Reforming customs valuation to facilitate law-abiding enterprises

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The meeting. Photo: Ngoc Linh

At a meeting discussing on the project on April 20, Deputy Director General Luu Manh Tuong said that the project must focus on a comprehensive assessment of customs value management, identification of causes for shortcomings and problems as well as achievements in customs valuation, which is the basis for proposing solutions to reform the management of customs value.

The project continues to develop a customs valuation system in line with international standards; learns from developed countries; complies with the Customs Law; and must be consistent with the orientation of the Customs Development Strategy for 2021-2030 and the plan on hiring information technology services to execute Digital Customs, ensuring effective customs value management.

Within the framework of the meeting, representatives of the departments of the GDVC and the Ministry of Finance discussed the contents of the draft project.

Regarding customs valuation, Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai assessed that the Ministry of Finance is interested in management and directed the GDVC to effectively execute this work.

For example, the ministry has included all methods of customs valuation into the Law on Customs and legal documents such as Decree 08/2015/ND-CP of the Government, Circular 39/2015/TT BTC of the Ministry of Finance; has developed processes and regulations instructing customs officers in performing customs inspection and valuation in customs clearance; has organized a database system for customs valuation and inspection since 2003.

However, the customs value management still have some shortcomings such as the shortage of specific regulations and instructions on identifying documents related to customs valuation in customs dossier; regulations on the inspection on customs declarations in price rulings; detailed regulations on customs inspection and valuation in post-clearance audit; lack of information for customs valuation and inspection; and limitations in information collection and exchange inside and outside the Customs sector and the Finance sector.

In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of customs value management towards the performance complying with international standards, regulations of the Law on Customs, Law on Tax administration and other laws, the Ministry has assigned the GDVC to lead and coordinate with relevant agencies in developing the Project on Reforming Customs Valuation on the basis of compliance with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Kyoto Convention and international commitments, standards and practices, the Law on Customs, the orientation of the Customs Development Strategy for 2021-2030 and the plan on hiring information technology services for the execution of Digital Customs.

The project is aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the customs operation and the service quality for customs declarants and businesses in customs valuation and anti-trade fraud, and ensuring accurate revenue collection to the state budget, contributing to creating a fair business and competitive environment, and facilitating law-abiding enterprises.

The project is required to assess aspects related to the customs valuation, including current legal regulations; the implementation in the Customs sector; the building of a database of values, information collection and processing; the coordination with agencies inside and outside the Customs branch; providing advantages and disadvantages, international experience, standards and practices; proposing solutions to reform customs valuation.

Therefore, the Project will comprehensively reform customs valuation and implement activities to support the work in developing and amending current regulations on customs value; building a database of customs value; implementing information connection and exchange and price management.