HCM City Customs Department facilitates and resolves difficulties for enterprises

	Ho Chi Minh City Customs removes obstacles for logistics businesses
	HCM City Customs make efforts in budget collection
	HCM City Customs Department collects 280 billion of tax debts

1st Zone Sai Gon Seaport Customs Branch officers process customs procedures for enterprises. Photo: TH

Diversifying support methods

Customs branches under HCM City Customs Department have diversified support methods and facilitated trade in line with the characteristics of each branch.

The 4th Zone Sai Gon Seaport Customs Branch recently held a working session with five warehouse and port operators under the branch's management. According to the Manager of 4th Zone Sai Gon Seaport Customs Branch Tong Le Dan, the dialogue with the operators is one of the action programs under Directive 01 dated February 3, 2023, of the Director of HCM City Customs Department on strengthening solutions to fulfil tasks in 2023. It aims to coordinate with these operators to facilitate trade for import and export enterprises.

Accordingly, the branch's leader shared information on the department's and branch's plans and tasks with the operators and expected the operators to coordinate with the Customs to provide appropriate services and costs to attract enterprises.

"In addition to trade facilitation, the Customs must strengthen the anti-smuggling and trade fraud, handle backlogged goods amid the domestic and internal economies facing difficulties. Therefore, the leader says there need cooperation and well compliance with the law by enterprises and related parties, including warehouse and port operators".

The branch has coordinated with the Saigon Newport Corporation to apply many information technology programs to reduce the intermediate stages and shorten customs clearance time.

According to the Deputy Manager of the branch Do The Manh, the revenue target of the branch accounted for more than 40% of the department's total revenue. However, the branch's revenue decreased by about 42% in January and over 28% in February, respectively, affecting the department's revenue. Therefore, the branch has focused on attracting enterprises to increase revenue and provide solutions such as effectively executing the Trade Facilitation Scheme at Cat Lai port, reporting and proposing to remove obstacles in current regulations on importing and exporting goods.

To facilitate and process customs procedures for about 4,000 FDI enterprises, the Investment and Processing Customs Branch has disseminated and instructed enterprises to understand regulations and comply with the Customs Law via their emails.

The Branch's Manager, Le Tuan Binh, said that from the early year, the branch had made plans to work with the leader of each company that has a large volume of imports and exports to grasp their status and plans to provide solutions to support and guide them. Therefore, Customs has also assessed the revenues.

Actively implementing solutions

In 2023, the HCM City Customs Department is assigned high revenue target of VND145,800 billion. However, amid the difficult situation in the domestic and global markets, the decrease in import and export activities in the first months of the year impacted the department's revenue; the department issued Directive 01/CT-HQTPHCM on accelerating solutions to fulfil tasks in 2023.

The department's leader directed the units to successfully execute the Customs reform and modernization plan approved by the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The department has pushed up digital transformation, IT application in customs operation, administrative reform and customs clearance reform, and supported and resolved problems of people and enterprises, creating a favourable and transparent trade environment.

The department has strengthened meetings and dialogues with importers and exporters, transport enterprises, warehouse, yard and port operators to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles and create cooperation for further development and trade facilitation.

The branch has developed cooperation and partnership between the customs, businesses and related parties, creating a foundation and improving the efficiency of state management in the Customs field. Improving the level of business satisfaction with customs administrative procedures. Effectively disseminating regulations and holding dialogue conferences by many appropriate methods to improve the quality and feasibility of mechanisms and policies and create consensus in society for the performance of the Customs sector and related agencies; strengthen the collection and processing of customs information, applying criteria for compliance assessment, risk classification and implementation of risk management measures in customs operations, helping to facilitate import and export activities of enterprises.

Following the directive, Customs branches have implemented solutions to facilitate trade and remove problems for enterprises. In addition, the branches have analyzed the volume of goods and revenues to conduct solutions to ensure revenue actively.