Customs verification helps to support specialized inspections

The verification and the specialized inspections are the central target that Customs in general and the Customs Verification Bureau are striving to accomplish it. Photo: Quang Hung.

To express themselves step by step

As this reporter often has business trips at the border gates, I have heard and seen and have reflected on many problems related to specialized inspections for export and import goods and the need to improve. I also had to spend hours to listen the enterprises “express their ideas” for specialized inspection procedures and I have many articles about the “suffering” at Lang Son, Ninh Binh through business trips at these localities. But maybe, the thing I have missed the most is an import-export enterprise in Ninh Binh – the VietXanh Company, the enterprise imports packages to produce and pack export goods. A company representative explained that for 3 years, the company did not ignore any opportunity to “express” their view about “food safety”, they only hoped their problems would be certified and removed by the specialized agencies, and the Customs office.

And so, my trips have filled increasingly with the “mind” that companies hope to have difficulties removed when encountering the specialized inspection procedures And in fact, over time, the Government, the Ministry of Finance, and the Customs authorities have noted, and removed many difficulties of enterprises related to specialized inspection regulated by some specialized management ministries.

After the “headache” of specialized inspection not only for enterprises but also for Customs authorities, the Prime Minister issued – Decision 2026/QD-TTg approving the scheme to improve effectiveness and efficiency of specialized inspections for export and import goods. Not stopping at Decision 2026, the Prime Minister signed Resolution 19-2016/NQ-CP on the tasks and key measures to improve the business environment, enhance national competition in two years 2016-2017, driven by 2020, in which the content for removing difficulties for enterprises in specialized inspections was highlighted.

In order to implement further the Government spirit, from August 1st, 2016, the Customs Verification Bureau was put into operation officially according to the structure of the new apparatus, added the function on examination of standards, quality, quarantine, standards of food hygiene and safety for export and import goods. To implement the task, the investment in infrastructure, equipment, human resource and training were required to meet the performance requirements of this function.

To prepare urgently the implementation for the functions and duties entrusted by the Government, the Ministry of Finance, even in the first days of the new year 2017, from the leadership to the officers and employees of the Customs Verification Bureau have deployed the operation plan of the unit expediently in order to affirm the role of Customs authorities in verification and specialized inspections. One of the plans being considered is buying equipment, and facilities for the establishment of the Customs Verification Branches urgently.

With an exciting atmosphere in early spring of new year, I was lucky to take part in the delegation of the Customs Verification Bureau to Quang Ninh to survey the site before announcing the establishment of the Customs Verification Branch 5 in the Mong Cai city. On nearly 300 km of road from Hanoi to Mong Cai, Mr. Bui Tuan Hai, the Deputy Director of the Customs Verification Bureau confided to me about the assert- themselves process in the organizational structure of Customs. Mr. Hai asserted that the upgrading event from the Center for Analysis and Classification of export-import goods to the Customs Verification Bureau was the strongest step for the unit with higher legal status, more effective participation in the verification and specialized inspections, analysis and classification of export-import goods. Mr. Hai also said that in the context of trying to promote the administrative procedure reform of Customs, reducing the Customs clearance time for import and export goods subject to specialized inspection under Resolution 19-2017 KTCN/NQ-CP of the Government, the task set for Customs in general, and the Customs Verification Bureau in particular was very heavy, it required all civil servants and employees do their best, together with all Customs fulfill all assigned tasks in the next year.

Not only the Customs Verification Bureau wanted to reduce the goods clearance time but also the leaders of the Quang Ninh Customs Department supported the early establishment of the verification unit in Mong Cai in a meeting with the Quang Ninh Customs Department about the establishment guideline of the Customs Verification Branch 5 in Mong Cai. Because, according to the Quang Ninh Customs Department, when there is an unit implementing the specialized inspection in the management locality, it will facilitate, support, reduce the time and costs for the enterprises, as well as contribute to improve the effectiveness of the administrative procedure reform.

The central target

There is the good initial sign, discussing in the early days of 2017, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huan, the Director of the Customs Verification Bureau was excited to share the progress in accelerating the establishment of the Customs Verification Branches directly under Mr. Huan also provided additional information, in order to strengthen Customs verification, analysis and classification of import and export goods, as well as create conditions and support to reduce the time and costs for enterprises, the Lang Son Customs Department agreed to hand over the office with 5 floors to the Customs Verification Branch 6, this was a good sign, a prerequisite for accelerating the branch establishment and a stepping stone for the Customs Verification Bureau to complete the assigned task. Currently, the unit is working closely with the Quang Ninh Customs Department, firstly in finding a place to base the office in Mong Cai. Expected in the first quarter of 2017, the unit will deploy the operation of the Customs Verification Branch 1, 5, 6 in Hanoi, Quang Ninh and Lang Son.

“In 2017, we will continue to strengthen the leadership force, and analysts; and strengthen the organizational structure from the Department to the Branches, and enhance the international cooperation, firstly for Customs colleagues in ASEAN and Chinese Customs. In particular, we will strengthen and expand the application of the criteria of the quality management process System ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratories suitable for the standard Vilas), to ensure the results of the analysis, test and determine exactly, with high reliability, towards the goal of implementing the agreements on mutual recognition on an international scale in the future. In 2017, we will strive to build a lab of the Verification Brach 2 (Hai Phong) meeting the standard Vilas. At the same time, we will review, amend and replace the Regulation on verifying to classify, analyze, control quality, food safety inspection for import-export goods” Mr. Huan affirmed their determination.

Mr. Huan also said that the current specialized inspection duration accounted for 70% of the goods clearance time, because the inspection points, and inspection procedures remained inadequate. Therefore, Customs authorities took part in implementing specialized inspections directly that would contribute significantly to reduce cargo clearance time, strengthen Customs verification, and quality examination for import and export goods. And to do that, the construction of forces, capabilities and experience of the staff was the key element to complete the assigned task for the unit.