Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho: Gathering force to fight against smuggling effectively

Deputy Director General of Vietnam Customs Nguyen Van Tho

Assessing the smuggling and trade fraud activities in recent times, Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho said that the political security situation in the world was potentially unstable and unpredictable; inflation increased, pushing up prices of all kinds of goods on the global market, especially essential commodities, which were scarce and difficult to control, thus it had posed a direct impact on world economic growth and Vietnam.

In parallel, the situation of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods, especially for banned goods, such as drugs, firecrackers, cigarettes, endangered and rare wildlife, and goods which is scarcity in the market, such as minerals, petroleum and essential goods for production and consumption tend to increase and become more complicated on all routes and locations throughout the country, such as Borderline of North Central, Central Highlands, Southeast, and Southwest; the Northeast, Central, Southeast and Southwest seas; Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang international airports and inland areas of the provinces and cities of the North, the North Central and the South.

According to statistics of Customs, as of October 15, 2022, the whole Customs sector has chaired, coordinated, detected and seized a total of 13,720 cases of violation. As a result, the value of infringing goods was estimated at VND4,790 billion; State revenue reached VND265,841 billion; Customs authorities have prosecuted 35 cases and transferred to other agencies to prosecute 113 cases.

Smuggling and counterfeiting activities have affected economic security and caused a tax loss for the state; trademarks and the interests of many businesses and consumers are infringed.

To promote the fight against smuggling, counterfeit goods, and goods infringing intellectual property, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh - Director of the National Steering Committee 389, signed and promulgated Plan 92/KH-BCD389 dated September 13, 2022, to strengthen the fight against smuggling, trade frauds and counterfeit goods on border lines, sea areas and inland areas, stabilize order and ensure complying with the provisions of law, facilitate production, business, import and export activities; contributing to promoting the country's socio-economic development, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of legitimate businesses and consumers; further improve the effectiveness of anti-smuggling, preventing trade fraud and counterfeiting in the new situation.

Following that spirit, the National Steering Committee 389 issued the Plan on Anti-Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Counterfeiting in the peak period before, during and after the Lunar New Year of 2023; and Plan No. 111/KH-BCD389 to strengthen the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and illegal transportation of goods through international airports.

The National Steering Committee 389 has also assigned ministries, sectors and localities to strengthen the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in their management fields, coordinate well in this work to repel smuggling and trade fraud in the area

As a member of the standing body of the National Steering Committee 389, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has actively advised and proposed many solutions and submitted a plan to combat smuggling, trade fraud and illegal transport of goods across borders, sea areas and inland areas; at the same time directing the whole Customs sector to gather resources on drastic implementation, synchronously applying professional customs control measures, strengthening inspection and strict control at important routes, areas and critical commodities, focus on prohibited items, high value, high tax rate.

In addition, according to the forecast of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, from now to the end of 2022, especially during the Lunar New Year, the situation of law violations related to origin, labelling, and infringement of intellectual property rights still occur complicatedly; the subjects would take advantage of the convenience of customs procedures to commit fraudulent acts of forging trademarks, goods origin, tax evasion, and misleading consumers. Therefore, the Customs sector has developed a Plan for Anti-Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Counterfeiting in the peak period before, during and after the Lunar New Year of 2023.

To effectively fight against contraband and counterfeit goods, Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho said that, at the seminar, the units would discuss key issues as well as frankly discuss the current situation, difficulties and obstacles in the current fight against contraband and counterfeit goods; sharing experiences, solutions, and plan to contribute to improving capacity in the fight against contraband, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property infringement.

At the same time, Deputy Director General hoped businesses that have been counterfeited to raise their voice to join hands with the authorities in preventing and repelling the situation of counterfeiting and infringing intellectual property in the domestic market as well as blocking at the border gate.