Enterprises’ positive feedback to Customs modernization

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Customs’ IT section and its IT partners are ready to assist traders and provincial customs in performing procedures via the online public service system. Photo: T.Binh.

Declaration and prompt response

Until now, on over one month of carrying out the online public service system, Ha Noi Customs Department has received and handled nearly 800 sets of documents in terms of administrative formalities lodged by more than 140 importers and exporters via the address http://pus.customs.gov.vn. The service has been highly appraised by the community of enterprises. According to Ha Noi Customs Department, the foresaid electronic customs dossiers transmitted to Customs since March 1^st have been mainly settled by the public service such as canceling customs declarations, procedures for cargo containers that are sent back for temporary importation and re-exportation; drawback under the light of the Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC; additional declaration of tax dossiers. Most of the dossiers have been received and settled in a prompt and convenient manner, reducing pressure and minimizing time, paper and cost for the traders in their transactions with Customs.

According to the community of traders’ assessment, administrative reforms in general and Customs reforms, in particular, have experienced many changes, from the thinking of the State management to providing the public service for the purpose of meeting traders’ demands. Especially, Customs’ administrative reforms have been transparent in the field of directions, road maps and methods.

As a trader directly using the online public service system, FPT Company Ltd. highly appraised the system’s interface for canceling declarations in a convenient way and shortening the time for the trader. Instead of spending at least one day for preparing customs dossiers following the declarations, the trader now needs only between 15 and 20 minutes. If the transmitting line is stable and the trader does not conduct too many actions, they only need to perform 5-7 actions for sending one dossier. The trader supposed that they could save much cost and time.

Noting the efficiency of the online public service system, one representative of Tea Kwang Ha Noi Company Ltd. shared that they used to print out one dossier at their company, then brought to Customs for submission and waited for dossier analysis. Since the public service was applied, traders have only entered the internet and sent their dossier by only several clicks from their company. Customs officials will promptly respond on the portal if they find any lacks of files or any errors. The company can update the dossiers status on the internet in a timely manner.

Fewer declaration contact points

One of the modernization measures Customs has been proactively implementing under the roadmap and gained initial achievements is the National Single Window for cargo transported by air. This mechanism is being piloted for Vietnam airlines (since January 2017) by Ha Noi Customs Department in coordination with the relevant units of the General Department of Customs. This mechanism is about to be extended to other airlines. According to representatives from the IT Bureau under Ha Noi Customs Department, before the National Single Window was put into operation, the airlines used to submit paper dossiers to 5 governmental agencies at the international airports (including Customs, Police, Airport Authority, Phytosanitary agencies of the Ministry of Health Care and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development). In addition, other agencies such as border checkpoint police, Customs, Airport Authority…undertook manual formalities in a separate manner; not connecting and sharing information with the state management agencies; not receiving electronic information from enterprises meanwhile airline related traders had connected and exchanged information via electronic means. Traditional management methods caused difficulties for the state management agencies in detecting, preventing violations due to lack of information. For the airlines, paper dossiers were lodged many times to the authorities. They must prepare similar dossiers and do not directly make customs declarations.

After deploying the National Single Window, the traders have to send electronic information only once to the National Single Window Portal. The traders can reduce time and labour in setting up, printing, preparing and lodging paper dossiers to 5 different agencies for one flight. Accordingly, the governmental agencies can both raise management efficiency for the airlines and minimize time and labour in receiving paper dossiers. In parallel with the implementation of the National Single Window for Vietnam airlines, as informed by the IT Bureau of Ha Noi Customs Department, there have been over 20 airlines and 3 airlines’ warehouses dispatching their documents to register the participation in the National Single Window for the Airlines

Customs modernization to enhance the effectiveness of anti-smuggling

As the first business carrying out the National Single Window for the Airlines, Vietnam Airlines has implemented the National Single Window. The company has been in close coordination with Ha Noi Customs Department and the Department of Information Technology and Statistics for pilot transmitting data of cargo to the National Single Window Portal for all the international flights of the Vietnam airlines to Noi Bai International Airport.

Data of goods has been sent to the National Single Window as regulated. The content of information has satisfied requirements and mostly been sent before the actual time of the flights. Vietnam airlines revealed that they have been ready for official connection with the National Single Window in terms of cargo data of all the international flights of Vietnam Airlines to Noi Bai International Airport.