Hai Phong Customs seize large volume of banned goods

	Consignee not related to Rolls Royce Cullinan car shipped to Hai Phong Port
	Hai Phong Customs contributes 62.6% of city’s revenue
	Hai Phong Customs effectively uses equipment in customs management and supervision

Deputy General Director of the General Department of Customs Luu Manh Tuong delivers a speech at the conference. Ảnh: T.Bình.

Earning VND33,244.1 billion

On the morning of July 11, Hai Phong Customs Department held a conference to review the work performance in the first six months and deploy tasks for the last six months of the year. Deputy General Director of the General Department of Customs Luu Manh Tuong attended the conference.

In the first 6 months of 2023, Hai Phong Customs Department implemented solutions in the context that production and business activities of enterprises have faced many difficulties, and import and export turnover saw a significant decrease.

The situation of smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across the border by sea is increasing in the number, scale, nature and severity of cases. In particular, illegal trading and transportation of narcotics and precursors tends to rise on the sea routes with large scale and quantity.

Meanwhile, the Customs must both create favorable conditions for trade, support businesses in economic recovery, and ensure the requirements of state management of customs, which is a great challenge for the customs.

According to the Director of Hai Phong Customs Department Nguyen Duy Ngoc, with the determination and efforts of all officials and employees, the Department has maintained internal solidarity, overcome difficulties, concentrated resources to develop solutions, thus the department has achieved positive results.

Typically, on the anti-smuggling front, Hai Phong Customs seized a number of particularly serious violations related to banned goods such as ivory, drugs, etc and confiscated exhibits including: nearly 8 tons of ivory smuggled from Africa; 21 packs of heroin, 17.5 kg of synthetic drugs in tablet form, 1 kg of methamphetamine, 109 packs of fun drinks and some other synthetic drugs;

In addition, Hai Phong Customs Department has issued 1,796 decisions on sanctioning administrative violations; with a total fine of VND 25.03 billion, rising 10% in the number and doubling in amount of fines year-on-year.

For budget collection, the unit earned VND 33,244.1 billion, achieving 41.6% of the target assigned by the Ministry of Finance, down VND 5,376.6 billion (equivalent to a decrease of 13.9%) over the same period last year. The decrease in revenue is in the general decline of the whole customs sector due to the decline in import and export activities (the revenue of the whole customs sector in the first six months of the year reduced 19.2% year-on-year to VND183,744 billion VND, reaching 43.2% of the estimate).

Director of Hai Phong Customs Department Nguyen Duy Ngoc speaks at the conference. Photo: T.Binh

According to Head of Import-Export Tax Division (Hai Phong Customs Department) Nguyen Ngoc Khanh, import-export turnover of the whole department in the first six months of the year reached US$52.1 billion, down 8% year-on-year. Notably, taxable import turnover only reached US$9.9 billion, down 20%. Of which, imports of some items with large revenue such as automobiles decreased by 10.5%; machinery decreased by 32.6%; iron and steel decreased by 21.6%, leading to a reduction of VND5,300 billion in state revenue.

Developing solutions for trade facilitation to raise revenue

To achieve the year’s tasks at the highest level, from now until the end of the year, Hai Phong Customs Department determines to continue to strengthen the leadership and direction of Party committees at all levels in the implementation of political tasks. Based on the key tasks, the Party committees shall issue resolutions to direct, inspect and supervise the implementation.

Regarding professional work, Hai Phong Customs continue to drastically implement budget collection solutions with the specifically motto and action and under guidance of the General Department of Customs.

In addition, the department shall strengthen direction to improve the efficiency of the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, illegal transportation of goods and drugs across borders, ensuring security and safety for the economy, attracting investment, creating a healthy business environment, fair competition, transparency, and preventing revenue loss;

Effectively implement the management, customs supervision and screening of goods at seaports under the management of the department…

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Director General Luu Manh Tuong appreciated the efforts and work results of the first six months of Hai Phong Customs Department.

Regarding the tasks in the last months of the year, the Deputy General Director agreed with tasks and solutions proposed by Hai Phong Customs Department. He emphasized a number of key tasks and solutions.

For budget collection, the whole department and each branch must closely review the collection situation the last six months of the year in order to have effective solutions to achieve the highest level. Accordingly, it is necessary to focus on trade facilitation solutions associated with measures to prevent loss of budget revenue and effectively handle tax debts.

Regarding anti-smuggling work, the Deputy Director General said that smuggling activities, especially drug crimes, continues to have very complicated developments, Hai Phong Customs is required to continue to drastically implement measures to detect and handle violations in a timely manner.

At the conference, the Deputy General Director directly answered the proposals and recommendations of Hai Phong Customs Department.

Receiving the direction of the Deputy General Director, the Director of Hai Phong Customs Department Nguyen Duy Ngoc requested the units to concretize the work plans and programs in the remaining months of the year and implement the tasks effectively.