Tackling revenue challenges: Dong Nai Customs Department’s strategic plan for 2025

Dong Nai Customs Department officials guide businesses to carry out customs procedures. Photo: N.Hiền

In 2024, Dong Nai Customs achieved a remarkable revenue milestone, collecting VND 21 trillion—112% of the assigned target and 12.4% higher than 2023’s total.

With its eyes set on a new goal of VND 21.1 trillion for 2025, as mandated by Decision No. 1524/QD-TTg issued by the Prime Minister, the department is preparing to navigate an increasingly complex economic landscape.

Director Le Van Thung emphasized that revenue collection remains a top priority, and plans have already been allocated across subordinate units to ensure success.

Elaborating on the strategies to be implemented, Mr. Cao Ngoc Tam emphasized efforts to sustain and generate new revenue streams. Each month, the department compiles a list of newly established businesses provided by industrial zone management authorities, focusing particularly on investors involved in major projects such as Long Thanh International Airport, Phuoc An International Port, and ICD Tan Cang – Long Binh Dry Port.

Customs branches promptly engage these businesses, offering guidance on essential customs procedures and facilitating processes to ensure smooth operations within Dong Nai Customs. A special emphasis is placed on collecting value-added tax (VAT) on imported machinery and equipment intended for fixed asset creation.

To maintain clarity and compliance, customs branches host quarterly business dialogues to introduce new legal regulations, address procedural challenges, and highlight common errors observed in previous quarters. These sessions aim to streamline customs procedures, bolster business confidence, and promote growth in import-export activities, thereby stabilizing revenue streams.

Dong Nai Customs employs in-depth analysis to monitor revenue sources and track ongoing projects and trade activities within its jurisdiction. This approach enables the department to propose timely measures to boost revenue and mitigate losses, ensuring policies align with local realities.

Efforts are also directed at accelerating digital transformation within the customs sector. The department actively contributes to refining legal frameworks governing import-export activities, making regulations more practical and easier to implement.

Parallel to revenue-generation initiatives, the department intensifies efforts to prevent revenue losses through tax audits, post-clearance audit, and internal inspection. Anti-smuggling operations and crackdowns on trade fraud further support these efforts.

Specific attention is given to high-tariff goods and products subject to additional taxes such as anti-dumping duties, safeguard duties, and countervailing measures. Rigorous reviews are conducted to detect discrepancies in tax declarations, improper exemptions, and missing certificates of origin.

In managing tax debts, the department classifies outstanding amounts incurred before January 1, 2025, into four categories—irrecoverable debts, pending debts, deferred debts, and collectible debts. Tailored solutions are applied to each group in compliance with legal guidelines to optimize debt recovery.

To prevent new debts from arising in 2025, Dong Nai Customs commits to strict oversight, leveraging advanced management systems to ensure financial stability