Customs sector made a great progress in revenue collection

AS PENJA ship prepares to dock at Nghi Son port (Thanh Hoa) to unload export goods. Photo: H.Nụ

The contribution of 4 groups off commodity

Statistics show that the country's total import-export turnover reached US$440.5 billion, up 17.2% or equivalent to US$64.6 billion compared to the first 7 months of 2023; specifically, import-export turnover subject to tax reached US$84.9 billion, an increase equivalent to US$12.4 billion compared to the same period in 2023.

The strong growth has helped the Customs sector achieve significant breakthroughs in state budget collection. As of July 31, 2024, the state budget revenue from import-export activities reached VND 239,656 billion, equivalent to 63.9% of the assigned plan.

Analyzing the reasons for the increase in revenue, a representative of the Import-Export Tax Department (General Department of Vietnam Customs) said that the state budget revenue of the Customs sector has received positive contributions from 4 groups of goods with large values and high tax rates such as: Group of raw materials, machinery, equipment, and spare parts imported for production with a value of US$41.69 billion, accounting for 50.1% of the total import turnover subject to tax, up 21.6% compared to the same period; the group of imported coal reached 39.3 million tons, worth US$1.18 billion, up 34.7% in volume and up 14.5% in value; the group of imported crude oil reached 8 million tons, worth US$5.1 billion, up 15.9% in volume and up 19.7% in value; the group of exported crude oil reached 1.7 million tons, worth US$1.2 billion, up 3.8% in volume and up 10.6% in value.

State budget revenue from customs activities in July alone reached VND 35,650 billion, up 2.7% compared to June due to the total import-export turnover subject to tax nationwide in July increasing by 9.3% compared to June.

Notably, some imported items with high value and tax rates increased significantly, such as crude oil increased by 25.5% in volume and 28.6% in value; various types of phones and components increased by 26.6% in value; other machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts increased by 18.9% in value; complete automobiles of all kinds increased by 9.3% in volume and 9.6% in value; and automobile parts increased by 23.2% in value.

According to the assessment of the Import-Export Tax Department, as of July 31, 2024, the state budget revenue of 10 provincial and city customs departments, which account for a high proportion of the total revenue of the sector, reached VND 203,435 billion, equivalent to 61.45% of the assigned plan, up 7.9% compared to the same period last year.

Typical examples include Thanh Hoa Customs Department, which achieved impressive results with a figure of VND 13,281 billion, an increase of 31.18% compared to the same period in 2023. This result is due to the significant contributions of enterprises in the Nghi Son Economic Zone.

Among them, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Company holds a leading position in paying taxes in the area under the management of Thanh Hoa Customs Department. Accordingly, in the first 6 months of the year, this plant carried out customs procedures for the import of nearly 5.7 million tons of crude oil, up 17.29% compared to the first 6 months of 2023; and paid over VND 13,000 billion to the budget.

After 7 years of operation, Nghi Son Refinery has carried out customs procedures for the import of over 55.6 million tons of crude oil with a total tax payment to the budget of over VND 69,300 billion. In the first 6 months of 2024 alone, Nghi Son Refinery received and registered procedures for 23 ships calling at the port to import crude oil and paid taxes to the budget of VND 9,867 billion.

Similarly, at Quang Ninh Customs Department, in the first 7 months of the year, the unit received and processed nearly 92,000 declarations with a total import-export turnover of 11 billion USD, an increase of 25% in declarations and 22% in turnover compared to the same period in 2023, bringing the state budget revenue through the area under the management of the Department as of July 31, 2024 to VND 11,295 billion, equivalent to 90.36% of the assigned plan, up 15.64% compared to the same period in 2023.

Also one of the units with high revenue growth in the first 7 months of the year, statistics from Bac Ninh Customs Department show that the unit has received and processed customs clearance for a large volume of goods of enterprises with import-export activities in 3 provinces: Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and Thai Nguyen with a turnover of US$94.07 billion, up 0.5% compared to the same period in 2023. Accordingly, as of July 31, 2024, Bac Ninh Customs Department has paid taxes to the budget of VND 7,834 billion, equivalent to 69.95% of the assigned plan, up 21.70% compared to the same period in 2023.

Be proactive in the second half of the year

Despite the impressive revenue collection results in the first 7 months, many experts believe that in the early months of the year, production and business activities of enterprises in general still faced many difficulties due to market fluctuations, especially input costs, conflicts in the Red Sea affecting the import-export shipping schedule and freight rates...

According to the Import-Export Tax Department, factors affecting budget collection from import-export activities have begun to emerge, making it difficult for the Customs sector to complete its assigned tasks in 2024.

In particular, with the continued reduction of VAT for enterprises as stipulated in Decree 72/2024/ND-CP dated June 30, 2024, it is estimated that the tax revenue from the implementation of this policy will decrease by about VND 18,000 billion. For coal, due to the dry season at the beginning of the year, enterprises have imported a lot to serve power plants, so at the end of the year, which is the rainy season, hydropower plants will operate at full capacity, therefore, the import volume of coal is not expected to increase.

In addition, in 2024, customs authorities will also refund import taxes on auto parts according to Articles 7a and 7b of Decree 26/2023/ND-CP, about VND 7,000 billion. It is expected that in the last 6 months of the year, customs authorities will continue to implement tax refunds under this policy of VND 4,500 billion.

With these market developments and difficulties, the General Department of Customs requires units across the sector to focus on identifying factors that increase/decrease and shift revenue sources due to changes in mechanisms, policies, and abnormal changes; assess the impact of implementing international commitments, in which, proactively monitor the impacts on taxed goods; review and understand large investment projects that will be implemented in the locality.

At the same time, units across the sector need to promote administrative procedure reform towards transparency and convenience, and implement additional solutions to support enterprises. In particular, focus on reviewing and selecting enterprises with large import-export turnover and goods that are suitable for the characteristics of the border gate to attract and create a spillover effect for other enterprises to carry out customs procedures in the management area. For FDI enterprises, based on the list of investment projects in the locality, units need to proactively meet and guide customs procedures, creating maximum facilitation for enterprise operations.