Peak period of Covid-19: Customs makes best efforts in customs clearance and pandemic prevention

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Gia Thuy Customs officers strictly follow the pandemic prevention and control measures

It can be seen that the whole Customs sector has followed closely the Covid-19 pandemic and actively taken prevention measures. Especially, immediately after the Prime Minister's Directive No. 16 / CT-TTg of March 31 on the implementation of urgent measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic, the General Department of Customs issued documents directing its units to implement two tasks at the same time: Ensuring the pandemic prevention and control and ensuring the customs management.

To deploy directions of leaders at all levels quickly, local customs units have introduced many drastic solutions from issuing written guidelines and timely instructions, to proactively arranging customs officers to deal with clearance of goods for enterprises smoothly.

In Hai Phong: Director of Hai Phong Customs Department Nguyen Duy Ngoc said that customs units in Hai Phongwere absolutely not subjective, neglectful or irresponsible in preventing and fighting Covid-19; proactively introduced appropriate plans and solutions to cope with all situations, not to be passive and made best efforts to perform the tasks assigned by the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs, and Hai Phong People's Committee.

In particular, the Department has carried out many solutions to promptly encourage and support enterprises in customs clearance; quickly grasped and removed difficulties and problems, especially for enterprises engaged in export and import of raw materials, goods and machineryand equipment; and strengthenedoperations via network and telephone to limit direct contact.

The Department has strengthenedcustoms processing via online public services; taken measures to support enterprises in implementing administrative procedures through the application of information technology.

As a result, customs clearance of goods in the area has been carried out quickly and conveniently, especially shipments of raw materials, goods and machinery for production.

In the first quarter, Hai Phong Customs Department handled procedures for nearly 16,000 enterprises and collected import and export turnover of US$14.7 billion, up 4.41% over the same period in 2019. Of which, the export turnover was over US$7 billion, up 15.12% over the same period in 2019; and the import turnover was over US$7.7 billion, down 3.71%.

In Hanoi: Deputy Director of Hanoi Customs Department Tran Quoc Dinh said that customs units attached and under the Department have arranged customs officers to useIT to work from home and arrange customs officers towork on rotation basis at headquarters to solve the work, ensuring the prevention of Covid-19 and avoiding congestion in the task performance.

The IT division is responsible for arranging customs officers to ensure customs operation system and guide the use of the internal document management system online.

In particular, Deputy Director Tran Quoc Dinh said that, in addition to ensuring the customs clearance in accordance with regulations, the Department’s leaders drastically directed the implementation of prevention and control of the pandemic to each division and branch.

Accordingly, heads of units have been assigned to be responsible for requesting and directing customs officers to strictly abide byregulations of the State, the sector and the Department on the prevention and control of Covid-19; responsible for infection for customs officers due to failure in strictly observing the regulations on prevention and control of the pandemic at the workplace. Operation situation at units must be reported to the Department weekly.

Through talks with some customs branches under Hanoi Customs Department, the units have fully taken measures to prevent and control the pandemicfrom disseminating the instructions of the leaders at all levels and related documents to directing the implementation to all customs officers and employees. Especially, after the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 16 / CT-TTg on March 31 and the General Department of Customs issued the direction on the same day, Hanoi Customs Department has further tightened the pandemic prevention and control measures, strictly followed the policy of social distancing, and arrangedcustoms officers to ensure clearance of import and export goods for enterprises.

Thanks to these measures, in the first quarter, total import and export turnover of Hanoi Customs Department reached US$6.3 billion, up 1.4% over the same period in 2019, of which the export turnover reached US$3.12 billion, up 6.6% over the same period in 2019; and import turnover reached US$3.17 billion, down 3.3% over the same period of 2019.

In Ho Chi Minh City: At the headquarters of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department and customs checkpoints, inspection stations have been established to measure body temperatures of incoming and outgoingpassengers in front of the offices, customs checkpoints and implement disinfection, ensuring the effective prevention of Covid-19.

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has continuedto effectively implement solutions to maintain trade facilitation and ensure economic security.

Accordingly, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Director requested the border gate customs branches to arrange customs officersto do customs clearance of goods responding toeach disease scenario.

Furthermore, tolist and review enterprises which have large turnover and high tax and comply with the law, to regularly contact by phone, email or online messaging software to understandtheir situation and support them; to request enterprises to use online public services, electronic transactions and encourage them touse agents to complete customs procedures.

