Customs removes obstacles in sanctioning administrative violations

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A large number of goods showing signs of counterfeiting seized by Lang Son Customs and other authorities. Photo: Minh Tuan

According to the General Department of Customs, new documents on sanctioning administrative violations and violations in the customs field have had some changes in content and implementation.

The sanctioning of administrative violations is a regular operation in the Customs sector and is reviewed annually by the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs and other competent agencies to detect and remove inadequacies, thereby improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the sanctioning.

Faced with the problem of Da Nang Customs Department related to the handling of imported goods that were gifts applied for re-export, the General Department of Customs has guided: under Point b, Clause 1, Article 4 of the Prime Minister's Decision 49/2011 dated September 11, 2011 on the roadmap for applying emissions standards, new imported cars must apply emission standards at level 5 from January 1, 2022.

Therefore, to solve the problem of the Da Nang Customs, the General Department of Customs said if the imported car shipments do not meet the emissions standards specified in Point b, Clause 1, Article 4 of Decision 49/2011, the Customs authority shall base on the provisions of Clauses 1 and 3, Article 18 of Decree 128/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of customs.

Regarding the difficulties in implementing remedial measures that the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department is encountering, the country’s top Customs agency said that the Customs shall base on Clause 1, Article 156 of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents; Article 1, Article 33 of Decree 128/2020/ND-CP; and Decree 185/2013/ND-CP as amended and supplemented in Decree 124/2015/ND-CP to sanction and apply remedial measures.

If the deadline stated in the sanctioning decision expires, but the violating organization fails to perform its obligations, the customs agency shall base on Decree 185/2013/ND-CP and the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations to settle the case.

Answering questions on sanctioning administrative violations for the case of under-value declarations of VAT of herbal ingredients that Ha Nam Ninh Customs Department is handling, the General Department of Customs said if the enterprise declared imported goods that are medicinal herbs which have been certified by the Ministry of Health in writing and licensed for import but failed to declare value-added tax, the enterprises committed a violation.

This violation is specified in Point 1, Clause 2, Article 8 of the Law on Value Added Tax, so it is necessary to consider and apply sanctions according to regulations.

The General Department of Customs proposed Ha Nam Ninh Customs Department to base on the actual case file, the provisions of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, and the Decree on sanctioning of administrative violations to solve the case.

Quang Ngai Customs Department also proposed the General Department of Customs to guide the exemption from fines for tax administrative violations of Mensa Industries Co., Ltd.

Accordingly, the General Department of Customs said, based on Clause 27, Article 3, Article 140 of the Law on Tax Administration 2019; Article 77 of the 2012 Law on Handling of Administrative Violations; Article 34 of Decree 128/2020/ND-CP and the act of the company arbitrarily bringing the goods to a rented warehouse outside the scope of customs inspection and supervision in contravention of regulations, the customs shall impose tax and an administrative fine for the company.

However, according to the General Department of Customs, the company’s application for the exemption from the administrative fine does not provide enough information to determine the type and quantity of damaged goods, machinery and equipment that were imported by the company. Therefore, the General Department of Customs said that the company’s application does not meet the conditions to exempt the fine.

As for the problem Tay Ninh Customs Department is facing related to tax administrative penalties, the General Department of Customs said that based on the provisions of Clause 11, Article 16 of the Law on Tax Administration 38/2019/QH14; Clause 3, Article 6 of Decree 128/2020/ND-CP, the problem of the unit is not included in the guidelines, the customs agency shall base on a handling decision of the relevant authorities to apply the method of not imposing an administrative penalty.

For the problem at Tan Thanh border gate, the General Department of Customs said the Lang Son Customs Department should base on the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, the Customs Law and the case files to determine the time when goods are under customs supervision as a basis to determine violations.

The General Department of Customs also required Lang Son Customs Department to study and transfer the case and documents to the Police and relevant agencies for investigation, and strictly handle those who take advantage of cargo congestion to "buy, sell, change” export goods.

In the near future, to improve the efficiency of sanctioning administrative violations, the General Department of Customs requires customs units to carefully study documents on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of customs, pay special attention to new points and changes in legal documents, strengthen inspection of law enforcement on the handling of administrative violations, rectify and handle violations (if any).

Most recently, to overcome limitations in management, inspection and enforcement of sanctioning decisions, the General Department of Customs requested local customs departments to review cases arising at the unit.

Regularly review and amend tax and customs policies to facilitate businesses

Moreover, the General Department of Customs requested the units to follow the results from the management, urging, inspection and enforcement of the execution of these decisions to determining responsibilities according to the decentralization of management of civil servants and prevailing regulations in case Customs officers commit violations in the process of management, inspection and enforcement of the execution of sanctioning decisions.