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Customs officers of Coc Nam Customs Branch- Lang Son Customs Department inspect imported and exported goods. Photo: H.N

Lack of databases, the Customs faces difficulties in applying policies

Specifically, the provisions on exemption from the State safety food inspection for imported goods prescribed in Clause 1 Article 13 Decree 15/2018/ ND-CP, Decree 15 does not stipulate that in order to be exempted from food safety inspection for imported shipment when carrying out Customs procedures, enterprises must submit/present the copy or original of a receipt of regulation conformity announcement. Thereby, when carrying out a procedure, if the Customs requests enterprises to submit/present the receipt, it will instigate an administrative procedure. If the Customs does not request enterprises to submit /present the receipt (without saving this receipt in Customs dossier), the Customs will not have sufficient basis to prove the shipment had the receipt of regulation conformity announcement for exemption from imported food safety inspection.

In addition, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have not yet provided a database of products which were granted the receipt of regulation conformity announcement to the Customs. Thereby, the receipt of all the imported shipments must be submitted/presented when carrying out Customs procedures (because shipments are carried out with Customs procedures at many different Customs Branches).

Therefore, in order to remove these obstacles, the General Department of Vietnam Customs said that when carrying out import procedures, enterprises shall submit the copy of the receipt in order to be exempted from the imported food safety inspection under provisions in Clause 1 Article 13 Decree 15/2018/ND-CP. In case where the receipt is deployed on the National Single Window Portal, enterprises shall not submit the paper receipt to the Customs.

If the receipt of regulation conformity announcement has not been deployed on the National Single Window Portal, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development need to develop a database on products, goods, organizations and individuals which were granted this receipt and provide the data to the Customs to enter the e-Customs data processing system. The organizations and individuals shall only submit the receipt for the first import and the next imports shall not be required.

Regarding the State inspection agency for imported food, currently, the Customs has only received the list of State inspection agencies on imported food safety assigned by the Ministry of Health. Thereby, Customs officers cannot identify the competent agencies (under Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) in charge of providing the announcement of result on certifying for food which meets or does not meet conditions on imports under the form No.5 in Appendix issued enclosing with Decree 15/2018/ND-CP.

The reduced inspection method is difficult to apply

When implementing provisions on applying the reduced inspection method prescribed in Decree 15, the Customs has faced obstacles. Articles 16, 18 and 19 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP stipulating the reduced inspection method is applied to a maximum 5% of total quantity of imported shipments within 1 year and randomly selected and checked Customs dossiers by the Customs. These provisions have not been applied due to the lack of databases, and the unspecific regulations on documents subject to be submitted.

For example, in order to identify the quantity of 5% of total imported shipment to be applied the reduced inspection method, the Customs need to have the data on the total quantity of imported shipment within 1 year from the date of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP took effect (since 2nd February 2018) or from the date of opening the declaration. In order for the reduced inspection method to be applied, the imported shipment must satisfy conditions stipulated in Clause 1 Article 17.

However, the Customs has not been provided data on the shipments satisfying these import conditions. In cases where enterprises are classified Green channel, how are enterprises to submit the reduced dossier (dossier is not required for Green channel)?

Therefore, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development need to develop a database on products, goods, organizations and individuals which meet the conditions that are to be applied for reduced inspections method and provide the data to the Customs to enter the e-Customs data processing system and apply the automatic inspection regime and documents for each import that are not required.