Ho Chi Minh City Customs department has diversified solutions to combat origin fraud

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A case of importing blankets and pillows with forged Vietnamese origin seized by Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department. Photo: T.H

Two cases prosecuted

For many years, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has helped the business community carry out import and export procedures quickly, but in the new context, the department must strengthen inspection and supervision to prevent trade fraud and protect legitimate businesses, especially focusing on preventing origin fraud, intellectual property infringement and illicit transshipment. The Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has coordinated with other agencies to prevent and combat origin fraud. Through specialised operation and developing schemes, the department will control the import of goods from abroad into Vietnam and exports of goods from Vietnam to large markets with the aim of abusing Vietnamese origin.

According to Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department Dinh Ngoc Thang, Vietnam cannot share or lose benefits from trade deals with foreign manufacturers, thus Customs has prevented origin fraud and illicit transshipment. To do this, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department and customs branches have used solutions and worked with enterprises to prevent origin fraud and illicit transshipment of goods.

Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has analysed import and export statistics and other information to identify items with high-risk of origin fraud to apply inspection and supervision methods. These violations are aimed at enjoying special preferential tariffs from trade deals that Vietnam has signed and evading taxes because products are ineligible for enjoying preferences of origin.

Recently, among more than a dozen cases of origin fraud and illicit transshipment tackled by Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department in recent times, the department prosecuted two cases related to origin fraud valued at VND billions.

Raising awareness of enterprises

On December 20, Ho Chi Minh Customs Department held a conference to publicise customs laws to the business community on origin fraud, infringement of intellectual property rights and illicit transshipment with the participation of more than 100 enterprises, representatives of departments and sectors of Ho Chi Minh City. This was the first time Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department held a conference on measures to prevent origin fraud, illicit transshipment and goods infringing intellectual property for the business community. The goal was raising awareness and law compliance of the business community to prevent violations. At the conference, the business community was warned of risks of violations, thereby promoting stable and sustainable development.

Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has warned of the methods, tricks and typical violations it has detected, handled violations related to origin fraud, infringement of intellectual property rights and illicit transshipment to raise awareness and law compliance of the business community to prevent origin fraud and infringement of intellectual property rights and illicit transshipment.

Customs branches have deployed specific solutions. According to Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang, Deputy Manager of Investment and Processing Customs Branch, together with the development of key plans on Customs control, through sending emails, the branch has strengthened publicity, guidance and changed the awareness of enterprises on origin to prevent acts of counterfeiting trademarks and origin. Especially the management and inspection of production capacity of enterprises helps to promptly detect violations.