Ba Ria – Vung Tau Customs: Pressure from revenue collection in final months of 2020

Ba Ria - Vung Tau Customs officials checked imported goods. Photo: N.Huế

Revenue collection decreases by 15%

In 2020, Ba Ria – Vung Tau Customs Department was assigned the target to collect VND 20,000 billion. However, as of August 18, the revenue collection only reached VND 10,236 billion, down 15% over the same period in 2019 and completed 51% of current appropriation in 2020.

In the first seven months of 2020, the import – export turnover at Ba Ria – Vung Tau Customs Department fell by nearly $1.2 billion over the same period in 2019, equivalent to a decrease of 14%, only reaching more than $7.5 billion. Import turnover decreased 10%, only reach $4.75 billion while the export turnover reduces 19%, only reaching more than $2.8 billion.

According to the leader of Ba Ria – Vung Tau Customs Department, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for raw materials for manufacturing domestically steel products decreased, along with the impact of the policy tightening imported iron and steel scrap. The application of anti-dumping taxes on some steel products originating from China and South Korea leads to increased costs, enterprises reduce export volume, and switch to buying domestic materials and products. Besides, the US announced it would impose import duties on steel products originating from South Korea and Taiwan (China), which moved to Vietnam for processing before export to the US hence it also affected the import and export turnover of this product.

The items with a sharp decrease include import turnover include aluminum and products with a reduction of more than 90%; hides and leathers decreased by some 30%, iron and steel and iron and steel products decreased by nearly 20%. Import machinery and equipment also plummeted as several investment projects in the area have gone into a completion stage, putting into operation as projects of Hyosung Vina Chemical Co., Ltd., Zinc Oxide Corporation VN Co., Ltd. and Heineken Vietnam Brewery Co., Ltd. Meanwhile, some projects are in their early stages, the import of machinery and equipment is limited as the project of the Petrochemical complex in the south of Vietnam project.

In terms of exports, many key commodities in the province have also witnessed a sharp drop in export turnover such as crude oil fell nearly 30%; hides and leather decreased 22%; and iron, steel and products decreased by more than 30%.

Pressure in the last months of the year

With the achievements in State revenue collection, from now to the end of 2020, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Customs Department still has to collect VND 9,764 billion before completing assigned targets. This is huge pressure when it is just only five months until the end of the year, while the Covid-19 pandemic has arisen again in some localities and continues to develop complicatedly in many major markets.

Ba Ria - Vung Tau Customs Department forecast that the revenues of many items in the second half of the year would be even lower than at the beginning of the year. As for export crude oil, revenue collection in the first six months reached VND 1,295 billion, but according to the plan of the Vietnam Oil Corporation, it is anticipated in the second half of the year, revenue would only reach VND 1,186 billion. Revenue collected from iron and steel is anticipated to decrease to VND 459 billion, liquefied gas will decrease by nearly VND 50 billion, agricultural products such as corn, wheat, palm oil, dried oil also drop by nearly VND 190 billion, coal dropped by nearly VND 170 billion.

Facing the above situation, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Customs Department has implemented many solutions to achieve the highest results of State revenue collection. In particular, focusing on facilitating import-export activities through administrative reform and the modernisation of customs management. Leaders of units also actively handle and remove difficulties and problems in import-export activities within its competence and report any difficulties and arising problems exceeding their authority for guidance.

As well as facilitating, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Customs Department also strengthened tax management. The unit will focus on closely monitoring the situation of tax collection, tax debt collection, avoid incurring overdue debts; against revenue loss through checking tax value calculation value, imposing of commodity codes and tax rates, especially for items with high tax rates and large import-export turnover.