HCM City Customs makes efforts to maintain import and export flow

	HCM City Customs earns over US$120 billion in trade
	HCM City Customs seizes over 1,000 fake designer handbags and sneakers in transit shipment
	HCM City Customs earns VND110,000 billion in revenue

Customs officers of 1St Zone Seaport Customs Branch inspect imports and exports. Photo: Thu Hoa

Supporting businesses in a flexible manner

In 2021, despite suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the import and export flow in HCM City seaports still maintained steady growth. This is thanks to the flexible direction by the municipal customs department in disease prevention and control while ensuring smooth customs clearance. Accordingly, the department has mobilized all resources and made efforts amid the public health crisis.

Director of HCM City Customs Department Dinh Ngoc Thang said the department has taken effective measures to respond to the situation. The city’s customs authority issued over 60 written documents to direct and regulate pandemic prevention and control in accordance with each stage of disease development.

To quickly clear goods, especially for products for disease prevention and control, the department established two working teams, including the rapid response team for customs clearance and the standing team for preventing goods congestion at seaports.

The two working teams publicized their hotline number, aiming at instructing and supporting businesses in customs procedures; removed difficulties and obstacles and coordinated with other competent agencies in handling customs procedures, ensuring the fastest customs clearance for products for pandemic prevention and control.

The department worked with other customs units, domestic and foreign organizations, and local governments to clear imported goods of 579 declaration forms. Of which, the goods of 501 declaration forms were cleared, and allowed goods under 18 declaration forms to be transported to warehouses for storage.

In addition, the municipal customs department offered a flexible and effective working mechanism to exchange information with other departments and government agencies to expedite the customs clearance and bring goods for disease prevention and treatment. The efficiency in performance has been highly appreciated by the leaders and the business community.

Tariff revenue target surpassed

Motivated by many effective measures, the volume of import and export goods across HCM City seaports was still stable and was not congested amid the strict social distancing measures.

As of November 15, the trade in goods was estimated at a year-on-year increase of 16.4% to US$115.78 billion. Of which, the import turnover was estimated to rise 0.18% to US$49 billion; the export turnover grew 31.4% to US$66.78 billion compared with the previous year.

According to the department, the surge in the import and export turnover across the city’s seaports compared with a year ago has achieved the dual goals of disease prevention while ensuring social and economic development.

However, under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, most manufacturing and service industries suffered from a decrease in turnover. Some sectors have delayed and stopped operation such as commerce, service, tourism, catering, hotel accommodation and entertainment, so the import turnover of consumer goods also dropped.

The department has considered pandemic prevention and control as the top priority task, and made great efforts to achieve the Government’s dual goals of “effectively controlling the Covid 19 pandemic and launching programs to support the business community affected by the pandemic”.

The imports and exports have gradually recovered in the last months of the year, leading to an increase in revenue. As of December 10, the Department exceed the revenue target by over VND110 trillion.