The Deputy Director of HCM City Customs Department, Mr. Pham Quoc Hung: Blocking prohibited goods, smuggled goods from the origin

	HCM City Customs: Tax arrears arise from Customs post-clearance audits
	HCM City Customs: Many breakthrough programs in Customs modernization
	The Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front supervises the HCM City Customs Department

, Mr. Pham Quoc Hung, the Deputy Director of Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City.

In recent times, smuggling and commercial frauds have increased sharply at Saigon port. What do you think about this situation?

From the real picture in the early months of 2017, smuggling and trade frauds in HCM City have increased. In addition to multiple inputs, less declaration; making false declarations of origin of goods, commodity codes, for fraudulent tax evasion and new tricks in the past time was the use of transit goods, transshipment goods, and border gate to transport prohibited goods or smuggled goods for tax evasion. In addition to taking advantage of procedures at the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, the perpetrators also conducted Customs procedures in other localities to bring smuggled goods, prohibited goods through Ho Chi Minh City port. There were many registered documents in the neighboring provinces, but when the goods arrived at the port, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City discovered suspicion, organized the inspections right at the border to tackle violations. In addition, perpetrators carried out many new tricks to deal with State management agencies, with smuggling methods always changing. For example, after the authorities focused on inspection control, seized many cases of smuggling through the type of transit in Ho Chi Minh City, the perpetrators diverted declarations in the neighboring provinces moved to border gate in transit to move to third countries, but then brought goods back to the domestic market for consumption.

From the above situation, from the beginning of the year, how has the work on anti-smuggling and trade fraud in Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department operated, Sir?

In the situation of complex smuggling, trade fraud, and sophisticated tricks, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City has strictly followed the direction of the Government, the National Steering Committee 389, the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to take the initiative in developing plans of struggle and control. In addition, depending on the practical situation and characteristics of each management area, the Customs units shall elaborate thematic plans, check and control, and coordinate with the competent force in the area to check and prevent at the border gate.

In the fighting plans, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City paid special attention to key objects such as: regularly revising Customs declaration; regularly declaring ambiguity in the records. Also, planning specialized projects to coordinate with the authorities to prevent. In the first 6 months of 2017, Ho Chi Minh City Customs discovered 710 cases, fined over 18 billion VND, with criminal prosecution of 14 cases involving smuggling, nearly doubling the number of cases in 2016; transferring the authorities to bring prosecution 6 cases. Particularly infringing goods were detected as banned goods, such as refrigerated goods, used electronics, and wild animal products.

Many large-scale smuggling cases have been discovered and the HCMC Customs Department has prosecuted many cases, but why are businesses still trying to smuggle prohibited goods to Saigon port? In your opinion, is there are any smuggling rings taking illicit goods to Vietnam?

In the past, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City and competent forces discovered and severely deal with many violations, many of which were a criminal prosecution. However, due to the high profit from smuggling, and HCM City has always been one of the major markets for commodities, which is the hub for the southern provinces and the whole country to carry out smuggling, trade fraud, and prohibited goods.

In order to well fulfill the task of State management on Customs in Ho Chi Minh City, the Customs Department of HCM City is always aware of the smuggling and trade frauds and actively develop the plan of struggling; determined not to occur smuggling in the management area of the HCM City Customs Department.

To implement the guidance of the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Vietnam Customs on the fight against smuggling and trade fraud in trading goods, goods transported from border-gate, and in transit in the final months of 2017. How will HCM City Customs Department perform this task, Sir?

According to the rule, in the last months of the year, especially before, during and after the Lunar New Year, the amount of imported and exported goods and passengers often increase rapidly, leading to a complicated situation of smuggling, commercial fraud and illicit transportation of goods. Therefore, the units of the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City should seriously stick to the direction of the Government, the Ministry of Finance, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the General Department of Vietnam Customs in crime prevention and combating; Prevention of smuggling, illegal cross-border goods transportation, trade frauds and counterfeit goods to develop specific plans for implementation.

In particular, developing plans to fight, specialized projects to hit the object of plotting, leading; detect and handle in a timely fashion and thoroughly the acts of smuggling and illegal cross-border goods transportation, trade fraud. The plan must be implemented in a synchronous manner, avoiding the situation of this unit strictly controlled in other areas; to concentrate on analyzing and assessing the situation and identifying the key points in terms of geographical areas, routes, domains, commodities, objects, modes, and tricks, proposing effective preventive measures. Particularly, intensifying the fight against smuggling of goods temporarily imported for re-export, in transit, goods transferred from port to another. At the same time, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City also actively coordinates with internal and external forces, to ensure the synchronous and effective implementation of the prevention and combat of smuggling and illegal cross-border goods transportation, trade fraud and counterfeit goods.

As for the staff, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City strengthened the work of political ideology education, awareness raising, sense of responsibility to prevent and combat smuggling of each Customs officer. Assigning specialized forces to conduct centralized and specialized inspection tasks, clearly defining responsibilities according to geographical areas or areas to promptly and severely handle cadres and civil servants who commit, tolerate or show negative phenomena in the performance of their assigned tasks.

HCM City Customs holds dialogues and solves problems for Korean enterprises VCN- On 13th June 2017, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department cooperated with the Korea Chamber ...

Thank you!