New information on reform roadmap for quality inspection and food safety inspection

	Reviewing regulations on assigning customs to perform food quality and safety inspections
	Imported seafood has to carry out quarantine, costing businesses hundreds of billions of VND

Director of Customs Control and Supervision Department Au Anh Tuan speaks about the reform of quality inspection for import and export goods. Photo: T.B

In order to facilitate customs for imports and exports, in addition to streamlining customs procedures, what are solutions provided by the Customs to simplify specialized inspection procedures, sir?

In addition, to implement customs clearance procedures, the enterprises have to carry out procedures with relevant units such as port and warehouse operators and shipping lines. The most important obstacle is that enterprises need a lot of time and cost to implement specialized inspection procedures.

The Customs authority has actively coordinated with ministries and sectors in reviewing legal documents to shortcomings. In addition, under the business community's recommendations, the General Department of Vietnam has proposed ministries and sectors to amend, supplement and issue simple administrative procedures.

Following Decision 38/QD-TTg dated January 12 of the Prime Minister on the Project on reforming the model of quality inspection and food safety inspection for imported goods, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has advised the Ministry of Finance to submit to the Government a Decree regulating on management mechanism, methods, and procedures for quality and food safety inspections for imported goods. The business community and business associations have highly appreciated the Decree. The promulgation of the Decree is expected to contribute to streamlining the quality and food safety inspection procedures, thereby shortening the time and cost of carrying out procedures for businesses.

In addition, the country's top customs department has also worked with ministries and sectors to revise legal documents, especially the law and decree, to ensure the simplification of specialized inspection procedures, saving time for businesses and providing information to the law enforcement team to control and shift from pre-inspection to post-clearance audit.

In the future, what are solutions implemented by the Customs to coordinate with other ministries and sectors to effectively perform tasks assigned in Decision 38?

In the foreseeable future, Customs will work with relevant agencies to perfect and submit to the Government a Decree stipulating the management mechanism, methods, and procedures for quality and food safety inspections for imported goods.

When the decree is issued, the General Department of Vietnam Customs will focus on upgrading the National Single Window Portal to allow all procedures, including quality and food safety inspections for imported goods to be processed on the portal.

Currently, enterprises have carried out some procedures for quality and food safety inspections on the public service portals of some ministries and sectors. However, the implementation has not been done electronically and has not been consistent with the implementation of the model of Digital Customs and Smart Customs.

Therefore, Customs will continue to upgrade the portal to allow enterprises to carry out all procedures on the National Single Window. This is the first phase in performing the tasks stipulated in Decision 38 as, saying that the Customs is the focal point in implementing quality and food safety inspections at the border gate.

In the following phase, the General Department of Vietnam Customs will work with ministries and sectors to review their legal documents to perform tasks in the Decision fully.

Could you tell be bout the roadmap for implementation?

According to Customs statistics, over 200 legal documents in the Law and Decree related to specialized inspection for imports and exports, including managing the permit issued by ministries.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs will also work with the ministries to supplement and amend the legal documents following the tasks assigned by the Prime Minister, submit to the National Assembly, and the Government to issue the revised law.

Shortly, the performance will be towards the model stipulated in Decision 38 as the focal point for implementing the quality and food safety inspections for imports at the border gate.

In addition, the Customs will comply with regulations on reforming of quality and food safety inspections such as risk management, changing the inspection method from tightened inspection to normal and reduced inspection, thereby helping businesses shorten the time and cost of carrying out specialized inspection procedures with relevant agencies, customs clearance time, and support enterprises amid the post-pandemic recovery.

Thank you sir!