More than 37,000 records of health enterprises are implemented through the National Single Window

The Deputy Minister of Health speaks at the meeting.

Initial positive results

As for the implementation of the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window, Mr. Pham Xuan Viet, the Deputy Director of Information Technology Department, under the Ministry of Health said that in preparation for the second meeting of the National Steering Committee for the ASEAN Single Window, the National Single Window and Trade Facilitation (Steering Committee 1899), at the request of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the Ministry of Health has strengthened the Steering Committee for the implementation of the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window of the Ministry of Health.

According to Mr. Pham Xuan Viet, since June 2015, the Ministry of Health has coordinated with the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Ministry of Finance to carry out 5 administrative procedures under the Ministry's management related to exports and imports through the national portal with more than 37,000 records and more than 2,000 businesses.

In addition, the Ministry of Health has also developed an Action Plan for implementation of Decision No. 2185 / QD-TTg and the Comprehensive Plan for the implementation of the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window to 2020, which is expected to be completed in July 2017.

However, in the course of implementation, according to the Deputy Director of Information Technology Department, there is still many difficulties such as the implementation of the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window due to the lack of funds.

In addition, there have been some errors which are not appropriate on the declaration of publication of cosmetic products as the announcement of the manufacturer on the unpublished declaration of origin and small seals.

With the difficulty as mentioned above, Mr. Truong Quoc Cuong, the Deputy Minister of Health suggested the Ministry of Finance should allocate funds separately for the implementation of the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window. Also, upgrading the National Portal more clearly (including technical issues), the roles and responsibilities of relevant ministries and agencies in the implementation of the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window.

The Deputy Minister of Health also proposed the interconnection between the National Single Window of Customs software and the automated clearance system VNACCS.VCIS .

Ministry of Health needs more initiatives

At the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Duong Thai, the Deputy Director-General of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, said that the Government’s Resolution 19 / NQ-CP set out some targets, requirements of management and specialized inspections. Specifically, Government’s Resolution 19 / NQ-CP aims to reduce the proportion of imported goods subject to specialized inspections at the Customs clearance stage from 30 - 50% now to 15 %.

According to the Deputy Director-General of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Government’s Resolution 19 / NQ-CP also fundamentally changes the mode of management and specialized inspections towards narrowing the list of goods subject to specialized inspections at Customs clearance. The list of goods to be inspected at the Customs clearance must be accompanied by the HS code, the time of specialized inspections (including energy efficiency and food safety inspections) from the time of process of Customs clearance to the time of the clearance of goods (except for animal quarantine, plant quarantine and food safety inspections in case of the high risk).

The Deputy Director General of Vietnam Customs also confirmed that Customs authorities reformed and modernized their specialized inspection procedures towards simplification of inspection procedures.

Mr. Phuong suggested that the Ministry of Health should review the narrowed area of commodities subject to inspections at the Customs clearance stage. In the case where it is necessary to stipulate the list of goods subject to quality inspections before Customs clearance, it is necessary to clearly define the inspection process and technical regulations so as to have grounds for inspections and application of risk management.

Regarding the comments that the two agencies, including the Ministry of Health and the General Department of Vietnam Customs, spoke at the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai noted efforts of the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Ministry of Health. On behalf of the Ministry of Health, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Vu Thi Mai asked the Ministry of Health to direct the attached units to implement 55 procedures in the period 2016-2018.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mrs. Vu Thi Mai also proposed the Ministry of Health to review amendments, supplementations or new legal bases related to the administrative procedures to be implemented through the National Single Window. In addition, the Ministry of Health should be more active in assigning relevant departments to participate in the implementation of the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window, especially assigning the competent agencies to connect the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the Ministry of Finance and the related ministries and sectors.

"The Ministry of Health should also build software and training for civil servants and enterprises to implement the National Single Window mechanism. With the difficulty that the Departments of the Ministry of Health stated about the limited information technology of enterprises, I think this can be overcome because the import-export enterprises have a high level of human resources", the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mrs. Vu Thi Mai confirmed.

Regarding funding difficulty, the Ministry of Finance shall exchange with the concerned parties for seeking appropriate solutions, but the Ministry of Finance also proposes that the Ministry of Health should take the initiative in ensuring funding sources for the implementation of the National Single Window mechanism and the ASEAN Single Window. In addition, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mrs. Vu Thi Mai also requested that in 2017 and 2018 the Ministry of Health should prioritize procedures with a large number of applications (more than 1000 records per year) to meet the needs of enterprises.