Customs organizational structure: streamlining and capacity improvement

	Reducing 30 teams at Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department
	Reduce 13 units, teams at Customs Branches under Da Nang and Thua Thien – Hue Customs Department
	Re-organization of teams at Customs Branches under Hai Phong Customs Department

The Customs sector is gradually reforming human resource management to meet the requirements of reform and modernization. Photo: N.Linh

From 2016, the General Department of Customs has reviewed and reported to the Ministry of Finance on rearranging the intermediary units in the General Department and the provincial, inter-provincial / municipal Customs departments in line with the requirements of centralized management and automated Customs clearance system (VNACCS). Accordingly, the General Department does not have division level in departments, reducing 13 units; local Customs departments merged some divisions, which reduced 37 divisions and the equivalent units .

As of early October 2018, the General Department of Customs issued 36 decisions regulating the organizational structure of Customs Branches, Customs control teams and equivalent units under the provincial / municipal Customs Departments and the Customs Verification Departments; reducing 239 teams.

To make a basis for reviewing and restructuring Customs Branches, teams under Customs Branches, the General Department of Customs has studied and submitted to the Finance Ministry for promulgation Decision No. 2094 / QD-BTC dated October 17th, 2017, on the criteria for establishment and restructuring of teams under Customs Branches and equivalent provincial, inter-provincial / municipal Customs department units.

With the issuance of 36 above decisions, the Customs sector has cut 239 teams under the provincial and municipal Customs departments, completing the set objectives.

In particular, Hanoi Customs Department cut 18 teams, Khanh Hoa, Long An, Tay Ninh, etc., reduced about 10 to 23 teams. At the same time, the General Department of Customs also issued Decision No. 2199 / QD-TCHQ dated August 3rd, 2018, regulating the organizational structure of Customs Branches, Post-clearance audit Branches, Customs Control Teams under Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Customs Department continues reviewing and reporting to the Ministry of Finance on the restructuring plan of Customs Branches and the equivalent units according to Decision No. 2015 / QĐ-BTC on the plan to restructure the provincial / municipal Customs Departments based on criteria specified in Decree No. 36/2015 / ND-CP, stipulating the criteria for establishing provincial, inter-provincial or municipal Customs Departments; organizational structure, tasks and activities of Customs at all levels.

With the changes in the organizational structure, the Customs sector is also focusing on reforming human resource management. In order to gradually realize the objective of human resource reform, on January 25th, 2018, the General Department of Customs issued Decision No. 166 / QD-TCHQ on the plan to renovate a number of human resource management activities based on capacity and job position in 2018. The specific contents of this plan will firstly focus on identifying the job position category, job description and output of each position

Thereby, continuing to develop Customs book to Customs officers. In particular, the next important content of this Plan is capacity assessment of Customs officers. Accordingly, identifying the training needs so as to build a plan, a training roadmap. Also, the assessment and training shall serve the rotation plan and the change of working positions and serve the recruitment on the basis of job position requirements.

In addition, the implementation of this plan provides opportunities for the officers to participate in training, learning and grasping knowledge in current jobs and new jobs when rotated; to step by step improve and raise the labor productivity of each Customs officer in particular, and the effectiveness and efficiency of the whole sector in general.

From the capacity assessment of the Customs officers, the General Department of Customs identifies shortages in qualifications and profession of Customs officers to find out solutions for capacity building. Including developing capacity framework for operations and renovating Customs training program; building specialized subjects on operations and working skills of Customs officers.

Many changes in Vietnam Customs organizational structure VCN- Compared to the previous time, the organizational structure of the Customs sector reduced 39 leading units ...

In addition to the implementation of the plan of reform and capacity assessment of Customs officers to improve the quality of human resources in the Customs sector, the General Department of Customs also pays attention to the special recruitment that does not require examination for the best students from domestic universities or excellently graduated students from foreign universities. This is a high quality human resource that is expected to create a next generation for the Customs sector. They have been not only well and professionally trained but have also acquired modern knowledge of the world, new and effective skills, meeting society’s requirements in the period of global economic integration.