Customs proactively and regularly removes problems for businesses

	What makes difficulties for Customs sector in budget collection?
	The Customs sector actively listens to voices from the business community

Mrs. Tran Thi Thuy Hoa, Deputy Director of GDVC's Legal Department.

Could you tell us about goals and solutions implemented by the Customs industry to support enterprises to overcome challenges?

Recently, the complicated development of the world, the high increase in inflationary pressure in the domestic market, and strong fluctuation of raw material prices, have negatively affected the business production of enterprises in general and import-export enterprises in particular.

Motivated by the goal of supporting businesses, the GDVC always actively submits to competent authorities and implements Customs reform and modernization, promotes IT application, completes legal documents to facilitate the international trade; removes and supports enterprises to overcome difficulties, stabilize business production activities.

On January 31, GDVC’s Director General issued Decision No. 123/QD-TCHQ assigning targets of administrative reform, simplifying customs procedures, and facilitating trade in 2023. Accordingly, the GDVC proposed 10 groups of reform targets and offered specific solutions for implementation.

Notably, the GDVC provides solutions to reduce 5% of the rate of declarations classified into the Red channel; reduce by 10% of customs clearance and release time; reduce by 20% of shipments subject to be sampled for analysis and classification; increase by 20% the number of businesses voluntarily participating in the program to support and encourage businesses to voluntarily comply with customs laws compared with 2022.

The solutions aim to effectively deploy the VASSCM system to simplify procedures for transporting goods out of warehouses, yards and ports, reduce contact between the Customs and businesses, shorten people’s moving time, overcome congestion at port gates, warehouses, and yards...

The specific solutions are “leverages” to create favorable conditions for businesses to improve competitiveness, achieve growth, and regain recovery momentum in production and business activities.

Could you please tell us about results brought by the Customs industry’s solutions?

In recent years, the Customs sector has identified the administrative reform as a key political task, which is regularly performed and contributed to the administrative reform of the Finance sector. Accordingly, in 2023, the GDVC has amended and supplemented four legal documents related to the household registration book, announced seven revised and abolished customs procedures; reviewed and revised legal regulations related to submitting personal documents in the direction of replacing submitting paper documents by searching personal information on the National population database.

In addition, to implement Resolution No. 68/NQ-CP of the Government on reducing and simplifying administrative procedures and regulations related to business activities, the GDVC has proposed to reduce two reporting regime, simplify two reporting regimes and one administrative procedure related to business activities in customs field.

The GDVC has effectively performed the tasks and instructed the whole Customs units to implement the real-time performance evaluation indexes in electronic administrative procedures and public services under Decision No. 766/QD-TTg dated June 23, 2022 of the Prime Minister and Decision No. 1507/QD-BTC dated July 29, 2022 of the Ministry of Finance, thereby improving the performance quality of administrative procedures and providing public services in the customs sector, aiming to increase the level of satisfaction of people and businesses.

To implement the Single Window mechanism and Interlinked Single Window mechanism for handling administrative procedures, the GDVC has prepared to upgrade the Online Public Service Delivery System, aiming to deploy the functions of the electronic Single Window system, establish the information system for handling administrative procedures, ensuring connection of results of handling customs administrative procedures on the Public Service Portal of the Ministry of Finance and the National Public Service Portal.

Currently, over 99% of customs procedures have been processed via VNACCS/VCIS and satellite IT systems; executed full online public services reaching about 62.14% of the total public services; cooperated with 13 ministries and agencies to process 250 administrative procedures on specialized management and inspection for over 6.67 million dossiers of over 64.7 thousand enterprises via the National Single Window; exchanged e-C/O form D with nine ASEAN member countries via the ASEAN Single Window Mechanism.

In your opinion, what orientation of does the Customs develop to promptly grasp feedback related to customs management polices from the business community in the coming time, especially in the current economic situation?

In the previous time, the Customs authority only organized one dialogue a year. Currently, the regulator has regularly held meetings to resolve problems in a timely fashion for enterprises. The Customs industry identifies that the regular organization of dialogue conferences provides opportunity for the business to reflect on problems in import-export management mechanisms and policies, customs procedures, and attitude of Customs officers in performing public duties, is a top priority.

Statistics show that in the past 11 months, Customs authorities at all levels have conducted more than 200 dialogues, answered more than 900 problems with the participation of thousands of import-export businesses.

The GDVC and local customs departments have promptly resolved problems of businesses, quickly grasped and accessed more useful information to serve customs administrative reform and promptly rectify and handle negative acts of officials at all levels. Through dialogues, the Customs agency realized that many arising problems proposed by businesses are related to administrative procedures of different agencies.

Based on the assessment of problems and shortcomings in the specialized management and inspection of import and export goods, the GDVC advises competent agencies to develop a Decree regulating management mechanism, methods, order, and procedures for state inspection of quality and food safety for imported goods.

The Customs hopes businesses to give feedback on difficulties and problems in law enforcement. At the same time, the regulator proposes solutions in building and revising customs and tax provisions to ensure feasibility, fairness, transparency and simplification of legal documents.

Thank Madam!