HCM city Customs Department focuses on preventing smuggling and trade fraud

	Ho Chi Minh City Customs proactively coordinates to prevent drugs from entering the border gate
	Customs brokers explain violations related to reporting regime

Deputy Director of HCM City Customs Department Do Thanh Hai (right) at the meeting with OMAN Customs on anti-smuggling cooperation.

HCM City Customs Department is assessed as a complicated area in terms of smuggling and trade fraud, especially at the year when import-export activities and immigration increase. What do you think about this situation at Ho Chi Minh City border gates?

With the characteristics of state management in an area with many seaports, international airports and post offices, import and export activities at 11 border gate and non-border gate customs branches, the smuggling and trade fraud in the area managed by HCM City Customs Department is complicated with many new and sophisticated fraud methods.

To facilitate people and businesses, the department has applied modern customs management and risk management. However, smugglers have abused the openness in procedures for smuggling, trade fraud, and drug trafficking.

There are cases of commercial fraud related to the value and codes of imports and exports such as making an incorrect or incomplete declaration on name, codes, quantity, weight, and origin of goods, leading to the inaccurate identification of suspicious signs and customs valuation; making false dossiers, documents, and permit for export and import of conditional goods. Some cases take advantage of the Customs information system and the results of analysis, risk assessment and automatic classification to falsely declare goods name and smuggle goods...

It is forecasted that the smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and illegal transportation of goods across the border in the last months of 2023, before, during and after the Lunar New Year 2024 in HCM City will be increasingly sophisticated.

To effectively prevent smuggling and trade fraud, what plans and solutions does HCM City Customs Department have to implement during peak periods before, during and after the Lunar New Year?

To effectively prevent the situation, HCM City Customs Department has made a peak plan to combat smuggling and trade fraud and illegal transportation of goods across border gates before, during and after the Lunar New Year in 2024.

Accordingly, the department has strengthened information collection and patrolling targeting areas at border gates, especially international airports, express delivery, and seaports, and strictly controlled import, export and transit goods and luggage of passengers.

In addition, the department has combated and strictly handled smuggling and illegal transportation of goods border gates; closely inspected and supervised imported, transshipped and temporarily imported for re-export shipments, especially counterfeit and low-quality goods and goods affecting social safety, security, order, and consumer health. At the same time, the department has promoted customs control measures at border gates and routes; and enhanced the role in coordination with other enforcement authorities in the area.

The department has performed customs clearance and release, and prevented congestion at border gates at the end of 2023, especially before, during and after the Lunar New Year.

Which targeting routes, subjects and items does HCM City Customs Department need to focus on fighting against smuggling and trade fraud during this peak period?

According to the peak plan to combat smuggling and trade fraud, HCM City Customs Department will focus on controlling and preventing high-tax rates and high-value import and export goods. In addition to inspecting items in the list of goods banned from export and import, goods temporarily suspended from import, and conditional import and export goods, and goods subject to specialized management, HCM City Customs Department inspects key items, such as: wine, beer, household electrical appliances; fruits, candies, cooking oil; fresh fish, frozen fish; cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products…

The city’s Department will control passengers who move frequently between countries and in short periods; and supervise businesses involved in trading import, export and transit goods, and goods as gifts.

In addition, the department will prevent tricks of hiding drugs in non-commercial packages sent via airway.

Could you tell us about outstanding results in the fight against smuggling and trade fraud by border gate and non-border gate Customs branches of HCM City Customs Department in 2023?

Thanks to the effective implementation of solutions in the fight against smuggling and trade fraud, the specialized anti-smuggling force as well as customs branches have inspected and prevented violations.

In the first 11 months of 2023, HCM City Customs Department detected and arrested 2,759 violations, with an estimated value of infringing goods of VND3,853 billion, including two smuggling cases, three illegal transportation cases across borders, 36 violations related to drugs, 37 cases of violations of customs control, 2,679 customs offenses, two cases of intellectual property rights violations and counterfeit goods. The Department has prosecuted and recommended criminal prosecution of about 50 cases.

The Department presided over and coordinated with other enforcement forces to detect and arrest 36 cases of illegally transporting drugs by air, and arrested 13 offenders and seized about 90 kg of drugs.

Thank Sir!