The Customs sector successfully fulfilled 2018 tasks

	Customs sector excellently achieved a revenue of VND 314,777 billion
	Customs sector: A breakthrough year in budget collection
	Customs sector reached 300,000 billion VND in revenue collection

Professional operations at online Customs Supervision Division, Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department under the General Department of Vietnam Customs. Photo: Tuan Anh

Promoting reforms and maximizing facilitation to businesses

In 2018, the General Department of Customs (GDC) focused its resources on drastically implementing solutions to complete the assigned tasks, especially strengthening administrative procedure reforms and thoroughly applying information technology to Customs operations to facilitate import and export activities.

Determining the development of legal policies as an important part in the administrative procedure reform, the GDC has actively coordinated with ministries and branches in building and finalizing draft documents; at the same time, mobilizing human resources and time to develop legal documents in compliance with the order, procedures and guiding documents. Notably, there was the issuance of Decree No. 59/2018 / ND-CP and Circular No. 39/2018 / TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018, which plays a particularly important role for the Customs as well as the Business Community in import and export activities, and is the foundation for implementing all Customs procedures, managing taxes for import and export goods.

Also in 2018, the GDC focused on implementing drastically and synchronously solutions on administrative reform (reforming institutions; controlling administrative procedures; reforming organizational apparatus, improving quality of customs officers and urging ministries and sectors to reform specialized inspection, propagating a and disseminating of laws, holding dialogues with enterprises, guiding, inspecting and rectifying Customs modernization management methods and boosting the IT applications) to shorten customs clearance time of goods across borders.

Specifically, reviewing and evaluating a total of 17 administrative procedures, accordingly submitting to the Ministry for approval to abolish 5 administrative procedures, simplify 9 administrative procedures and remain with 3 administrative procedures. Reviewing and proposing to cut 16/31 customs business conditions (reaching 51.6% of the target assigned by the Government in Resolution No. 19/2018 / NQ-CP). Promptly responding to enterprises' feedbacks and recommendations on regulations and implementation of administrative procedures. In 2018, the GDC continues to measure the time to release goods to self-check its efforts in administrative reform.

It can be seen that the reform of administrative procedures of the Customs sector has made an important contribution to facilitating and reducing compliance costs for enterprises. The propaganda and publicity of administrative procedures help businesses to easily access administrative procedures. Proposal of reducing and simplifying administrative procedures and business conditions in the customs field are expected to save for the Business Community about VND 15 billion/year. State management requirements on Customs are ensured.

It can be realized that promotion of IT application to the Customs operations has contributed to facilitating commercial activities, increasing transparency, reducing time, saving costs and improving competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises. At the same time, improving the capacity of state management on Customs, realizing the objectives of the Vietnam Customs Development Strategy to 2020. This is the driving force for speeding up administrative reform in the Government’s general policy.

Effective anti-revenue loss

In the state budget collection, right from the beginning of 2018, the whole Customs sector actively implemented solutions to increase budget revenue. In particular, the GDC has deployed many synchronous and drastic measures such as: maximizing facilitation to import and export activities of enterprises, reviewing and inspecting goods with high tax rates and big turnover, especially, strengthening the post customs clearance audit (PCA), internal inspection, anti-trade fraud in the Customs process. Therefore, the Customs sector has effectively combated the revenue loss.

Thanks to the above efforts, in 2018, the Customs collected VND 314,907 billion, equal to 111.27% of the estimate, equal to 107.5% of the desired target, up 6% compared to the same period of 2017. This is an excellent result in the implementation of the political tasks of the Customs sector.

Particularly, in PCA terms, the GDC has strengthened the inspection and guided localities in the implementation of PCA. Solving problems related to valuation, origin of goods for local Customs Departments in timely fashion. Directing and guiding 11 provincial and municipal Customs Departments on PCA for cement products; strengthening the inspection of goods origin for imported goods subject to special preferential tax rates in general and goods originating from Australia - New Zealand region in particular.

In 2018, the whole Customs sector conducted 6,320 PCAs of which 1,313 PCAs were at the Customs declarants' offices (reaching 103% of the 2018 target ), 5.007 PCAs were at the Customs offices. The total amount of imposed tax and administrative fines were VND 2,262 billion (down 8% compared to the same period in 2017), and the actual amount (including collected amounts of 2017) contributed to the State budget was VND 2,080 billion, reaching 93% of the target of 2018 (VND 2,235 billion), achieving 107% of the revised target (VND 1,949 billion).

In the risk management task, in 2018, the GDC has focused on implementing many activities: Building and deploying the application of risk management in Customs supervision for export, import and transit goods; risk control for scrap imports; signs of risks of people, luggage and transport means on exit, entry and in transit across roads, sea, railways and inland waterways ... Thereby, contributing to improving efficiency of Customs management and ensuring smooth handling and channel classification, meeting the requirements of automation and electronicization of customs procedures, meeting the objective of harmony between trade facilitation and Customs control.

In particular, an effective tool for anti-revenue loss is anti-smuggling and trade fraud which has been actively and drastically implemented by the GDC. In 2018, the number of violation cases of the Customs law, the number of cases prosecuted by the Customs and transferred to other agencies for prosecution; value of infringing goods related to smuggling, illegal drug trafficking, infringing intellectual property, counterfeit goods and other violations sharply increased over the same period in 2017.

At the same time as the Standing Agency of the Steering Committee 389 of the Ministry of Finance, the GDC has advised the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with ministries, agencies and competent agencies to strengthen the prevention and combat against smuggling, trade frauds, fake goods and illegal cross-border goods transportation; directed units to implement seriously and effectively many important measures, focusing on: developing and finalizing the legal basis; improving the capacity of the anti-smuggling force; investing in modern equipment and facilities; synchronously taking professional measures and strengthening the coordination, inspection and regular control in key areas and sensitive products ...

The Customs sector has launched emulation movement in 2019 VCN- Determining to successfully perform the political tasks in 2019 and emulate to obtain outstanding achievements and ...

Thus, in 2018, the whole Customs control force took the lead and coordinated to detect, arrest, handle 16,633 violations cases of customs law (up 9.54% compared to the same period in 2017); The value of infringing goods was estimated at VND 1,702.4 billion (an increase of 115.61% over the same period in 2017). The state budget remittance amount was nearly VND 351 billion (up 4.83% compared to the same period in 2017). Customs authorities have prosecuted 62 cases (up 21.57% compared to the same period in 2017) and transferred to other agencies for prosecution 133 cases (up 95.59% over the same period in 2017).