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Automobiles imports reduce, causing the decrease in revenue of HCM City Customs. Photo: T.H

Many items see a nosedive

HCM City Customs Department said in the first two months of 2023, many import and export items plunged pushing import and export turnover down by more than US$4.2 billion year-on-year. According to statistics, the total import and export turnover from the beginning of 2023 to February 28, 2023 fell 20.21% over the same period last year US$16.74 billion. Of which, exports fell 19.5% (US$1.84 billion) to US$7.59 billion; imports fell 20.8% (US$ 2.4 billion) to US$ 9.15 billion.

The taxable turnover in the first two months reached US$5.36 billion, down 18% year-on-year (US$1.18 billion). Of which, the export turnover plummeted over 71% to only US$33.34 million; and the import turnover decreased by 17.11% to US$5.33 billion, reported by HCM City Customs.

Accordingly, HCM City Customs Department’s revenue in the first two months of the year decreased by more than VND1,084 billion compared to the same period in 2022, mainly due to the decrease in import-export turnover. Specifically, the turnover in the first two months of 2023 reached US$16.74 billion, of which the taxable turnover dropped 18% year-on-year to US$5.36 billion and the tax amount lessened by 5.27% (equivalent to US$1,084). Many major items decreased in revenue, such as taxable imported computers, electronic products and components down 52.8% to US$259.3 million; tax revenue decreased by 51.23% or VND 666 billion; imported iron and steel reached 385,763 tons, taxable turnover reached US$229.7 million, down 22.9% in volume, 43.3% in value, and the tax amount fell by 40.9%, equivalent to VND380 billion compared to the same period last year.

Notably, many customs branches have experienced a nosedive in revenue. Eight of 12 customs branches with a plunge in revenue compared to the same period in 2022, including Saigon port area 1 Customs Branch down 14.75% (equivalent to VND1,300 billion); the Investment Management Customs Branch down 19.48% (equivalent to VND1,145.2 billion); and Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch down by 37.73% (equivalent to VND 604.8 billion).

Many solutions offered

According to HCM City Customs Department, to meet the assigned target of VND145,800 billion, HCM City Customs has to collect VND399.5 billion per day. However, the average daily budget revenue (from January 1, 2023 to March 14, 2023) of the department only reached VND342.9 billion, reaching 85.84% of the average daily revenue target. Eleven of 12 branched reported a decrease in daily revenue such as Saigon port area 3 Customs Branch has an average daily revenue of VND64.6 billion, reached 92.89% of the average daily revenue target (equivalent to VND69.6 billion); the Processing Management Customs Branch collected VND0.2 billion per day, reaching 34.17% of the average daily revenue target.

Facing difficulties in budget collection, HCM City Customs Department has offered many solutions. In particular, in addition to trade facilitation, the unit has developed effective measures to combat revenue loss, such as focusing on reviewing and inspecting codes, tax rate, value, quantity, C/O, tax exemption, reduction, refund, non-tax collection, type of export processing and production, export processing, import and creation of fixed assets under priority projects investment incentives - ensuring the right subjects and conditions; strengthening the management of non-commercial imported car prices according to the provisions of the General Department of Customs; inspecting and controlling tax exemption, reduction and non-tax collection, ensuring the right objects, the right purposes and complying with the law.

To strengthen the handling of tax debt, the Import-Export Tax Division has worked with customs branches to focus on reviewing, classifying, recovering and handling tax debts arising before January 1, 2023 in four groups: bad debts; debts subject to freezing; debts pending settlement; and recoverable debts; and take appropriate measures according to the provisions of law for each debt group.

Furthermore, HCM City Customs Department issued Plan 464/KH-HQTPHCM dated February 27, 2023 on strengthening tax debt freezing and debt cancellation of late payment fines and late payment interest for taxpayers who are no longer able to pay the State budget according to Resolution 94/2019/QH14, and requested units to review bad debts and quickly implement debt settlement in accordance with regulations.

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For the classification of goods, HCM City Customs Department has synthesized and implemented legal documents and documents guiding HS codes of the General Department of Customs to guide the unified implementation to prevent the situation that one item has many different codes or one HS code has many different items, to minimize loss of budget revenue; regularly reviewed and promptly detected cases where an item applies many different codes, listed confused items about codes to urge units to study and learn from experience and collect the sufficient tax amount.