New breakthroughs in cargo surveillance at airports and seaports

	IT applications focus on surveillance at seaports and airports
	Connecting IT systems for Customs supervision at Cat Lai port
	The General Department of Vietnam Customs holds a teleconference for tasks in the fourth quarter

Imported and exported cargo at Dinh Vu Port, Hai Phong. Photo: Thai Binh

This was stated by the Director of Customs IT and Statistics Department (General Department of Vietnam Customs) Nguyen Manh Tung in the preliminary conference on the performance of the first six months of the year and deployment of tasks of the last six months of the Customs on July 4th, 2017. Mr. Tung added that the General Department had been preparing to deploy the Customs Management and Surveillance Project at airports and warehouses with a lot of changes in management and surveillance and co-management for imported and exported cargo.

According to him, in the recent times, the Customs had accelerated the Customs reform and modernization, including wide IT application in the Customs operations. The Customs reform and modernization resulted in many advantages for enterprises in the implementation of Customs procedures. However, it had not been effective in the cargo management and surveillance at international airports and seaports and in the information exchange between Customs agencies with port operators.

This had caused difficulties in monitoring and managing cargo at ports for Customs; prolonged the storage time of cargo and increased storage costs. Article 41 of the Customs Law 2014 had required that port operators were responsible for communicating and exchanging with Customs authorities. Besides, providing information before cargo and ships arrived in the modern Customs management had been very important to apply risk methods in Customs management.

Thus, the Customs had developed and deployed the cargo management and surveillance system at seaports and airports. In the past time, the Customs IT and Statistics Department had closely collaborated with Hai Phong Customs Department, Hanoi Customs Department and related units to prepare conditions and develop the IT system to monitor cargo at seaports, airports, and warehouses.

At present, by thoroughly investigating the management and operation process at seaports and airports in Hai Phong and Hanoi, consulting relevant units under the General Department of Vietnam Customs and holding conferences to consult warehouse and depot operators and related units for cargo management and surveillance systems at seaports, airports and warehouses in Hanoi and Hai Phong, the General Department had agreed on the management and surveillance of sea and air cargo. On the basis of unifying the requirements of the agreed operation issue, in the recent times, the Customs authorities had cooperated with relevant units to develop the cargo management and surveillance system at seaports, airports, and warehouses

The General Department of Vietnam Customs had reviewed and developed a legal basis for the implementation, which was the development of a Circular Amending Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC. Now, a draft Circular to amend Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC were being completed to be issued in the coming time, which would be the basis for the official implementation of the project.

According to Mr. Tung, the General Department planned to synchronously deploy the cargo management and surveillance system at seaports in Hai Phong from August 15th, 2017 and at Noi Bai international airport from the beginning of October 2017.

In order to prepare the above plan and deploy the system in other Customs units, Mr. Tung asked units to closely follow the plan, research actual situation and prepare necessary infrastructure conditions.

Whereas, this system would affect other related authorities at seaports and airports such as: Customs authorities and warehouse, depot, port operators. Besides, the implementation of the project also engaged in shipping lines, airlines, shipping line agents, delivery agents, Customs agents, import-export enterprises, ministries’ management agencies and other related parties.

The Customs to increase online surveillance to prevent the smuggling goods VCN- Being on duty online and online surveillance serves not only the steering and management of the ...

Therefore, other local Customs units needed to well implement the preparatory from surveying the infrastructure of the relevant units; disseminating and introducing the business community and related units on regulations, procedures, implementation plans and work to be prepared. Introducing the data standards, information exchange process, and technical requirements and ensuring that from now to the beginning of 2018, all conditions are available for deployment in other localities except Hai Phong and Hanoi.