Changes in clearance time of goods at Hai Phong port

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The clearance time of goods at Hai Phong port is reduced significantly. Photo: Huu Linh.

Imports: around 24 hours; and exports: 3 hours

According to the results of measurement conducted by the Hai Phong Customs Department, on average, the clearance time of imported goods was 24 hours 36 minutes 34 seconds (from the time of receiving Customs declarations to the time of clearance or release of goods); and the clearance time of exported goods was 3 hours. According to the Hai Phong Customs Department, the clearance time of goods has been significantly improved compared to the results of the first 6 months of 2016. Specifically, the average clearance time in the first 6 months of 2016 for imported goods was 27 hours 59 minutes; and the average clearance time in the first 6 months of 2016 for exported goods was 3 hours 36 minutes. Thus, the average clearance time of imported goods decreased by 3 hours 22 minutes 27 seconds; and the average clearance time of exported goods decreased by 36 minutes.

Notably, compared to the results on the clearance time of goods across borders published by the World Bank (WB) in 2016, the time of conducting Customs procedures in Hai Phong was much lower. According to the results of the World Bank, the time of conducting Customs procedures for imported goods in Vietnam was 62 hours and 58 hours for exported goods, ranked at 4^th in the ASEAN, after Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

The measurement of clearance time of goods conducted by the Hai Phong Customs Department was in accordance with the guidance of the General Department of Vietnam Customs and 9 subordinate Customs Branches in 1 week. Accordingly, in 1 week, 9 Customs Branches had 13,971 registered declarations of imported goods, with 13,902 declarations to be analyzed. In particular, the number of declarations cleared at the border gate was 12,976 units, with only 926 declarations for storage. Meanwhile, the number of exported declarations within 1 week was 9,875 declarations.

Identifying "bottlenecks"

In addition to the synthesis and analysis of clearance times, the Hai Phong Customs Department has also identified the factors delaying the process of clearance of goods. In particular, at the stage of receiving records, a number of enterprises transmitted data before the goods arrived at Hai Phong port. On the other hand, many enterprises registered Customs declarations but delayed the submission of documents to Customs officers; or the case where Customs declarations needed to be modifed, adjusted and supplemented, enterprises processed documents quite slowly. For the time of physical inspections of goods, the Hai Phong Customs Department said one of the main problems was the capacity of the container scanning system failing to meet the actual demand. Meanwhile, the time of physical inspections of Customs officers in the warehouses was largely impacted by the collaboration of enterprises as well as service agencies in warehouses (including transportation services such as forklifts to move containers).

In particular, at ​​Hai Phong port, there have been many enterprises using the services of Customs brokers not on the list of Customs agents. These Customs brokers were unfamiliar with conducting Customs procedures, with limited qualifications, so the time of Customs clearance for imported and exported goods at Hai Phong port was extended more than usual, affecting the clearance time of the whole Department.

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In order to tackle these difficulties and reduce the clearance time, the Hai Phong Customs Department has proposed to the General Department of Vietnam Customs to retrofit container scanning systems and arrange convenient stations at Hai Phong port; enhance the system of Customs agents to prevent weak Customs brokers who are not trained about Customs procedures; and focus on the promotion of the provisions of the Customs Law to guide the business community to comply with the Law.