Hai Phong Customs diversifies Customs – Business partnership activities

	Quang Ninh Customs, Hai Phong Customs work together to support businesses
	Hai Phong Customs actively supports enterprises
	Hai Phong Customs collects nearly VND59,000 billion from the state revenue

Leaders of Hai Phong Customs Department and representatives of nine enterprises at the Conference to sign a memorandum of understanding to participate in the pilot program on supporting enterprises voluntarily complying with customs laws, October 28, 2022. Photo: T.Binh

Five keys activities

Director of Hai Phong Customs Department Nguyen Duy Ngoc said that Hai Phong Customs always has focused on developing the Customs – Business partnership and considered businesses as accompanying partners for development.

In 2022, Hai Phong Customs Department proposed five specific activities and a detailed implementation plan to implement the partnership.

Activity 1: providing information to the business community. Hai Phong Customs proactively provides information to the business community on customs development strategy up to 2030; the customs reform, development and modernization up to 2025; key programs and projects on reform and modernization of the Customs sector; international treaties and commitments on trade facilitation.

Activity 2: consulting businesses and stakeholders. The consultation focuses on the following contents: implementing digital transformation in the state management of customs; management mechanism, methods, orders and procedures for quality inspection and food safety inspection for imported goods.

Contents of Customs – Business consultation focuses on proposals and recommendations of businesses on solutions to improve legal policies, procedures, and law enforcement; solutions to prevent cargo congestion at customs checkpoints due to epidemics, natural disasters and unusual events.

Activity 3: Customs – Business partnership. Specifically, Hai Phong Customs Department cooperates with businesses to implement the following contents: forecasting state budget revenues; fight against smuggling, commercial fraud, illegal cross-border transportation of goods, currency, precious metals and stones, drugs, explosives, weapons, origin fraud, trademark counterfeiting, fight against illicit transhipment, anti-loss of revenue; management of centralized inspection sites of import and export goods.

Activity 4: supervise law enforcement. Hai Phong Customs strengthens law enforcement supervision through activities such as: coordinating with the Vietnam Chamber of Trade and Industry (VCCI) to organize a survey on enterprise's satisfaction with customs procedures and administrative procedures on the National Single Window; continuing to deploy the service quality assessment system of civil servants under Hai Phong Customs Department in the process of handling procedures; coordinating with business associations to organize working sessions with businesses and stakeholders to listen to their comments on the activities of the customs agency.

Activity 5: business support. Hai Phong Customs promotes business support through content such as supporting businesses during the pandemic; supporting start-ups; supporting businesses to comply with the law voluntarily; supporting businesses with classification, valuation, and origin determination topics.

Bringing policies to life

Over the past, Hai Phong Customs Department and its branches have offered many specific solutions to implement the Customs – Business partnership.

At the Department level, the unit has presided over developing content and advised the People's Committee of Hai Phong City to organize dialogue conferences with import-export businesses (May 2022). Or recently, Hai Phong Customs has actively implemented a pilot program to support businesses to comply with customs laws voluntarily and signed a memorandum of understanding with 16 businesses.

At the branch level, the branches have also developed effective solutions. For example, the Director of Hai Phong port zone 2 Customs Branch, Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, said that the branch manages many CFS warehouses (retail warehouses) and various goods. Therefore, to understand and strictly comply with regulations, policies and laws in customs procedures, the branch proactively classified businesses into small groups according to their import-export types and items to organize effective meetings and consultations. These are also specific solutions to implement the Customs-Business Partnership Development Program at the branch.

"The daily request set out for customs officers is to promptly grasp difficulties and problems and provide guidance to help businesses understand and strictly comply with regulations for fast and convenient customs clearance," said Nguyen Thi Thu Hien.

Managing mainly foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises, the Export Processing and Industrial Parks Customs Branch (Hai Phong Customs Department) realizes that enterprises need to grasp policies, regulations and laws. Therefore, dissemination to the business community is the most important requirement for the unit. "The branch always considers creating an open and transparent environment for the business community as its top priority and strengthening the Customs- Businesses partnership a key factor, helping the branch to fulfil its assigned political tasks, "said the branch director Nguyen Truong Son.

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According to Deputy Director of Hai Phong Customs Department Nguyen Kien Giang, effectively implementing the Customs-Business partnership requires synchronous solutions. Dialogue conferences are a chance to help Customs authorities receive feedback from businesses for institutional improvement. But it is more urgent to handle daily problems to facilitate customs clearance. Therefore, customs branches have created groups to interact with businesses via social networks to provide effective support.