Customs specifies administrative reform goals to help facilitate trade

Officers of Hon Gai Seaport Customs Branch (Quang Ninh Customs Department) at work. Photo: Q.H

Actively reduce and streamline administrative procedures

From the beginning of the year, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has followed plans of the Ministry of Finance, and focused on implementing administrative reform by issuing the Administrative Reform Plan in 2024.

The country’s top regulator has actively researched, implemented and issued an Action Plan to implement Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP and Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP dated January 5, 2024 of the Government on tasks and solutions for implementing the Socio-Economic Development Plan, the State budget estimate in 2024 and key tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness in 2024.

In the first half of 2024, the Customs industry has drastically and comprehensively performed administrative reform. The regulator has increasingly promoted administrative reform, closely controlled the promulgation of administrative procedures, and focused on assessing the impact of administrative procedures, reducing and simplifying administrative procedures to facilitate people and businesses.

The Customs agency sets the goal of cutting and simplifying inappropriate and illegal administrative procedures; promotes decentralization to reduce levels and intermediaries; simplifies and shorten the time for resolving administrative procedures by the Customs agency.

Notably, a series of breakthrough policies to promote trade facilitation implemented by the Customs sector has brought positive results. The General Department of Vietnam Customs has implemented administrative reform by researching and reporting to the Ministry of Finance on a plan to reduce two reporting regimes; simplify two reporting regimes and one administrative procedure related to business activities in the customs field; increase the reduced and simplified regulations related to customs business activities in the 2020-2025 period to 8% and reduce the compliance costs related to business activities to 10.2 billion VND/year.

In addition, in order to assess and score the 2023 PAR INDEX of the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has provided verification documents and listed officers participating in sociological surveys to accurately and objectively reflect the results of administrative reforms of the Ministry of Finance. The regulator has assessed and scored PAR INDEX for its subordinate-units.

In the first half months of the year, the administrative reform and trade facilitation at local customs departments have achieved some remarkable results.

Notably, Quang Ninh Customs Department has topped the District and Department Competitiveness Index (DDCI) for six times of Quang Ninh province. Recently, Ha Tinh Customs Department has topped the DDCI of Ha Tinh province with a total score of 75.33/100 point and good ranking... This result shows great efforts of the Customs, contributing to improving the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) of provinces.

Continue to streamline regulations and procedures

A representative of the Legal Department said that the General Department of Vietnam Customs has reviewed and proposed plans to reduce and simplify internal administrative procedures. The general department has directed units to implement plans to reduce and simplify regulations related to customs business activities and research proposals to reduce and simplify these regulations through law-making work.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs has directed units to effectively assessed the service quality of officers in supporting people and enterprises, and in performing public services in real-time in the electronic environment.

At the same time, the regulator has requested units to strictly implement the sending and receiving of electronic documents and processing administrative procedures in the electronic environment; achieve 100% of application status and results of processed administrative procedures that are updated on the System.

In the last months of the year, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has directed all units comprehensively implement key administrative reform solutions in the plan on administrative reform and control of administrative procedures. Continue to effectively implement the decentralization plan in resolving administrative procedures within the scope of customs management that have been approved by the Prime Minister.

In addition, units need to review and propose to reduce and simplify internal administrative procedures, administrative procedures and regulations related to business activities. Evaluate and score the 2023 administrative reform index for units under the General Department of Vietnam Customs. Inspect the implementation of administrative reform at these units.

Drastically and effectively implement tasks and solutions to strengthen administrative procedure reform, ensuring favorable conditions for customs clearance for goods of businesses.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs requires units to promote the digitalization of records and results of handling administrative procedures under the requirements of implementing the Index and the annual Administrative Reform Plan in 2024. Notably, units need to focus on digitizing and cleaning data, linking the digitization of records and results of resolving administrative procedures with the implementation of receiving and resolving administrative procedures; promote the reuse of digitized data between ministries, branches and localities through connecting and sharing data with the individual and organizational data management warehouse on the National Public Service Portal.

Accelerate preparations to pilot the Centralized Customs Administration System (CCES) at a number of units under the General Department of Vietnam Customs.