Customs seizes smuggled goods and infringing products worth VND31,000 billion

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On December 25, 2024, Hai Phong Customs coordinated with enforcement forces to seize 1 container of used air conditioners on the list of prohibited imports. Photo: T.Binh.

Smuggling activities take place complicatedly on routes and regimes

The General Department of Vietnam Customs Department (GDVC), the smuggling, trade fraud took place complicatedly in 2024 on routes, regimes, locations, and even in cyberspace.

Infringing goods are not only produced domestically but also produced abroad, then transported into the domestic market for consumption through many different channels.

Notably, smugglers have abused business models on e-commerce platforms, social networks, postal and express delivery activities, and used sophisticated tricks for smuggling, trading in counterfeit goods, low-quality goods, and goods of unknown origin.

At the northern border, many smugglers have taken advantage of trade facilitation policies to illegally trade and transport goods across the border.

At the central border, the violations mainly are illegal trading and transportation of firecrackers, wild animals, petroleum products, sugar, alcohol, beer, electronics, and drugs.

Notably, smugglers have used tricks to trade banned and smuggled products such as transporting goods with small volume or transporting them by motorbike, passenger car, and light-duty vehicles from the border into the domestic arears for consumption, and operating on holidays, festivals…

The smuggling has taken place in the southern land border route such as smuggling firecrackers, cigarettes, sugar, money, gold, foreign currency, cosmetics ...

Smugglers have taken advantage of the flat terrain, divided goods into small volume to illegally transport goods at night or early morning.

The smuggling has taken place in major ports in Hai Phong, HCM City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, with the high volume of infringing goods. On the central sea route, drugs with GPS trackers drifting at sea.

The smuggling has occurred on on international airports such as: Noi Bai (Hanoi), Tan Son Nhat (HCM City), Da Nang, Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa).

Infringing goods mainly are money, foreign currency, gold, diamonds, cigarettes, precursors, drugs, goods infringing intellectual property rights and other consumer goods...

Subjects often take advantage of postal and express delivery services, hand-carried goods, gifts, donations, checked baggage... to smuggle and illegally transport goods.

In areas outside the border gates in industrial zones, there is a situation of “using tax-exempt goods for the wrong purpose without declaring the change of purpose to the Customs” to evade taxes.

About 18,000 violations are arrested

Following direction of the Government, the National Steering Committee 389, the Steering Committee 138/CP, and the Ministry of Finance, the GDVC has concretized and implemented key and key plans and programs in each locality, aiming to warn and guide localities on control and anti-smuggling.

The GDVC has implemented key plans such as deploying customs control in 2024; fighting against smuggling of counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights in 2024; fighting against smuggling and illegal transportation of gold and currency across the border, etc.

The GDVC has issued 30 documents directing on implementing customs control in the whole sector for a number of hot items such as: gold, pharmaceuticals, medicinal herbs; animals, animal products; electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco; Ketamine; drugs of all kinds on sea and air routes...

The GDVC has advised the Steering Committee 389 of the Ministry of Finance, the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 389 in issuing and providing guidance to promptly detect violations and hot items.

The GDVC has advised the issuance of the Plan for the peak period of combating smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods before, during and after the Lunar New Year of At Ty in 2025 of the Steering Committee 389 of the Ministry of Finance and the issuance of the Plan for the peak period of combating smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods before, during and after the Lunar New Year of At Ty in 2025 of the GDVC.

As of December 15, the Customs sector has detected, arrested and handled 17,998 violations, with the total value of infringing goods estimated at VND 31,351 billion, an increase of 12.54% in the number of cases and 151.3% in the value of infringing goods compared to the same period in 2023.

The Customs has prosecuted 27 cases, transferred 173 cases to other agencies for prosecution; collected VND893.21 billion, an increase of 79.4% over the same period in 2023.