Outstanding results in cooperation in customs control and enforcement of ASEAN Member States

	Customs sector to perform well trade facilitation and customs control: DG Nguyen Van Can
	Consult southern customs and enterprises on on-the-spot import-export management
	Bac Ninh Customs controls revenues

The largest ivory smuggling case ever at Hai Phong port is seized by the Hai Phong Customs Department on March 20, 2023. Photo: T.Binh

Many cooperation programs

Some activities include: ASEAN adopted the Guidance document on Joint Customs Control (JCC) and successfully deployed the first coordinated Customs Control Campaign to combat cigarette smuggling in December 2023; Guidance document on cooperation between Customs and Tax authorities to enhance cooperation at the national level between Tax authority and Customs Authority; share information about actual cases for periodic Newsletters on Customs Control and Post-Customs Clearance Audit; activities of the Tobacco Smuggling Task Force, coordination between ASEAN Customs administrations and the Australian Border Force.

In addition, ASEAN has also deployed the Alert Notification System (ANS) to exchange intelligence and suspicious information to serve customs control between member States and between members and their partners (Japan).

ASEAN plans to expand the application of the ANS in exchanging information on control with the South Korea and establish a control center to unify the direction and coordination of coordinated control campaigns of ASEAN.

ASEAN has also built a network of contact points that promote certain effectiveness such as CELO, Asia-Pacific Intelligence Office of the World Customs Organization (RILO A/P)...

Highlights of Operation Mekong Dragon

Some recent outstanding activities and results of the Customs Enforcement and Compliance Working Group (CECWG) include Operation Mekong Dragon; First Joint Customs Control Campaign (1st JCC).

Regarding Operation Mekong Dragon, this is an anti-smuggling initiative jointly initiated by China Customs and Vietnam Customs with coordination support from the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific (RILO AP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The campaign marks a highlights of Vietnam Customs in proactive integration and cooperation in strengthening control against smuggling and transnational crime in the region and world.

The campaign is a series of joint activities of Customs forces in the Asia and Pacific region that initiated in 2018 and by November 2023 had carried out five phases (each phase lasts about 5 months).

The total number of seizures of the Campaign reported by members through the five phases is 4,535 of drugs and CITES endangered wild animals and plants. The confiscated evidence included: 55.2 tons of drugs, 108 tons of precursor chemicals, 157 tons of wood and 4,479 products from wild animals and plants.

The 1st JCC called STATIC Campaign taking place from 1st to 31s, December, 2023, has been deployed within the framework of ASEAN Member States with the goal of preventing illegal transportation and illicit trade of cigarettes.

The campaign was successfully implemented with 15 reported tobacco seizures from five countries (Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines), the number of seized exhibits included: 1,250 kg (dried tobacco leaves), 50,720 packs, 2,367 packages and 22,761 reams (rolling paper) of cigarettes.

The General Department of Customs also expanded the implementation of the Campaign at a number of local customs departments (Quang Tri, Dong Thap, Gia Lai - Kon Tum, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, An Giang, Kien Giang, Long An, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City); establish focal points at a number of customs departments to promptly report and update seizures to the focal points of the Campaign.

During the Campaign, Vietnam Customs reported five cases of tobacco seizure, including two cases of illegal transportation of cigarettes from Vietnam to foreign countries and three cases of illegal transportation of cigarettes from foreign countries into Vietnam.

The amount of seized exhibits included: 1,250 kg of dried tobacco leaves and 1,880 cigarette packs. Through the information exchange mechanism of the Campaign, Vietnam Customs received two warnings via ANS (from the Philippines and Cambodia) and transferred it to relevant units to prepare tracking records...