970 customs brokers operating

Professional activities at Da Nang port Customs Branch. Photo: N.Linh

According to the Customs Control and Supervision Department, in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had a great impact on import and export activities, so the operation of customs brokers services was also affected.

In 2020, many businesses proposed to suspend or terminate the customs brokers agent operation, in many cases, the staff of customs broker agents cannot be maintained in accordance with regulations for continuing operating.

Accumulated to the end of 2020, the field of customs broker activities had about 970 enterprises (the number of newly arising agents in 2020 was 90) and more than 1,700 individuals had staff codes for implementing customs procedures belonging to these agents.

Notably, in 2020, the General Department of Vietnam Customs terminated customs brokers for 306 agents due to their ineligibility or inability to operate; suspending operation for 338 agents that violated the regime of periodical reporting or failed to operate at the registered address with the customs authorities, the staff’s code was expired as prescribed.

In the management and development of customs broker operations, in 2020, the Customs Control and Supervision Department worked with the Vietnam Customs School to organise the examination for issuing the professional certificate on customs declaration.

This was also the first time the exam for granting professional certificates on customs declaration was held in the form of computer tests. At the end of the exams, the candidates could find test results that are transparent, fair, and there were no reviews and complaints about exam results.