Continue to warn enterprises importing scrap with signs of violation

	There will be coordination regulations to control imported scrap
	The list of scraps permitted for import will be issued in January 2019
	Inspecting 20 imported scrap containers

Plastic waste that is not eligible for import was discovered by Hai Phong Customs, seized in August 2018. Photo: Ngoc Linh.

Many businesses are close to being warned

One of the cases attracting public attention recently, regarding Trung Thanh Import Export Trading Service Co., Ltd (Trung Thanh Company - based in Dong Thap).

Trung Thanh company was granted 2 certificates of eligibility for scrap import in 2010 on December 31, 2013 by Dong Thap Department of Natural Resources and Environment; No. 2221 on December 19, 2014 and a certificate of eligibility for scrap import No. 557 on March 11, 2016.

In particular, certificate No. 2221 expired on December 19 2015, and the 557 certificate was signed on March 11, 2016. Thus, during the period from December 20, 2015 to March 10, 2016, Trung Thanh Company is not eligible to import scrap. But during this time, a Deputy Director of Dong Thap Department of Natural Resources and Environment still signed a number of documents informing about the shipment of imported scrap so that this company could use it to import scrap materials.

Regarding this incident, on March 18, in an interview with a reporter an officer of the Criminal Investigation Team - Team 7 (Department of Smuggling Investigation) said: Continuing investigation and verification of scrap import violation cases, the unit has been and continues to verify many cases.

For the case of Trung Thanh Company, the process of investigation and verification of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department found that the business has stopped operating since mid-2016.

“The business stopped working makes it difficult to collect related documents. Currently, the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department is cooperating with the authorities to continue to verify this case"- the source said.

Waste situation is still in hot

In addition to the case of Trung Thanh Company, the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department is continuing to investigate and verify some businesses showing signs of wrongdoing in importing scrap in the north.

With the strict control policy of many of the world's largest scrap importers, the risk of violations related to scrap imports in Vietnam is forecasted to continue to be complicated.

According to the Customs Administration Department (General Department of Customs), from January 1, 2019, China continues to add 8 categories of scrap to the list of banned imports (up from 24 categories in 2018 to 32 categories).

Notably, Malaysia, which is at the top of the list of plastic scrap importers in the world, has almost cut most of the list of scrap permitted to be imported in 2019.

Due to the import prohibition policies of surrounding countries and the top of scrap imports, the Administration Supervision Department predicted the trend in 2019, with imported scrap continuing to increasingly come to Vietnam, and there is the possibility of smuggling via road.

In fact, in the last months of 2017 and in the first 6 months of 2018, when China instigated a policy to prohibit the import of 24 types of scrap, because many types of plastic scraps have a high risk of causing environmental pollution, and the amount of plastic scrap imports into Vietnam increased dramatically. Only in the first 6 months of 2018, Vietnam imported 274.7 thousand tons of plastic scrap, up more than 200% compared to the same period in 2017, and by more than 70% of the total import volume of 2017.

The situation will only be improved when from July 2018, the General Department of Customs directed the attached units to strengthen inspection and control by carrying out the actual inspections of imported scrap, and since then, the amount of plastic scrap imported to Vietnam has decreased markedly. In the last 6 months of 2018, the total amount of plastic scrap imported to Vietnam is only 107.1 thousand tons, down more than 250% compared to the first 6 months of 2018.

Especially, in recent times, especially in 2018, Customs authorities have been in charge of detecting and prosecuting many cases of violations related to importing scrap.

On the other hand, according to the Department of Customs Management Supervision, the evaluation of economic and environmental organizations in the world shows that in 2017, Vietnam is the world's fourth largest market for importing plastic scraps (after China, Hong Kong and Malaysia), but by 2018 when China banned the import of 24 types of scrap plastic, the amount imported into China and Hong Kong has fallen by more than 90% compared to 2017, while Vietnam suddenly became the 2nd largest market in the list of the largest plastic scrap importers in the world after Malaysia.

In the past time and forecast as mentioned above, the General Department of Customs is actively and proactively implementing management measures. Thereby, on the one hand, it facilitates enterprises that have demand and meet the conditions of import to get quick customs clearance of qualified shipments to serve production needs, and strictly controlling and detecting promptly, to strictly handle violations.

The Customs continues to strictly control the scrap import VCN- China and Malaysia-the leading countries in importing scrap, continue to strictly control the import of this ...

For the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, in addition to focusing on verifying and handling violations, currently, under the direction of the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs is focusing on building interdisciplinary coordination regulations on import management of imported scrap submitted to the Prime Minister for signing.