HCM City Customs offers more solutions to combat origin fraud

	Revise regulations on origin fraud prevention
	Collecting VND 455 billion from post-clearance audits
	Preventing origin fraud, 150 businesses are "in the spotlight"

Chinese goods forging Vietnamese origin of Talalay Rubber Vietnam Co., Ltd., seized by HCM City Customs. Photo: T.H

Preventing many violations

HCM City Customs Department has effectively implemented solutions to combat fraud on origin and labeling of goods, infringement of intellectual property rights, and illicit transshipment. Customs branches have detected many violations.

HCM City Customs Department has fined VND55 million, forced to re-export imported goods of P. Trading & Service Co., Ltd without original labels as described.

According to the case of P. Trading & Service Co., Ltd. importing over 8,000 boxes of health food, upon physical inspection, the Customs discovered that the packaging was not labelled according to regulations. The infringing goods were valued at over VND593 million.

Earlier, the Investment Customs Branch discovered violations of a foreign-invested enterprise in exporting 150 yards of woven fabric. On the customs declaration, the exported goods were declared as Vietnamese goods. As a result of the physical inspection, the Customs discovered that on the packaging, the goods were labeled "Made in China to Vietnam". However, the act of falsely declaring the origin of exported goods of the company has not been specified in Decree 128/202/ND-CP of the Government, so the Customs authority could not handle this violation.

In addition to the above cases, HCM City Customs Department also discovered many cases of importing goods in violation of regulations on labels and packaging. At the end of July 2021, HCM City Customs Department fined a company VND55 million and forced it to re-export 390 tons of imported white rice, worth more than VND3.5 billion as prescribed in point h, Clause 3. Article 22 of Decree 128/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government.

All imported goods of the company were packed in white packages, without the original label according to the provisions of Decree 43/2017/ND-CP, so the Customs authority has made a record of administrative violation.

Conducting targeted inspections

To control and prevent fraud on origin of goods, especially at the end of the year when the volume of import and export goods is increasing, HCM City Customs Department has requested its customs units inside and outside border gates to focus on carrying out many solutions.

Accordingly, the customs units should strictly apply customs measures from the stage of customs procedures to other professional measures, such as: risk management, post-clearance audit, and customs control for suspect enterprises and items.

The customs units should identify contents of inspection in accordance with the characteristics of each unit. Accordingly, customs units inside and outside border gates should focus on inspecting enterprises, items and routes with high risk of origin fraud and illicit transshipment.

Customs branches at export processing zones and high-tech zones; the investment and processing customs branches should focus on enterprises which have invested in sketchy production lines, imported full components but performed only a few simple processing stages, then assembled them to make finished products to achieve Vietnamese origin.

The Post-Clearance Audit Branch should pay attention to export products on the list of investigation and imposed with anti-dumping and anti-subsidy taxes of countries around the world to take appropriate and timely inspection measures.

HCM City Customs Department issued Plan 666/KH-HQTPHCM on strengthening control, fighting, and preventing the evasion of trade remedies, fraud and forgery of origin and infringement of intellectual property rights and illicit transshipment.

In this plan, 17 targeted commodities have been considered by HCM City Customs Department, such as: wood products and wooden products; sports equipment, furniture; steel joints, steel wheels, pre-engineered steel, copper pipes; electrical circuits, data processing machines, electronic products and components, household appliances, bicycles, electric bicycles and components; machines, equipment, tools, spare parts, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers; cigarettes, alcohol, consumer goods, food, supplementary food, medicine, traditional medicine; fertilizers and pesticides.

Anti-origin fraud: Many high-risk businesses continue to be closely controlled

With enhanced solutions at border gates and professional stages, HCM City Customs Department will effectively enforce, control and prevent violations of labels and origin of import and export goods through seaports and airports in the area.