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The seminar for consultation with businesses on “the Draft Circular regulating criteria for compliance assessment and the organization in charge of legal compliance assessment of businesses in import, export and transit of goods” held by VCCI and the General Department of Vietnam Customs on 4th December 2018.

Consultation for policy improvement

Sharing the desire of the business community on consultation solutions to remove shortcomings and inadequacies, Mr. Nguyen Duc Dung-Deputy Director of Center for Customs Consultancy and Services – Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that a good Customs-business partnership required mutual trust. In order to build mutual trust, consultation is an important solution that needs to be improved.

According to Mr. Dung, in order to promote consultation, the General Department of Vietnam Customs should establish a consultancy unit from the General Department level to the Department level, and that after a consultation it must meet requirements, the Customs must issue an acceptable and believable result and solutions thereinafter which is direct settlement or settlement by court. The consultation must give specific results that the business can believe in” - Mr. Dung said.

Over the past time, with the expectation that more and more legal policies and regulations are close to reality, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has paid attention to listening, receiving feedback of the business community and people in planning and developing Customs law.

Besides the traditional method such as the collection and analysis of problems of the business community to improve legal policies, gathering comments from the business community on drafts supplementing and amending legal policies, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has focused on business consultation. Accordingly, the consultations were held at localities where the import and export of businesses are directly handled; At the central level, the consultations are regularly and periodically held with business associations, organized under schemes and targeted businesses which are being directly affected by new or amended and supplemented regulations.

In many cases, the Customs and businesses have coordinated to understand the practical models of business production and management of businesses to develop policies and regulations in line with reality. The Customs has also appreciated comments from the businesses and directly responded and explained by official letters for the business community to easily access, monitor and counter. The business community has appreciated the solutions by the Customs and actively participated in the consultation and development of Customs policies over the past time.

Consultation should be attached to Customs reform

At local Customs departments, as per preliminary data from provincial and municipal customs departments, there were 2,400 consultations in the country. For example, Dong Nai Customs Department held 3 consultations to remove shortcomings in law enforcement. Specifically, it consulted Hoanh Son Group about the handling of C/O form D for the group’s coal import; consulted Manh Hung Trading & Service Production Co., Ltd, on registration of Customs procedure; consulted Gia Phat Furniture Company Limited about the registration of customs procedures. The number of consultations to implement solutions for the process improvement (e-tax payment, automated system for Customs management) is two, including: consultation with Anh Phong Transport Service Co., Ltd, on the deployment of the Vietnam Automated System for Customs management (VASSCM) at ports, warehouses and yards; consultation with Duong Dong-Sai Gon Joint Stock Company on inspection and supervision for petroleum depots in Hoa Phu when deploying the VASSCM at ports, warehouses and yards.

At Da Nang Customs Department, in order to deploy the Scheme on the automated system for Customs management under the Plan 4098/KH-TCHQ of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, on April 2018, Da Nang Customs Department held a consulting meeting with bond warehouse and yard operators at Tien Sa Seaport in Da Nang to reach a consensus. From the results of consultations and surveys with businesses to evaluate the IT Infrastructure availability and connectivity between the business’ system and the Customs’ VASSCM, Da Nang Customs Department has connected the system with bond warehouse and yard operators in Da Nang City.

In addition, Customs Branches held 3 consulting meetings to introduce new documents, related issues, discuss and solve businesses’ problems in Customs procedures; introduce some new points in Decree 59/2018 ND-CP and Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC, Circular 38/2018/TT-BTC and discuss and solve problems of businesses in Customs procedures.

At Binh Duong Customs Department, the department held 275 consultations on solving problems in law enforcement, 5 consultations on handling shortcomings in coordinating with relevant units in Customs procedures, 10 consultations on deployment of measures to improve procedures (e-tax payment, automated system for Customs management).

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According to Hoang Dinh Trung, Deputy Director of Customs Reform and Modernization Board, the Customs business consultation is increasingly effective. This is the method to develop and improve policies and regulations in line with reality. The General Department of Vietnam Customs issued regulations to instruct provincial and municipal customs departments in organizing professional consultations. The consultations are not only about policies, but also about many other aspects, especially in daily operation of the Customs authority at all levels, and in the import and export activities . If the Customs actively approaches and participates in consultations, it will promptly solve specific problems and it is important to reach the consensus or solutions for problems. The success of a consultation requires the participation, contribution and cooperation from the business community.