Customs control at Bupran and Dak Peur Border Gates face difficult due to lack of equipment

Review infrastructure at each border gate in customs control area

Customs officers of Bupran Border Gate Customs Branch inspect exported alumina products.

In the first six months of 2024, Dak Lak Customs Department, Nguyen Duc Muoi, Manager of the Buprang Border Gate Customs Branch, said that the branch is in charge of managing two land border gates, including Bupran Border Gate and Dak Peur Border Gate in Dak Nong province.

Currently, the number of people moving across Bupran Border Gate is low, mainly border residents visiting their relatives, with an average of about 25 people travelling per day. More than 350 people move across Dak Peur Border Gate per day due to activities at the Casino in Cambodia. Although the luggage, gold, Vietnamese Dong and foreign currency and cash carried by passengers are within the norms for people entering and exiting the country, it is very difficult to track and monitor these subjects.

Mr. Muoi said that Bupran Border Gate and Dak Peur Border Gate still lack many inspection and monitoring equipment such as electronic scales, luggage scanners, surveillance cameras... In addition, the determination of the scope to install instruction signs at border gate areas have not been implemented, and the working place of enforcement units at the border gates has not yet been identified, and the system of instruction signs has not yet been installed. These problems cause difficulties in management in general and in handling customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision in particular of the Customs.

Talking to Customs Magazine, Mr. Muoi also said that “although the number of people moving across Bupran Border Gate is still low, it is expected to increase in the near future, similarly like at Dak Peur Border Gate. Therefore, it is necessary to soon equip luggage scanners and surveillance cameras for the department to ensure inspection and supervision”.

Muoi also said that Dak Peur Border Gate is a national border gate, but vehicles are not allowed to move across the border gate under the Road Transport Agreement between Vietnam and Cambodia. Therefore, Mr. Muoi proposed that Dak Lak Customs Department continue to monitor and report to the People's Committee of Dak Nong Province to propose to the Ministry of Transport and the Government to consider adding the border gate pair of Dak Peur (Dak Nong) and Nam Lia (Mondulkiri) on the list of border gate pairs that allow means of transport to move under the agreement.

Muoi said that the flow of import and export goods, passengers, luggage, means of transport on entry and exit, and goods traded by border residents at Bupran border gate is forecast to increase in the near future, so Bupran Border Gate Customs Branch will strengthen Customs inspection, supervision and control to prevent and combat smuggling, trade fraud, and illegal transportation of goods across the border. Accordingly, the branch will maintain and improve the effectiveness of coordination with local government and relevant agencies in exchanging information, grasping the status, and taking measures to control goods and means of transport.

Bupran Border Gate Customs Branch will focus on disseminating legal policies related to import-export and immigration activities to organizations, individuals and the business community in the locality to raise awareness, comply with the law, actively fight and denounce crimes.

At the same time, the branch will regularly monitor and request officers to follow regulations in public service performance; and coordinate with relevant units in the area to strictly control import-export, immigration, and prevent smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across borders.