“Tax policies and customs procedures in the running of EVFTA”: Take the opportunity to break through successfully

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The seminar: Photo: Thai Binh

Catch opportunities promptly

The seminar was attended by Deputy General Director of Customs, LuuManhTuong; Mr. Nguyen Hai Minh, Vice President of EuroCham; Mr. Ywert Visser, EuroCham Vice-chairman of EuroCham; Mr. Lee Chul Hee, Deputy General Director in charge of finance of Samsung Vietnam; Mr. Park Sung Geun and Deputy General Director in charge of External Communications of Samsung Vietnam; and leaders of the units: International Cooperation Department - Ministry of Finance; Multilateral Trade Policy Department - Ministry of Industry and Trade; Department of Agro-product Processing and Market Development - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and leaders of units under the General Department of Customs (Customs Management Supervision Department, Import and Export Tax Department and International Cooperation Department ) and about 130 enterprises and business associations.

Speaking at the opening of the seminar, Editor-in-chief of Customs Newspaper and Head of the organizing committee of the seminar, Vu Thi Anh Hong, said that from August 1, 2020, the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to take effect, marking the end of the nearly 10-year process after officially starting the negotiation of the agreement.

Editor-in-chief of Customs Newspaper and head of the organizing committee of the seminar, Vu Thi Anh Hong spoke at the seminar. Photo: Thai Binh

The EVFTA will promote two-way trade, especially in the context of the world economy, including Vietnam, which is facing many difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Along with that is the protectionism trend and increasingly complicated trade wars among major economies.

“Customs Newspaper coordinated with EuroCham to organize this seminar to create a forum to exchange information between management agencies and the business community about opportunities and challenges in the EVFTA, thereby helping enterprises grasp and maximize benefits from the agreement, including tax policies, customs procedures and rules of origin (C/O),” said Editor-in-chief Vu Thi Anh Hong.

Speaking at the seminar, Deputy General Director of the General Department of Customs LuuManhTuongsaid that, among the free trade agreements Vietnam has signed and implemented, EVFTA is considered a comprehensive and high-quality agreement that ensures the balance of interests for both Vietnam and the EU, in accordance with the provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Deputy Director of the General Department of Customs LuuManhTuong evaluated the agreement to promote two-way trade. Photo: Thai Binh

Deputy Director General LuuManhTuong said that according to research by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the EVFTA will help Vietnam's export turnover to the EU increase by about 20% by 2020; 42.7% in 2025 and 44.37% in 2030 compared to the absence of the EVFTA, contributing to increasing Vietnam's GDP at an average of 2.18 - 3.25% (2019 – 2023); 4.57 - 5.3% (2024 – 2028) and 7.07 - 7.72% (2029 – 2033).

A specific tax reduction roadmap right after the EVFTA comes into effect brings benefits to both sides, nearly 100% of Vietnam's exports to the EU will have import duties eliminated after a short period. This is the highest level of commitment Vietnam has gained in signed FTAs so far. This is especially meaningful when the EU is continuously one of the two largest export markets of our country today.

“Under the EVFTA, the Customs sector is committed to creating the most favorable conditions for businesses in the customs process. The Customs sector has been actively reforming administrative procedures, modernizing customs, perfecting customs legislation, contributing to improving the business environment and national competitiveness of the economy and businesses,” the General Department of Customs' leader said.

Regarding solutions to support businesses, Deputy Director General LuuManhTuong said that in recent years, the Customs sector has launched some programs to support the business community such as: Customs-Business partnership; authorized economic operator; Customs-business dialogues at all levels; consultation of businesses on lawmaking; further improvement of cross-border trade transaction index; specialized inspection reform and playing a leading role in building and implementing the National Single Window and ASEAN Single Window.

"The Customs sector is also redesigning the information technology system to adapt to the fourth industrial revolution and better meet the requirements of intra-industry management and business service," Deputy General Director LuuManhTuong said.

Maximize benefits

Accompanying Customs Newspaper to organize this event, EuroCham's representative, Mr. Nguyen Hai Minh appreciated the idea of ​​the General Department of Customs and Customs Newspaper about organizing this seminar. The seminar is of great significance for businesses on both sides, with the aim of sharing issues of concern to businesses when implementing the EVFTA.

The Editor-in-chief of Customs Newspaper awarded flowers and souvenirs to thank the donors. Photo: Thai Binh

The EuroCham representative said that the seminar was attended by many EuroChammembers, they hope to receive support from the state management agencies and customs agency regarding the implementation of the agreement, especially on the issue of certification of origin for imports from Europe, or the application of preferential tariffs of the agreement.“From the EuroCham members' opinions, European investors are currently interested in three key factors of Vietnam to attract investment, including improving infrastructure, quality of human resources and investment environment, especially administrative reforms in the field of customs. When advocating for the ratification of the agreement in Europe, one of the issues that the European Commission and the European Parliament are most concerned about is Vietnam's commitmentson trade facilitation for import and export activities,” Mr. Nguyen Hai Minh said.

In the framework of the seminar, the speakers as managers and experts will focus on exchanging and clarifying the following contents: Vietnam's tax policy and roadmap with the implementation of EVFTA; EVFTA - import and export of Vietnamese goods: opportunities and challenges; rules of origin in EVFTA; customs-related commitments in the EVFTA; mutual administrative support in the field of customs in implementing EVFTA; which direction for Vietnamese agricultural products to implement EVFTA?; import and export duties and the impact of the EVFTA on state budget revenues; experience sharing on the EU market and cooperation and export capacity building of enterprises on both sides.

Customs Newspaper will continue to update information to readers.