To continue to effectively implement the issued plans and schemes on facilitation to support the business community during thepandemic. At the same time, to develop plans to support enterprises to restore their production, import and export and business when the pandemic is controlled to ensure import and export activities.

To proactively assign customs officers to inspect and handle customs procedures as soon as enterprises send information to the system of the General Department of Customs.

While carrying out customs procedures for enterprises, customs officers must guide them fully, clearly and accurately. Except for cases requiring paper records and physical inspection of goods, customs officers are not allowed to request enterprises to come to the customs officer to exchange and submit documents that are not specified in the regulations.

Requests for supplementing records and documents are made no more than once during the customs process and must be notified on the system as prescribed. The feedback notice needs information about the customs officerin charge of handling procedures for enterprises to contact, exchange via phone, email or online messaging software easily.

In Quang Ninh: Quang Ninh Customs is taking urgent measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, for the border gate Customs branches, Quang Ninh Customs has required the heads of the branchesto actively arrange officers to work at the at the unit's headquarters and work online on arotation basis.

For customs officers working at inspection and supervision units, customs branches cannot reduce the number of officers working at the units, there is a need toseparate and distance to limit direct and close contract. For customs officers away from home, when they do not work at the office, they are not allowed to leave the unit.

In addition, units proactively assign and organize officers to perform tasks effectively, in accordance with the law and achieve the goal of reducing direct contact, limiting crowding of people at one location, ensuring the number of officers to successfully fight the pandemic andfulfill the assigned political tasks.

In Lang Son: The situation of goods clearance activities between state management agencies of both sides is constantly updated. At present, facing the increasingly complicated disease situation, the People's Committee of Bang Tuong city (Guangxi, China) announced extension to the working time at the pair of border markets adjacent to Lang Son provinceto ensure the prevention of the epidemic.

Accordingly, from April 7, the Chinese side will arrange working time of five hours per day, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays according to the law. Specifically, China will apply customs clearance time in the morning from 9am to 12pm, andin the afternoon from 1pmto 3pm daily.

In addition, the Chinese side will not carry out entry procedures for people fromthird countries who cross the borderbetween China and Vietnam. Also, according to the notice of the Steering Committee of Covid-19 in Bang Tuong City, the goods of border residents can only go through Po Chai and Lung Vai border crossing. Vehicles carrying goods from Vietnam are not allowed to enter into Chinese processing factories but must unload goods at the fruit yards then processing factories will use their vehicles to carry goods to the factories.

Reportedly, the People's Committee of Bang Tuong city has just announced the application of this policy to pairs of border markets and have not yet announced the application of this policy to the main border gates and international border gates.

However, sinceApril 3, at Chi Ma border gate, the Chinese side stopped all customs clearance activities (without notification), this has caused goods at Chi Ma border gateto stop suddenly. Accordingly, in Chi Ma border gate area, there are nearly 300 trucks waiting.

According to the agreement between the two sides of Lang Son and Ai Diem Border Management Boards (Ninh Minh district, Guangxi province, China), at the pair of Ai Diem - Chi Ma bilateral border gates of the Chinese side will apply the working time from 7amto 2pm(Hanoi time). But according to some enterprises, China is applying the working time from 8amto 2pm.

In order to facilitate customs clearance, the representative of Lang Son Customs Department said that as soon as he got the information, the unit took the initiative to notify the enterprises to make plans to bring goods to the border gate. At the same time, Lang Son Customs requires border gate customs units to arrange customs officers to assist, receive, carry out procedures and clear customs for goods of enterprises.

Particularly,on April 6, at Huu Nghi international border gate, Huu Nghi border gate customs branch (Lang Son Customs Department) still arranges officers to carry out procedures and clear goods for enterprises normally.

In Lao Cai: After Vietnam announced the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese side only accepted vehicles controlled by Lao Cai drivers. The leader of Lao Cai international border gate customs branch (Lao Cai Customs Department) saidwhen Vietnam announced the Covid-19 pandemic (according to Decision 447 / QD-TTg dated April 1, 2020), the Chinese side only accepts trucks controlled Lao Cai drivers. Therefore, the trucks from other provinces moving to Lao Cai have to hire Lao Cai drivers.

“Currently, about 200 trucks are cleared per day on average, while in the past it was 300 to 400 trucks per day. Import and export goods are mainly agricultural products,”said the leader of the branch.

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