides, the GDVC will establish a separate working group to review the process and procedures IT outsourcing to implement the digital customs; continue bidding for IT outsourcing; prepare IT infrastructure; improve legal framework and develop a modern, concentrated, processional organizational structure that reduces human intervention and can adapt to innovations.