Breakthrough in reform of Customs procedures at Tan Son Nhat International Airport

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Most passengers go through the Green Door. Photo: T.H.

Quicker and more convenient

In accordance with the Government's Resolution No. 19-2017 / NQ-CP of 6^th February 2017 on continuing the implementation of major tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and raise the national competitiveness, in recent times, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department and the Customs Branch of Tan Son Nhat International Airport have proposed various measures to modernize and reform the Customs procedures and create the courteous environment for quick clearance for the import and export of business and luggage of passengers on entry and exit.

Mr. Le Tuan Binh, the Deputy Head of the Customs Branch of Tan Son Nhat International Airport said that as one of the leading units in reforming administrative procedures and Customs modernization, from March 2017, the Customs Branch of Tan Son Nhat International Airport has deployed the "Green Door" and "Red Door" to maximize the convenience and shorten time for procedures for passengers on entry, in accordance with international practice, towards the goal of attracting investment, trade and tourism.

Accordingly, at the international terminal gate, there are two gates named "Green Door" (Nothing to declare) and two red gates with electronic instructions - "Red Door" (Goods to declare). The "Green Door" is applicable to passengers who do not have to declare goods, or customs authorities do not have questions, passengers will move through the "Green Door" to enter the country without having to take time to check. Checking customs luggage. Accordingly, after passengers complete the immigration procedures from the border police, they only need to take luggage at the conveyor belt and go out, instead of having to pass through the area of ​​luggage scanners of Customs to test as before. Currently, most passengers (about 95% of them for each flight) are cleared through the Green Door and must be responsible themselves according to the Law for their declared behavior.

Improving self-awareness

Currently, less than 5% of visitors on each flight must pass "Red Door" to check baggage. In the first case, passengers have to declare goods according to regulations, including: Have checked baggage before or after the trip; goods in excess of the duty-free status specified in Article 6 of Decree 134/2016 / ND-CP of the Government. Specifically, alcohol of 20 alc/vol or more: 1.5 liters or less than 20 alc/vol: 2 liters, or alcoholic, beer: 3 liters; Cigarettes: 200 cigars or cigarettes: 250 grams or cigars: 20 cigarettes; personal items with the quantity and type suitable for the purpose of the trip; other items with a total Customs value not exceeding VND 10 million; foreign currencies valued at over USD 5,000 or other foreign currencies of equivalent value or carrying over 15 million VND stipulated in Circular No. 15/2011 / TT-NHNN of the State Bank; bringing 300gram or more of gold jewelry, fine art; carrying conditional import goods as regulated by the Government and ministries. In the second case, the Customs office suspected violations and requested passengers to switch to Red Door for inspections. In this case, passengers must open their luggage and present it to the Customs office.

Each time, the passenger will base himself on his / her cargo status to select "Red Door" or "Green Door" to move. At each "Green Door" there will be Customs officers instructing passengers and he/ she will decide to move the channel to "Red Door" to check if there are signs of suspicion.

According to Mr. Le Tuan Binh, the Customs Law stipulates that Customs declarants to have the duty: "Make customs declaration and carry out Customs procedures; provide full, accurate information; take responsibility under the Law for the truthfulness of the declared contents; implement the decisions and requests of Customs offices in carrying out Customs procedures. " If passengers fail to abide such measures, they may be applied such as the temporary detention of persons or the temporary seizure of goods to be administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability according to the provisions of law, depending on the cases and nature of the violation cases. In fact, since the implementation, most Vietnamese passengers and foreign visitors have felt comfortable, happy, satisfied with the inspection process of Tan Son Nhat airport. There are people who are surprised because they do not think Customs procedures are as simple as that, even those who have to go through the Red Door to check out feel very comfortable. They are aware that the aviation sector always requires a very high security, the Customs inspection is inevitable so they feel normal and willing to cooperate.

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However, there were also some cases of passengers due to lack of knowledge of the law having reacted. Accordingly, they did not fulfill their obligations or cooperate with the Customs. “Thus, each passenger before departure, enter the country should thoroughly understand and strictly comply with the Law of Vietnam, especially Customs legislation on import and export policy, fulfill the obligations of customs declarants; comply with the requirements of the Customs when carrying out entry and exit procedures, thereby creating favourable conditions for Customs officers to fulfill their assigned tasks well", Mr. Le Tuan Binh said.