No more cargo jam in HCM city sea ports

Import-export cargo at Cat Lai port. Photo: Thu Hòa

More flexible in doing Customs procedure

Mr. Le Chien Thang, Deputy Manager of Saigon port are 4 Customs Branch said that with the guidance for solving difficulty of General Department of Vietnam Customs about entry gate such as: mooring float, inland waterway port and ICD of Phuoc Long port Co., Ltd are allowed to operate as a seaport under HCMC sea ports. Thus cargoes in the list regulated in Article 1 of Decision No. 15/2017 / QD-TTg are transferred from the border gate to the port of destination that showed up in the bill of lading are inland waterway port and ICD of Phuoc Long Port Co., Ltd for doing Customs clearance. According to this provision, enterprises’ cargoes arrive at Phuoc Long ICD have been solved, enterprises are allowed to bring goods to this port for doing customs procedures instead of doing at Cat Lai port. Hence there is no longer exist cargo at the port.

A number of enterprises that encountered difficulties related to the location for doing customs procedures are satisfied when the General Department of Vietnam Customs remove problems. Mr. Dang Hoang Giang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association, said that the General Department of Vietnam Customs and HCMC Customs Department have promptly and resolved quickly problems arising for enterprises in general and enterprises of the Association as well as facilitated to enterprises in importing cargoes. With the official dispatches to remove obstacles on 27/7/2017 of the General Department of Vietnam Customs sent to HCMC Customs Department, it has cleared difficulties for businesses to import cashew, remove difficulties about location for doing customs procedures for goods in the List issued together with Decision No. 15/2017 / QD-TTg. Therefore, all goods of the enterprises have been cleared immediately.

Being a business that has a lot of cashew shipment were stuck at Cat Lai port with 200 containers (about 3,000 tons), Mr. Do Tat Thang, Director of Da Kao Agricultural Produce Export and Production Co., Ltd, said that headquarter of the company located in Ho Chi Minh City, but their factory is located in Dong Nai. Thanks to the General Department of Vietnam Customs to remove obstacles, enterprises can go through Customs procedures quickly and conveniently at the Processing Customs Branch under HCM City Customs Department. Therefore, all 200 cashew containers of enterprises in the past have been cleared. Similarly, Mr. Ta Quang Huyen, Director of Hoang Son 1 Company, explained that with the difficulties removal of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, over the last two days of the weekend, all 100 cashew containers of enterprises have been cleared. Thus enterprises have timely put goods into production.

Still entangled express goods

According to the HCM City Customs Department, currently, imported goods are sent via express, postage is mainly gifts, small samples with low value and belongs to the group of goods must be taken quarantine of animals and plants (dried tea, milk powder, pate, sausage ...) under the list of goods must be done Customs procedures at the entry border gate under Decision 15/2017 / QD-TTg. The reason is that the Express Custom Branch is not a Customs Branch at the border gate. So they could not do Customs procedures for these goods. It has caused many difficulties for enterprises operating express goods and postal services.

In fact, the location of express (TECS) is managed by Express Customs Branch, which is close to Tan Son Nhat International Airport while express goods are most of the low value and small items. In particular, the Customs procedure could be done by Express Customs Branch or Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch. It would not affect to the primary mission of import cargo management because goods are held in custody in Customs Clearance Area of express /postal goods. If enterprises choose to complete Customs procedure at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, they will get more obstacles and rising problem of unnecessary procedure which causes wasted cost and slow cargo clearance; even go wrong to the objective of administrative reform in accordance with Resolution 19-2017 / NQ-CP of the Government.

In order to solve these problems, HCM City Customs Department proposed to General Department of Vietnam Customs to allow the Express Customs Branch to carry out customs procedures for goods on the List. In cases where Customs procedures must be carried out at Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch, they will perform similar procedures for temporary import and re-export goods in accordance with the guidance in Official Dispatch No. 1368 / TCHQ-GSQL dated 6/3/2017 of General Department of Vietnam Customs.