Customs-Business Partnership: Close cooperation

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The Deputy Director General of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Mr. Vu Ngoc Anh and the Chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, Mr. Ho Nghia Dung signed a cooperation agreement (June, 2016). (Photo: N.Linh).

Larger quantities, more efficiency

According to the Customs Reform and Modernization Board, under the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in 2014 and 2015, Customs signed 31 cooperation agreements with business associations and other associations in the exchange of information, supporting the implementation of Customs procedures. In the first 6 months of 2016, Customs continued to maintain and establish regular partnerships with 44 associations. Recently, the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Vietnam Steel Association signed a cooperation agreement; the Hai Phong Department of Customs signed agreements on coordination regulations to handle difficulties with 19 business associations; and the Dong Nai Department of Customs signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Japanese Business Association in HCM City, etc. In the near future, Customs authorities at all levels will continue to actively implement the above agreements and expand to many other associations.

Unlike enterprises, associations normallly have hundreds of members, with all sectors and industries. Therefore, the connection between Customs and associations will facilitate the business community with a comprehensive, fast and efficient environment. Regarding the advantages of signing agreements, Mr. Nguyen Van Sua, the vice chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association said that the Association had more than 100 members, active in steel business and manufacture. Moreover, the steel is potential item, which has had gradual growth over the years. Therefore, with support from Customs, the export and import of this item always has an advantage.

According to Mr. Sua, before and after signing the agreement, Customs authorities regularly coordinated with the Association to organize training sessions and dialogues to answer and remove problems for businesses; for example, Customs held a training course for members of the Vietnam Steel Association on HS codes and import-export procedures. Besides, Customs provides information for the Association and its members on the situation of export-import of steel, steel prices, trade fraud and smuggling of steel, in order to prevent these illegal activities.

Frequently receiving support from Customs authorities, Mr. Nguyen Duy Minh, the General Secretary of the Vietnam Logistics Association said that although two parties just discussed an agreement, Customs authorities provided much support for members of the Association. Logistics is the field directly related to Customs. Thanks to the partnership mechanism, not only are Customs procedures simplified, but Customs officers also express a more positive and friendly attitude. Moreover, if the Vietnam Logistics Association have questions, the staff and leaders of Customs always hold training sessions and dialogues to solve problems for enterprises.

Further efforts from both sides

Although the cooperation between Customs and enterprises is increasingly promoting efficiency, enterprises and associations expect the cooperation to be flexibile, meeting the requirements of the development of economic sectors. Mr. Nguyen Van Sua expected that the cooperation would be developed more actively in the future for enterprises to gain advantages. Because laws and regulations are always updated, Customs should develop a mechanism to provide information more quickly, creating favourable conditions for the business community. Moreover, many enterprises and associations proposed that Customs should build more efficient communication channels for receiving and processing feedback, reflection, proposals, and suggestions from the business community, such as: hotline, a portal page, and suggestion boxes.

In order to cooperate more effectively, Mr. Nguyen Hai, the General Secretary of the Vietnam Sugar Association said, despite a cooperation agreement, the Association and Customs authorities built mechanisms on providing information about the price of sugar, and the statistics on exports and imports. However, Mr. Hai suggested that a Customs-Business partnership needs to be built for each association and sector because every association has specific characteristics.

On the other hand, along with efforts from Customs authorities, associations should encourage their members to actively participate in action programs. Because, currently, many enterprises tend to assign unexperienced staff to attend seminars and training courses, which leads to inefficiency.

Customs-Business partnership: Cooperate to operate more efficiently VCN- The Customs-Business partnership program is still implemented by Customs authorities to promote relationships and facilitate enterprises ...

Therefore, for the Customs-Business partnership to be effective, there is a need for effort from both sides. Both sides need to be proactive to operate for the goal of general development, contributing to economic growth.