HCM City Customs Department: Facilitating FDI firms

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A customs declarant looks up declaration information the Investment/Processing Customs Branch under HCM City Customs Department. Photo: T.H

Manager of the Investment/Processing Customs Branch Nguyen Xuan Binh said the branch is managing and processing customs procedures for about 4,000 FDI firms; the branch’s revenue contributed to the State budget ranked second in the entire HCM City Customs Department. Although the department was assigned arevenue target of VND 22,700 billion in 2020 by the HCM City Customs Department, an increase by 3% year-on-year, and performed in a difficult situation with the sharp decrease in the import and export goods, it made great efforts to complete nearly 92% of the target.

To fulfill tasks, the promotion of import and export activities, creating an open and transparent environment for the business community carrying out customs procedures at the branch wasthe branch’s top priority.

According to the branch’s manager, the Covid-19 pandemic hit almost all sectors of the economy; the business and production of enterprises has faced difficulties, in which, FDI firmshave been seriously affected. To share and remove difficulties for business and production, the branch focused on solutions to improve the business environment; implemented synchronously and comprehensively administrative reform solutions, including focusing on building public ethics, preventing negative behaviors, causing troublesome; promoted administrative procedure reform; reduced and simplified business conditions, supported and removed difficulties for businesses; shortened customs clearance time, implemented customs modernisation and application of information technology in the State management andcut costs for enterprises.

Particularly, the branch has organised dialogues with enterprises according to commodity groups to guide and answer relevant procedures and policies in a centralisedand intensive manner for enterprises. In the complexperiod of the pandemic, the branch conducted online dialogues. “At the end of December 2020, after getting ready for the dialogues with export processing and production enterprises, however due to the third outbreak of Covid-19, the branch held the online dialogues or via email or information technology applications. Thereby, it guided and answered many problems for enterprises," Deputy Manager of the Branch Doan Phi Van said.

The leader of the branch said in 2021, the department will focus on key tasks, such as improving the institution, legal basis and customs procedures to ensure transparency and facilitation to people and firms, as well as coordination between the Customs and other State management agencies in handling customs procedures at border gates. Along with that, the branch will apply information technology in performance, such as: exchanging and coordinating in providing information between the Customs and other relevant state agencies when handling administrative procedures; sending, receiving and returning results of implementation of administrative procedures, answering the questions of enterprises, organisations and individuals.