Experience in cooperating with international customs in combating origin fraud

	Origin fraud increases due to increasingly complicated trade
	Prosecute company importing goods forged Vietnamese origin
	Fight against origin fraud and rising problems - Part 3: Review of foreign goods "disguised" Vietnamese goods

Ms. Trinh Thi Thu Hien, Head of the origin of goods division (Ministry of Industry and Trade)

As a negotiating host, how do you assess the role and position of Customs authorities in negotiating and signing the EVFTA?

- During the negotiation process, agencies of the Ministry of Industry and Trade exchanged and received great support from the General Department of Customs, thereby unifying many contents to implement the agreement effectively.

In the negotiation process and implementation of the agreement, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has worked closely with the General Department of Customs (the Customs Management Supervision Department) to exchange business, prepare internal legalization plans, and implement the agreement.

In the EVFTA, how are the rules of origin of the goods generalized, madam?

- The rules of origin in the EVFTA are summarized and divided into specific categories such as agricultural products and industrial products.

For agricultural products, there are two segments: basic agricultural products and processed agricultural products. The basic agricultural products are required to have pure origin and the processed agricultural products are required to have pure raw materials. Canned trout and salmon, for example, must be of pure origin, and origin is not required for other accompanying ingredients.

The group of industrial goods including textiles, footwear, iron and steel is divided into two approaches: by specific processing stage, which means that depending on each item, the process will require different stages and each stage is shown in the origin rules; and by content, which means that the value of most raw goods is about 70%.

What lessons have we learned when cooperating with the EU in combating origin fraud, madam?

- For foreign customs agencies coming to Vietnam to inspect and verify the origin of goods, normally, a set of documents on goods origin inspection and verification will be carried out, including the following steps:

First, it is recommended to set questionnaires depending on the item being requested for verification (the C/O issuer in Vietnam, how Vietnamese businesses understand the origin criteria of a certain product).

For example, what is the origin criterion of microphones that originate from Vietnam? And where are the sources of raw materials produced?

Second, it is recommended to check the input materials and describe the production process in English.

For example, at the inspections of the EU Customs in Binh Duong Industrial Park, many businesses stated the time of applying for C/O does not have to describe the production process.

However, foreign customs authorities were required to describe the production process in English, making it difficult for businesses. They may refuse incentives if Vietnamese enterprises cannot prove the origin of goods.

The fight against origin fraud and raised issues - Part 1: When the war of the "giants" broke out VCN - In the context of globalization and extensive international integration of Vietnam, the risk of origin fraud ...

For example, when inspecting a steel manufacturer in Vietnam, the importer in the EU was fined US$9 million, while the Vietnamese business was only fined VND40 million because in the process of sending the C/O, the Vietnamese enterprise did not know that the importer had changed and forged documents.

Thank you, madam!