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Operational activity at Mong Cai Customs Branch, Quang Ninh Customs Department. Photo: T.Tr

Improving the efficiency of Customs operations

Creating transparency and fairness, ensuring accuracy and fulfill tax revenues, creating a unified legal framework to encourage enterprises to develop their production, promote import-export and create a favorable environment for taxpayers, comply tax law, improve the effectiveness of customs operations and the State management requirements on customs. These are assessed by the provincial and municipal Customs during application of the Law on Import and Export Duties 2016 and Decree 134 2016/ND-CP.

A representative of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department assessed that the Law on Import and Export Duties and the Law on Tax Administration, the Law on Value Added Tax and the Special Consumption Tax created an effective and unified tax policy system to control imported and exported goods and create stable revenues for the State budget and demonstrate the role of the tax system as one of the tools to stabilize the macroeconomic and contribute to preventing trade fraud and tax evasion and tax debt.

According to a representative of Lang Son Customs Department, the revision of Law on Import and Export Duties 2016 and Decree 134/2016/NĐ-CP facilitate the exports and imports and reform administration and create favorable investment business environment. Some obstacles in the implementation of the Tax Law and previous documents on taxpayers, tax exemption, and tax refund are adjusted, supplemented and concretized in line with the management goal of each period and problems arising in actual situation such as: allowing traders to implement import and export rights; Responsibility of the specialized ministries for duty-free imported goods to ensure compliance with the actual situation and development.

According to a representative of Thanh Hoa Customs Department, the Law on Import and Export Duties 2016 clearly stipulates entities who are authorized, guaranteed and on behalf of taxpayers to pay tax, which facilitates taxpayers to implement their obligation and add entities who can pay tax on behalf of taxpayers in accordance with the concept on taxpayers in the Law on Tax Administration and in consistency with the regulations on Customs declarants of the Customs Law; Any person who purchases or transports goods within the tax-free allowance applied to border residents which are sold domestically instead of being consumed or used for manufacture; foreign traders permitted to deal in exports and imports at bordering markets; Imported goods are subject to tax incentives but changed of purpose of use and users. This helped the Thanh Hoa Customs Department limit obstacles, thus since the application of the tax law to now, the Department has not any obstacles relating to authorization, tax guarantee, and tax payment substitute.

Receiving the comments of enterprises in the area, a representative of the Hanoi Customs Department said that the reforms of the Law on Export and Import Duties 2016, Decree 134/2016 /ND-CP are highly appreciated. Especially the reforms of regulations on tax exemption for imported goods to produce exports contribute to improve the competitiveness of domestic enterprises and facilitate them participate in business activities of export production and increase export turnover. The representative also said that the Law on Import and Export Duties step by step improved sense of compliance with the law and awareness of taxpayers' interests, as well as heightened initiative and responsibility under the mechanism of self-declaration, self-calculation and self-tax payment in tax administration activities of taxpayers.

The regulation on the non-tariff area is one of the regulations which are highly appreciated by the provincial and municipal Customs. This regulation created a great advantage in the process of establishment and operation for the processing enterprises and ensured the conditions for customs inspection, supervision, and control. Moreover, created favorable conditions in goods trading and exchange between Non-tariff areas with outside.

Should be revised

In addition to the achievements that have contributed to reforming administrative procedures, enhancing the competitiveness of domestic enterprises and the sense of compliance with the law of taxpayers, provincial and municipal Customs said that some provisions of Law on Import and Export Duties 2016 and Decree 134/2016/ND-CP should be amended and guided more clearly to further improve the management efficiency of the Customs.

Many provincial and municipal Customs commented that Article 19 of the Law on Import and Export Duties should add entities subject to a tax refund for overpaid taxes. (Enterprises have paid tax amount larger than the tax payable) in line with the current Law on Tax Administration, because Decree 134/2016/ND-CP does not stipulate for this case.

In addition, some proposals focus on regulations on tax rates for imported and exported goods in Clause 2, Article 5 of the Law on Import and Export Duties and line 211, Appendix I of Decree No.122/2016/ND-CP. According to the units, it is necessary to specify what is "Materials, raw materials and semi-products other than those mentioned above, of which the value of mineral and sources thereof and energy accounts for 51 % product price or more” or need to specify each category with the 8-digit code in accordance with the Vietnam export and import classification nomenclature for transparency and easy implementation.

According to a representative of Quang Tri Customs Department, the regulations on the tax rate between exported goods and imported goods are not similar to the code of the 10-digit and 8-digit, leading to difficulties for enterprises in determining the codes and applying tax rate for the imported goods which were then re-exported to third countries. Accordingly, this Department proposed to amend the export tax rate under the list of taxable commodity group at 8 digits similar to 8-digit goods codes in the Vietnam export and import classification nomenclature and in the Import tariff schedule according to the list of taxable commodity groups.

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Comment on the regulations on imported raw materials to produce duty-free exports, a representative of An Giang Customs Department said that Article 12 of Decree 134/2016/ND-CP did not stipulate the time to store the materials in Vietnam and the method to calculate tax if the finalization of raw materials remains every year, it would mean that the enterprise would not produce export products from these imported raw materials. Hence, causing difficulties for the Customs to manage this type. Therefore, An Giang Customs proposed that the General Department of Vietnam Customs need to issue a guideline document or supplement tax exemption time for raw materials to produce export goods, avoiding that the enterprises take advantage of tax exemption policy for Tax evasion, tax fraud.