Illegal import of mushrooms and garlic from China is an unfounded rumour

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Customs officers of the Tan Thanh Customs Branch check imported agricultural products from China. Photo: Hong Nu.

Immediately after receiving this information, the leader of the General Department of Vietnam Customs requested the Lang Son Customs Department to quickly conduct inspections and clarification.

Regarding a rumour that agricultural products from Po Chai market (China) were transported to Vietnam with no certificate of origin and expiry date, a representative of the Lang Son Customs Department explained that: In fact, when unloading goods from Po Chai market (China), Vietnamese enterprises label to present information about the goods, such as origin. Normally, garlic has an expiration time of 60 days from the date of clearance of goods and mushrooms have an expiration time of 30 days from the date of manufacture.

Related to Customs procedures for imported agricultural products, a representative of the Lang Son Customs Department said: According to current regulations, Customs officers only perform Customs clearance for agricultural products with sufficient conditions, including a full set of Customs documents and phytosanitary certificate; and certificate of food safety (for commodities processed from plants) issued by the Quarantine Station or Medical Quarantine Center.

Regarding the information on mass media that enterprises imported agricultural products much more than the quantity on Customs declarations, such as importing 32 tons of goods on invoice but declaring only 15,225 kg of goods, the Lang Son Customs Department said that this information was not true. Because in fact, if the output on VAT invoice is more than imports, the enterprise could not settle with Tax authorities. In addition, there are no container trucks eligible to carry 32 tons of garlic (normally, a container truck can transport from 15-17 tons). A representative of the Lang Son Customs Department analyzed that in this case, the enterprise might use an invoice for 2 vehicles and 2 different import declarations.

Regarding information that vehicles transporting goods to Vietnam must stop to “bribe” civil servants, the Lang Son Customs Department explained that vehicles transporting imported goods must stop to wait for the process of quarantine, actual inspections (if necessary) and conduct Customs clearance procedures as prescribed. Customs officers only perform surveillance and inspection procedure and the State Treasury at Tan Thanh is responsible for conducting receipt and collection of tax and fees as prescribed.

Regarding price declarations of imported agricultural products, the Lang Son Customs Department said: “The fruit and agricultural products imported through the Tan Thanh Customs Branch (under the Lang Son Customs Department) are traditional products over the years with a stably declared price. Specifically, in 2016 (by the end 24th November 2016), imported garlic was 59,405 tons with a declared price of $US 250 per ton; imported mushrooms was 9,568 tons with a declared price of $US 400-3,500 per ton and imported grapefruit was 276 tons with a declared price of $US 160 per ton. These imported goods have a tax rate of 0% and VAT exemption, so they are not subject to risk management, examination and Customs valuation.

The representative of the Lang Son Customs Department affirmed: “In recent years, the Lang Son Customs Department in general and the Tan Thanh Customs Branch in particular have created favourable conditions for enterprises to perform Customs procedures, increasing the working time of civil servants to carry out Customs procedures much more quickly and accurately, reducing clearance time and saving costs for businesses.

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