Digital transformation needs the companionship of businesses

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Speakers provide information about the digital transformation model at the Forum. Photo: T.B

Customs accompanies businesses

Speaking at the Customs-Business Forum 2023: "Vietnam Customs: Creating a fresh impetus for businesses to recover and thrive" on September 6, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Customs (GDVC) Hoang Viet Cuong said Digital transformation is the trend of the times, the Customs is one of the leading agencies in applying digital technology to operations. The Customs Development Strategy for 2030 sets the overall goal 2030: "Building a regular and modern Vietnam Customs, at par with the Customs of developed countries in the world, leading in the implementation of the digital Government, with the model of Digital Customs and Smart Customs".

The Customs sector has issued a Plan for the digital transformation of the Customs sector by 2025, with an orientation to 2030, aiming at striving to complete Digital Customs by 2025 and achieving Smart Customs by 2030. Currently, the GDVC is focusing resources to achieve these goals.

According to the GDVC's leader, for the Customs-business partnership to be more and more effective, in addition to the efforts of the Customs, it needs the active participation of ministries, agencies, associations, VCCI, the Small and Medium Enterprises Association and especially the active participation of the business community.

Mr Hoang Quang Phong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), also acknowledged that the interaction between the customs and businesses is important and indispensable in the control of trade flows to ensure better clearance for Vietnamese goods to the world and goods imported to Vietnam.

This interaction is a positive factor in awareness, creating a high consensus, and creating voluntary compliance with customs and other laws.

To deploy the digital transformation model, from the perspective of building policy institutions, Mr Dao Duy Tam, Deputy Director of the Customs Control and Supervision Department, said: "In the process of reviewing operations and building functions of the system, we have identified the tasks of perfecting institutions and legal policies to serve the implementation of the digital customs and smart customs models. The first important legal basis is improving Customs Law to create a premise for building and amending legal documents."

Reviewing the Customs Law, the Customs has also researched to ensure consistency with relevant legal regulations. In addition, the GDVC has improved the legal system, including decrees and circulars in the Customs Development Strategy by 2025, including: three Decrees, 11 circulars, and reviewing customs procedures to ensure a unified legal system.

Mr. Dao Duy Tam added that currently, the GDVC is assigned to work with the Lang Son Customs Department and related units to build smart border gates between Vietnam and China. This model performs cross-border goods delivery 24/7. The smart border gate model is expected to effectively promote customs clearance of goods across borders, contributing to the socio-economic development of both Vietnam and China.

All procedures will be digitized

From an information technology perspective, Mr. Le Duc Thanh, Director of the Customs I.T. and Statistics Department, said the digital transformation is also a modernization process. All modernization processes go through basic steps. The first step is to digitize all procedures.

"Currently, almost all customs procedures have been digitized, but some still have not been digitized, such as licenses sent to the Customs authorities in scanned copies of C/Os of some countries sent in a scanned version. Scanned files do not help Customs much in automated assessment. This greatly affects the desire of the Customs to reduce the Yellow declaration strongly. Therefore, it must have automated classification to reduce the Yellow Channel rate ", Mr Le Duc Thanh added. Based on identification management, including identification of importer and exporter, import and export goods and digitizing procedures, the Customs is redesigning the entire customs process to work in a digital environment. Then, the customs will build the information technology system to run the process.

Mr. Le Duc Thanh said it is expected that the information technology system of the Customs sector includes about 15,000 different functions. In addition, the redesigned system must have a very wide connection with related parties, complexity, and high online and security requirements.

"Such a large system cannot be changed in a day; the Customs is implementing this transition process. Therefore, it needs the support and coordination of the business community, "said Mr. Le Duc Thanh.

From a business perspective, Mr Son Won Sik, a representative of Korcham, said that recently, facing difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the business community has witnessed the reform efforts of the Customs in supporting businesses to restore operations. It has contributed to helping businesses speed up the process of implementing administrative procedures optimizing time and operating processes.

"Typically, the policy of customs modernization through electronic systems, I.T. application to develop a smart customs system, and promulgation of policies regulating the time of C/O submission, have contributed significantly to ensuring smooth import and export activities, avoid disrupting the supply chain," said Mr. Son Won Sik.