Part 1: Customs tighten prevention, port enterprises are "on a knife-edge"

Smuggled scrap electronics was discovered by Ho Chi Minh City Customs at the port of Phuoc Long - Thu Duc. Photo: T.H.

Thousands of containers docked at the port

Warning that Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations are in danger of becoming a waste processing site for China's waste, as it has introduced a ban on importing 24 types of waste, including scrap plastic from 1 January, 2018. According to statistics, China's average annual import is about 7.3 million tons of scrap metal from developed countries (US, Europe, Japan).

In Vietnam, in recent years, the demand for scrap imports as materials in the plastics, paper and steel industries has been on the rise. In the Decision No. 73/QD-TTg dated 19 December, 2014 of the Prime Minister, stipulating the list of scraps permitted to be imported, there are 36 codes of goods, mainly plastic scrap, iron, steel, as raw materials for production.

Through the review and monitoring of the Department of Investigation against smuggling (General Department of Customs), plastics scrap imports mainly from the United States, Japan, Europe, shipped to Vietnam, mainly focused through ports in the areas of Ho Chi Minh City (Cat Lai port), Hai Phong port, Cai Mep port. In 2017, there are 54 companies that imported plastic scrap with a total of 24,648 containers. In the first 4 months of 2018, there are 50 importers with a total of 10,689 containers. Scrap plastics are mostly plastic bottles, used plastic film, and used PP bags imported for processing purposes for plastic products in Vietnam, and some for export of recycled plastic granules to China. Specifically in 2017, for scrap plastic products, the average monthly import was from about 1,500 to 2,500 containers (equivalent to about 20,000 to 30,000 tons per month). Particularly, starting from the fourth quarter of 2017, it increased sharply by about 50,000 tons per month and the first four months of 2018 reduced to 45,000 tons per month.

According to the statistics of the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City, on June 20, 2018, at the Port of Cat Lai, 3,231 containers of scrap have not been cleared by customs. Of which, there are 2,183 containers in excess of 90 days; 825 containers stored at port from 30-90 days and 223 containers kept at port less than 300 days.

Ms. Pham Thi Leo, Deputy Director of Customs Department of Saigon port area 1 said that there are many reasons for the large amount of scrap at Cat Lai port, but the most important cause is importers do not comply with current regulations. In fact, many importers have imported scrap when they have not been granted the certificate of environmental protection in scrap import as raw materials for production, leading to many shipments coming back to Cat port, but not yet able to import procedures, causing congestion at the port. Some scrap importers registered their business addresses incorrectly or changed their addresses without updating. Some enterprises have not cleared customs procedures for a long time, so customs offices cannot contact enterprises, and when sending invitations, they are returned. Some enterprises do not have a certificate of environmental protection qualification in import of scrap materials as production materials, or a certificate of satisfaction of environmental protection conditions in import of scrap materials as raw materials for production, or are out of date (no longer effective customs procedures), but still contact shipping companies using the names and certificates of other enterprises to take the goods to Vietnam.

Falsifying thousand declarations documents

Over the past time, the customs authorities have taken the initiative to capture the situation, detect and arrest many violations related to scrap import activities with many forms of ways and tricks. From 2017 to now, the whole customs department has detected hundreds of violations with the main acts of fake documents and seals; importing scrap that does not meet the criteria of import, hiding prohibited import goods, valuable goods, high tax rates... in the shipment of scrap.

Typically, the case of H. V. Production Construction Services and Construction Co., Ltd., implements the method of forging vouchers of state management agencies. From January 2017 to September 2017, the company carried out import procedures for 26 shipments of steel scrap at customs departments of the Customs Department of Hai Phong. During the requirements processing, the company submitted the "Certificate of environmental protection qualification in scrap import as raw materials for production"; 9 documents to announce the import of waste scrap issued by Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ben Tre province. Questionnaires about the documents and other documents submitted by the company were verified by the customs office and showed that out of the 9 notified batches of waste materials mentioned above, there were 2 documents issued by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Ben Tre province issued, but had been erased and with edited contents for goods and quantity, and the remaining 7 documents were forged by the company to carry out import procedures.

More serious is the incident concerning Đ-Đ Import-Export Trading Services Co., Ltd., faking agencies’ and organizations’ documents for customs clearance for thousands of scrap import declarations. From 1 January, 2017 to 31 March, 2018, the company registered 1,526 scrap declaration at Customs Departments, with Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, clearing 1,355 declarations. However, through the collation of data provided by the Pollution Control Department-Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to the General Department of Customs, in the period from January 1, 2016 to May 2, the Đ-Đ Import-Export Trading Services Co., Ltd., had not been granted a "Certificate of Eligibility for Environmental Protection in Scrap Importation as Raw Material for Production". The Company did not report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment/Department of Natural Resources and Environment where business registration was made for the above 1,355 customs declarations.

In the process of requiring information from scrap importers, Cat Lai port became aware that companies on the bill of lading showed that they are importers of hundreds of containers of scrap, but these companies refused to receive goods, stating wrong reasons (!?). As the case with One Member Limited Liability Company H.Q.C.H. (Cam Giang District, Hung Yen Province), there are currently 437 scrap containers imported to Cat Lai from the end of 2017. However, when the customs office sent a letter requesting the company to work on the above-mentioned scrap, the enterprise sent an official letter to the customs office refusing to receive, on the grounds that the shipper (foreigners) sent them to the wrong company. "Our company does not sign contracts to buy this lot from exporters, so these containers are not owned by our company" - official letter of refusal to receive the goods of the company stated, at the same time, request the shipping agent to notify the sender and the relevant agency of the refusal to receive the goods of this company..

Customs tighten management on the sides

On the side of the customs office, in past years, the General Department of Customs has issued an official dispatch to the provincial/municipal Customs Departments to intensify inspection of imported scrap. At the risk of scrap import increasing, to actively enhance management, on April 2018, leaders of the General Department of Customs signed the promulgation of plan 2116/ KH-TCHQ on April 20, 2018, on risk control for scrap import nationwide, through the intensification of information collection, analysis and risk assessment to detect and timely apply screening measures, to closely inspect and supervise objects and goods lots with signs of violation or signs of risk. Reviewing, evaluating, and classifying enterprises and lots of scraps with signs of violation and signs of risk in the whole country in order to take measures to inspect, investigate, verify and handle in time. At the same time, the mechanism of supply and exchange of information with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and cities was established to collect information.

Acting Head of the Department of Customs Supervision on Customs Au Anh Tuan, said that the General Department of Customs has advised the Ministry of Finance to report to the Prime Minister on the situation of imported goods which are unsold residues in seaports, the shortcomings of the policy; At the same time, the Prime Minister instructed relevant ministries and sectors to work out measures to prevent the risk of environmental pollution and remove the congestion situation at the seaport.

The General Department of Customs also issued guidance documents in the field to strengthen the inspection and examination of the observance of the law on environmental protection in scrap import under Decision No. 73/2014/QĐ- TTg dated 19 December, 2014 of the Prime Minister. At the same time strictly handle the cases of fraudulent activities; scrap import does not meet the conditions and requirements of environmental protection in accordance with the law.

* Part 2: Prevent scrap imports, must start from policy