Force to search warehouses containing more than 150 tons of sugar of Minh Hien Company Limited

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Entry to Minh Hien Company Limited. Photo: Q.H

Implementation of a proposal of the Permanent Office of the National Steering Committee 389 sent to the Ha Nam Steering Committee 389, on 14 November 2016, the Director of Ha Nam Customs signed an investigation decision No. 57 / QD HQHN to search the warehouses of Minh Hien Company Limited (located at hamlet 6, Trang An commune, Binh Luc district, Ha Nam).

Around 8 am on 18 November 2016, at the site, Ha Nam Customs Branch, Customs Control Team (Ha Nam Ninh Department of Customs) collaborated with the Northern Anti-smuggling Control Team, Online Customs Supervision Office (the Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department, the General Department of Vietnam Customs) and Forces: Police, Market Management, local authorities to inspect the warehouses of Minh Hien Company Limited .

The Functional Forces performed the coercion , Photo: Q.H

At the site, representative of the Company was absent and the Company’s guards did not open the gates for the delegates to perform their tasks and only said that the Company’s Director will come in 30 minutes.

At 8.45 am, the Director of Minh Hien Company did not come. Under the witness of local citizens, a representative of the delegates announced the investigation decision and Minh Hien Company Limited refused to cooperate, so the delegates must carry out coercive measures as prescribed.

The inspection process took place until late afternoon on 18 November 2016, the functional forces found that all machines, and the factory have no signs of production. All production chains, factory floor are damp, moldy and covered with a thick dust.

At the premises, the functional forces detected 3 warehouses of Minh Hien Company Limited which contain a total of 105.75 tons of fine white sugar manufactured by foreign countries

The Customs Force collaborated to inspect ; Photo: Q.H

At the inspection time, the representative of Minh Hien Company limited was absent and did not submit any documents related to the shipments.

According to the functional forces, the above goods were materials for manufacture of exporting goods, imported in October, 2016, there have been signs on arbitrary consumptions in the domestic market.

Because recently, Minh Hien Company Limited has registered with the Customs Authority on imported shipments including sugar under the import form of raw materials for production of exporting products which are agricultural products (bottled, boxed cucumbers and pineapples)

Specifically, on 13 October 2016, Minh Hien company limited registered a Customs declaration No. 97161864020/E31 at the Ha Nam Customs Branch (the Ha Nam Ninh Department of Customs) on import of 150 tons of sugar made in Thailand to manufacture exporting goods, worth more than 2 billion vnd and the import tax amount exempted under the law was more than 1,7 billion vnd.

Because the imported sugar is a product which must be checked by the State on quality before Customs clearance, the Director of Minh Hien Company Limited, Mr. Nguyen Van Hien has sent a signed document to the Ha Nam Customs Branch (where the above Customs declaration was registered) to ask permission for transporting these goods to the warehouses at hamlet 6, Trang An commune, Binh Luc district, Ha Nam and commit to take responsibility for storing and not using as well as consuming goods without a Customs clearance.

On 18 October 2016, this Customs declaration was certified for Customs clearance by the Ha Nam Customs Branch.

The total of 105.75 tons of fined white sugar was packed in packages of 50kgs/package; Photo: Q.H

However, as a result of verification of the Ha Nam Customs Branch and the Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department, after being permitted to transport out of the port by the Hai Phong Department of Customs, this 150 tons of sugar was not transported to the warehouses of Minh Hien Company Limited (as committed by the Enterprise – Reporter) but transported to many different places to sell in order to deceive the functional forces.

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Also in the afternoon on 18 November, 2011, the functional forces gathered the goods in a warehouse and took a sample for inspection, then sealed for further investigation.