“Post clearance audit” contributed hundreds of billion VND to State revenue

Customs authorities controlled the pre-clearance stage, clearance and post-clearance stages to facilitate the lawful import and export activities of enterprises. Photo: Q.H

Implementing many special subjects

By implementing Directive No. 723/CT-TCHQ on trade facilitation and loss prevention, General Department of Vietnam Customs assigned tasks to the force of post clearance audit to conduct 1,356 on-site cases (Post clearance audit Department conducted 150 cases) and 207 cases on law compliance of enterprises (Post clearance audit Department conducted 62 cases).

To complete the tasks, PCA Department and the whole PCA forces have deployed solutions to promote the PCA activities. In 2019, leaders of General Department of Vietnam Customs assigned PCA Department to research and deploy special subjects of PCA to enhance the work of fighting trade fraud.

Some highlights of special subjects of PCA for FDI enterprises were imported raw cashew products for processing, export production and anti-transfer price.

In addition, some special subjects of PCA under the type of import-export business were bonded warehouses; operating business of duty-free goods type of G13; export goods with Vietnamese C/O, minerals are on spotexport and import; against fraudulent origin, counterfeit of goods labels and illegal transfer of goods from China, South Korea and Taiwan to be exported to the US.

On the other hand, through receiving information and recommendations from ministries and sectors, the Customs force also deployed the special subject of PCA for key goods such as imported automobiles (according to the recommendations of the State Audit); galvanised iron and colour coated steel (according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade).

The representative of PCA Department (General Department of Vietnam Customs) said the unit has collected information, analysed data, completed a number of special subjects and continued to implement the remaining special subjects. As a result, the department has unmasked many violations under the special subjects of galvanised iron and colour coated steel, special subject of imported automobiles, conducted tax assessment, sanctioned administrative violations, late payment fines with the amount of more than 12 billion VND and transferred the list of enterprises in the special subjects for local customs departments to supervise, analyse and implement post clearance audit.

In the first six months of the year, the PCA Department has conducted 138 on-site, achieveing by 92 percent of the targetin 2019, reaching nearly double result over the same period in 2018. Through the inspection, the unit has conducted tax assessment and sanctioned administrative violations of 333.6 billion VND, equal to 37 percent of the same period of 2018; already actually collected (including previous year's debt collection) 230 billion VND, equal to 46 percent of the same period in 2018.

Increase in quantity and quality

According to the plan of reform and modernisation of the Customs sector, in the future, it is necessary to build the PCA system in the overall development strategy of Vietnam Customs to be modern, professional and specialised up to international standards.

Accordingly, the work of PCA is a unified and effective operation from the General Department of Vietnam Customs to local customs departments on the basis of applying IT and risk management methods, meeting the management requirements and the development and modernisation needs of the Customs sector.

Customs inspections would be transferred from pre-inspection to post-clearance audit, ensuring consistency in controlling the pre-clearance stage, clearance and post-clearance stages to facilitate the lawful import and export activities of enterprises but still ensure the requirements of State management in customs.

According to the PCA Department, to implement the above plan, it must promote the implementation of PCA activities in both quantity and quality on the basis of fully applying the model of compliance management, risk management techniques and applying IT maximally, implementing PCA, strengthening information exchange with relevant agencies and units to avoid duplication, facilitating the import and export activities of enterprises.

At the same time, finishing the legal system and implementation process of PCA to ensure the consistency with relevant legal documents, meet the requirements of IT application, risk management and compliance with international standards is very important.

Also, focusing on training to improve professional qualifications for customs official performing tasks of the PCA to ensure professional and effective activities is a focus, as well as being fully equipped with facilities and conditions to guarantee the performance of PCA activities.