Customs inspections are specialized in the new situation

	Waiting for changes in specialized inspections
	Suspending unqualified food safety certificates for catfishes
	The list of import and export goods subject to the specialized inspections late promulgated
	Inadequacies in food safety inspections

Customs operations at the Customs Inspection Department. Photo: Tien Lam.

According to the assessment of competent Ministries and the business community, the time of conducting specialized inspections has accounted for 70% of goods clearance time, due to many inadequacies in examination and inspection locations as well as procedures. As a result, the Customs force as the central role will contribute to a significant reduction of the time of Customs clearance, enhancing Customs inspections and checking the quality of imported and exported goods. And in order to do that, the building of the force, capacity, and experience of the staff as well as investment in equipment, infrastructure facilities related to the tasks of specialized inspections will play an important role in fulfilling its assigned tasks.

The Director of the Customs Inspection Department, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huan said that in accordance with the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Customs Inspection Department in the Minister of Finance’s Decision No. 1388 / QD-BTC, the Customs Inspection Department must carry out the tasks to meet requirements of stable operations. Therefore, in 2017, the Customs Inspection Department is determined to speed up the establishment of Customs Branches, build laboratories in line with VILAS standards; purchase, supplement and improve inspections for food safety.

In the coming time, the Customs Inspection Department will continue to consolidate leading cadres, analysts; strengthen the organizational apparatus from the Departments to the Customs Branches, strengthen international cooperation for the Customs colleagues of ASEAN countries and China Customs. In particular, the ISO / IEC 17025 Quality Management System (VILAS) and Quality Management System (ISO / IEC 17025) will be strengthened and expanded to ensure the main analysis and verification results to be accurate and reliable, towards the goal of mutual recognition agreements in the future.

In 2017, the Customs Inspection Department will set up Vilas standard laboratories of the Customs Inspection Branch No.2 at Hai Phong. Also, reviewing, amending and replacing the analytical regulations to classify, analyze and inspect the quality and check food safety for imported and exported goods.

Regarding the roadmap for putting the Customs Inspection Branches into operation, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huan said that in order to strengthen the Customs inspections, classification and analysis of imported and exported goods as well as supporting enterprises, the Lang Son Customs Department has agreed to hand over the 5-storey office building to the Customs Inspection Branch No.6, which was a good sign to accelerate the establishment of the Customs Inspection Branches and made the Customs Inspection Department fulfill its assigned tasks.

Accordingly, the Customs Inspection Department has been working closely with the Quang Ninh Customs Department in the short term to find a location for the head office of the Customs Inspection Branch No. 5 in Mong Cai. In order to bring the inspections to meet the requirements on schedule, on 26^th April 2017, the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Customs Inspection Department will launch and put the Customs Inspection Branch No.1 into operation and by the end of quarter II of 2017, they will put the Customs Inspection Branch No. 5, 6 into operation in Quang Ninh province and Lang Son province.

Accordingly, the Inspection Customs Branch No.1 will receive test samples, analysis, and classification of subordinate units under the Hanoi Customs Department. Due to the lack of inspections and analysis equipment, the Inspection Customs Branch No.1 will share equipment and facilities with the Customs Inspection Department in the short term.

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However, with the role of the Customs inspections as "extended arm of the examination and inspections" for imported and exported goods in the process of Customs clearance for the period 2017-2020, in order to have a legal basis for implementing these tasks, the Customs Inspection Department must be recognized as a specialized inspection agency of the specialized management Ministries.

Therefore, according to representatives of the Customs Inspection Department; the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Vietnam Customs should propose to the Prime Minister to assign the General Department of Vietnam Customs to experimentally analyze and inspect goods, including quantity, quarantine, food hygiene and safety standards according to the list of goods subject to pilot implementation of inspections.

Also, the Ministries and the relevant sectors should coordinate with the General Department of Vietnam Customs in handling imported and exported goods which fail to meet the standards of quality, quarantine and food hygiene and safety standards regulated by the Customs Inspection Department. There is also a need for a separate mechanism for the accreditation of laboratories for specialized inspections.