Hanoi Customs: The highest budget revenue in the last 5 years

	Hanoi Customs achieved 67% in tax recovery and processing tax debts
	Hanoi Customs attracted nearly 150 new enterprises implementing procedures
	Capacity assessment for 446 civil servants of Hanoi Customs Department

Operations at the Gia Thuy Industrial Zone Customs Branch. Photo: N.Linh.

Import-export turnover has increased tax

From the beginning of the year, the Party Committee and leaders of Hanoi Customs Department have built and set out tasks and directed the implementation of solutions to each unit. In that spirit, Hanoi Customs Department has achieved many results in professional tasks, said Director of Hanoi Customs Department Duong Phu Dong on State budget collection at an online conference of preliminary review of the first six months and the direction and solutions to perform the tasks of the last six months of 2019 of the General Department of Customs.

At the end of June, the whole Department collected budget of 10,760 billion VND, more than 50 percent of the estimated target, up by 7.8 percent over the same period in 2018. With that momentum, in 2019, Hanoi Customs strive to exceed 5 percent of the target of 21,500 billionVND.

To get such positive results after the conference of implementing the tasks in 2019, Hanoi Customs Department urgently issued Official Letter No. 476/HQHN-TXNK implementing Directive No. 723/CT- General Department of Customs on trade facilitation solutions, anti-revenue loss in the implementation of the State budget collection task in 2019, specific tasks assigned to each unit and periodic reporting requirement results. Send a written request to the Department of Planning and Investment and the Management Board of Industrial Zones in Hanoi City, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Hoa Binh provinces to coordinate new investment projects to do procedures in the area.

Another method was to implement synchronous trade facilitation solutions and fight against State budget revenue loss and by the end of June 2019, the unit has made customs clearance for about 608,000 declarations (equal to 107.1 percent of the same period in 2018), total turnover was 42.4 billion USD (116.5 percent of the same period in 2018). Hanoi Customs Department also carried out procedures for more than 6 million passengers on entry and exit (equal to 166.5 percent of the same period in 2018) and 36,016 flights (equal to 112.3 percent of the same period in 2018).

The reason for the increase in State budget revenue was noted by Hanoi Customs Department to be due to the increase in import-export turnover. In particular, revenue increased compared to the same period in 2018 mainly due to the fact the Value Added Tax and Special Consumption Tax increased due to procedures for importing machinery and equipment for investment projects and enterprises that import excise taxable products began to return to procedures.

Some commodity groups increased strongly in both turnover and revenue. The group of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts increased 3.3 percent in import turnover with tax and increased by 7.8 percent in revenue (up 131 billionVND). The result is that the Department has organised guidelines and facilitated investment projects on procedures such as: pilot project of Hanoi Urban Railway (section of Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station); commercial egg and egg-laying chicken to produce clean chicken eggs; building a Red River surface water plant; building the Duong River surface water plant; smart electronics manufacturing plant. The whole automobile group increased strongly again (up 100 billion VND compared to the same period in 2018) due to the facilitation of General Motors Vietnam Limited Company and VINFAST Production and Trading Company Limited for customs clearance. As of June 30, there were more than 300 imported cars, while the same period of 2018 did not arise.

In addition, State budget collection in Hanoi Customs Department also faces a number of commodity groups decreased in both turnover and revenue such as: tobacco raw materials; computers, electronic products and components; automotive components; Motorcycle parts and accessories reduced by importers.

Along with trade facilitation, attracting enterprises on procedures, anti-State budget collection is also focused by Hanoi Customs Department. Party Committee, Leaders of Hanoi Customs Department always thoroughly grasp, direct units, cadres and civil servants to raise their vigilance, apply work experience and professional skills to detect and handle promptly time of smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeiting in the process of implementing customs procedures. Particularly, the post-customs clearance inspection is strictly implemented, so the results of the six-month unit have been inspected at customs declarants' offices 43/140 enterprises, reaching 30.7 percent of the target. Although the number of inspections at the customs declarants' offices is not much, the detection rate of violations is absolute, detecting 43 enterprises violating; check at Customs office 261 cases, 148 cases of violations detected. The amount of tax collected from post-clearance inspection is about 307 billion, equal to 236.5 percent of the target (equal to 230.4 percent compared to the same period in 2018).

In anti-smuggling, trade fraud, in the first six months, the unit has discovered and handled 524 violations, including: 18 drug cases; seven cases of anti-smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across borders; prosecute one case and request Hanoi Police to prosecute two cases; detecting 499 cases of administrative violations on customs with total fines to the tune of VND 45.3 billion for budget remittance.

Focusing on synchronous implementation of solutions

To complete budget collection in 2019, Hanoi Customs Department determined to continue to follow the implementation of Directive No. 723/CT-TCHQ dated January 30, 2019 of the General Department of Customs on trade facilitation solutions, against loss of revenue in the implementation of State budget collection task in 2019. Continuing, proposing advice on preventing budget revenue loss through tight control of name declaration goods, codes, value, tax exemption, tax refund and no tax collection of enterprises in the process of customs clearance.

Besides, in many customs departments, solutions to facilitate and attract enterprises to carry out procedures are being actively implemented. At Bac Thong Long Industrial Park Customs Branch, they are mainly managing FDI enterprises; therefore, in addition to facilitating businesses, the unit especially focuses on strictly implementing professional processes, preventing violations of officers. Director Nguyen Thai Binh said that the branch has equipped the internal management camera system, the head of the branch supervises the implementation of the tasks of the officials and employees when contacting with the enterprise. Along with that, to avoid overlapping in answering and problems for enterprises, the units have clearly defined the responsibilities for solving problems for enterprises for each business segment. With problems related to taxation, there is a tax department answering, related to procedures with a procedure to answer. Therefore there is no overlap in solving problems.

Hanoi Customs: revenue of some key items reduced by 17%

At Gia Thuy Customs Branch, Director of the Department Pham Tran Thanh said moving the head office to work at the inspection site concentrates Hateco with modern equipment, equipped with mobile container scanners for screening and contributing work to solve customs clearance procedures quickly, thereby creating trust and attracting enterprises to carry out customs procedures at the unit. In addition, branch leaders also directed each official to receive regular professional skills to solve procedures to facilitate businesses. "For new businesses to do procedures and departments to arrange good cadres and officials to import goods to timely guide and create trust for businesses," Thanh said.