Modernize the management of processed goods, export production and export processing enterprises

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Customs officers of Hai Phong Customs Department inspect processing facilities. Photo: Hai Phong Customs

Due to the heavy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of enterprises engaged in outsourcing and export production activities will decrease compared to 2020 but at a negligible rate; the number of export processing enterprises increased by 4.3% over the same period in 2020.

The number of export and import declarations for processing and export processing in 2021 increased sharply compared to 2020, which means that the import and export turnover also increased, for example processing import turnover, export production increased by 37.49% over the same period; import turnover of EPEs increased by 50.13% over the same period.

A large number of enterprises carrying out outsourcing, production and export processing activities (more than 10,000 enterprises) are distributed in most of the customs departments of provinces and cities.

With a large number of enterprises and turnover, which requires customs management for outsourcing, production and export activities, EPEs are increasingly modern, creating favorable conditions for businesses to operate. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the General Department of Customs has implemented many solutions such as reporting to the Ministry to propose the Government allow EPEs to rent warehouses outside the area to solve difficulties and problems of enterprises; guiding the resolution of difficulties and problems arising for businesses and local customs when carrying out customs procedures, inspection and supervision due to the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic; manual code type; on the notice of the reprocessing contract; about the fact that EPEs leased roofs of factories to domestic enterprises to produce solar power.

In particular, in the modernization of customs management for EPEs, the leaders of the General Department said units had actively implemented the work of directing, guiding and completing the conditions of the regulation for customs inspection and supervision as prescribed in Article 28a of Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP as amended and supplemented in Clause 10, Article 1 of Decree 18/2021/ND-CP.

In terms of customs, the Import and Export Tax Department has provided guidance on tax procedures and policies. However, the implementation of regulations on conditions for customs inspection, supervision and control for EPEs according to the provisions of Decree 18/2021/ND-CP still encounters some obstacles and difficulties in implementation such as the implementation of management and monitoring is still not consistent; the actual inspection of conditions and customs supervision to apply tax policies is still not consistent with the provisions of Decree 18/2021/ND-CP.

In order to drastically implement high-quality results, ensuring compliance with the provisions of the law, for the implementation of regulations on conditions for inspection, supervision and customs control for EPEs according to the provisions of Decree No. 18/2021/ND-CP, the General Department of Customs has assigned professional units to develop specific instructions on how to connect the camera system of EPEs with the Customs Sub-department as well as how to store the data meeting the management requirements of Customs; develop the minimum technical standards of DNCX's surveillance camera system to meet the requirements of image data analysis, ready to integrate with the intelligent customs system; solutions for information security and data access when exchanging information with Customs.

At the same time, develop and guide the legal provisions on the conditions for customs inspection and supervision in Clause 10, Article 1 of Decree 18/2021/ND-CP; guide the customs departments of provinces and cities on how to make statistics, synthesize, monitor and manage EPEs, enterprises eligible to apply tax policies of EPZs and non-tariff zones in the area.

In addition, the General Department of Customs also developed a pilot project to connect and exchange information about the management system of raw materials, supplies, products, machinery and equipment of processing, manufacturing, exporting and processing enterprises, thereby creating favorable conditions for the operation of enterprises, meeting the modernization requirements of the customs industry.

In addition, in the direction of deploying the smart Customs model, the Digital Customs system will have the functions of monitoring, managing, analyzing data, warning of risks throughout the operation of the processing enterprises, export production, export processing from importation, in the production process until export, or destroy or change the purpose of use.

In order for the system to be able to analyze data about processing, export production and export processing enterprises must be digitized and fully stored in the enterprise database system. In order to ensure the continuity of management and minimize the procedures for enterprises when implementing the new system, information about the processing, export production and export processing enterprises in operation must be fully updated on a modern system, ready to switch to a new system.