Difficulty in customs management of independent transport of goods

Dong Nai Customs officials checked import - export goods. Photo: N.H

Specifically, Document No.5577 stipulated that, when receiving and checking the customs dossier for the independent transport declaration, customs officials who received dossiers must check and compare the container number as declared on the independent transport declaration with the container number declared on the export declaration in order to determine the accuracy of the information before approving the independent transport declaration.

In case of verification and comparison, if detecting incorrect information, the container number is not declared in the export declaration or independent transport declaration, this independent transport declaration will not be approved and at the same time transferred information to the enforcement unit of the Department to review and clarification.

According to Dong Nai Customs Department, the comparison of the container number on the independent transport declaration with the container number on the export declaration is only consistent when the goods in the container in the export declaration have not been, or are not peeled out of the container and only suitable for opening independent transport declarations for ICDs, gathering locations or ports at the border gates.

For goods deposited in bonded warehouses that opened independent transport declarations to ports and other bonded warehouses, the container number on the independent transport declaration will be different from the container number on the export declaration. The reason is that when the owner of the exported goods deposits them at the bonded warehouse (packed in a container or a truck) they did not carry out the export procedures. After a period of time, they carry out the export procedures from the bonded warehouse to a foreign country, or through other bonded warehouses and when opening an independent transport declaration to pack the goods, it will use a container with a different number from the container number that had been on the exported goods to deposit in the bonded warehouse before.

From the above fact, Dong Nai Customs Department found that the inspection and comparison between the container number declared on the independent transport declaration an the container number declared on the export declaration to determine the accuracy of declared information for approval is not applicable to independent transport declarations exported from bonded warehouses in some cases.

Accordingly, Dong Nai Customs Department requested the General Department of Vietnam Customs to have instructions in the synchronous implementation across the sector. While waiting for the instructions, Dong Nai Customs Department still directed the Customs Branches that managed the bonded warehouse to check and compare the container numbers as declared on the independent transport declaration with the container numbers declared on the export declaration for the case of independent transport without changing the container number.