The Hanoi Customs Department: Implementing several solutions of state budget collection at the beginning of the year

Professional operation at the Customs Sub-Department (Hanoi Customs Department). Photo: N.Linh.

​Synchronizing multiple solutions

A representative of Hanoi Customs Department said that in 2018, the unit’s task of collecting state budget will face many difficulties because of the mechanism and policies. Firstly, the Decree 116/2017 / ND-CP stipulates the conditions for production, assembly, import and business of automobile maintenance and warranty services. Accordingly, from 1/1/2018, the conditions for importing complete cars have been tightened, leading to Toyota Vietnam, Honda Vietnam not being able to them, because they do not meet the conditions of law. Automobile enterprises cannot import complete cars because of the regulations in Decree 116/2017 / ND-CP, causing effective restriction at the My Dinh ICD. In addition, Co Bi ICD and Duc Thuong ICD are factors to increase revenue for the Hanoi Customs Department, but the implementation of these ICD are delayed so Hanoi Customs Department hasn’t exploited this advantage. Because of this, if the Hanoi customs Department hasn’t got any breakthrough solutions it is will be very difficult to accomplish.

In the beginning of 2018, in order to orientate the collection of state budget, the Hanoi Customs Department held a general conference on measures to combat losses, and for comprehensive solutions to implement revenue collection. At this meeting, Deputy Director General of Customs General Hoang Viet Cuong said, “The Hanoi Customs Department must implement a combination of solutions, such as facilitating enterprises, combating losses, anti-smuggling, trading fraud, and for post audit clearance.

The Hanoi Customs Department has implemented a series of solutions to reform procedures for facilitating trade, attracting businesses, and raising revenue. According to the Head of the Export-Import Tax Unit, Mr Tran Dai Thang (Hanoi Customs Department), commented that in 2018, the unit will carry out various activities to facilitate businesses to raise and attract revenue. Besides continuing to grasp the operation of 122 enterprises with large state budget payments to deal immediately with any arising problems, the unit must continue to expand the number of enterprises for procedures at the unit; The Hanoi Customs Department will work with the investment project management boards of the Hanoi People's Committee to capture information for more than 200 investment projects (including more than 100 FDI projects) that are going to be deployed by 2021, to sort out, plan contact, and guide business procedures at the unit," said Thang. In addition, the Hanoi Customs Department will propose to the Hanoi People's Committee to organize a business conference in the area to contact and guide enterprises to carry out procedures at the Department. Particularly, for popularizing the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 38/2017 / QD-TTg, on the transfer of border-posts for import goods for customs clearance at ICD ports in My Dinh, Ha Noi. Strengthening the organization of dialogue between customs and enterprises to get feedback, solve problems and introduce new legal policies to the business community.

At the same time, the Hanoi Customs Department units should maintain the officers to work overtime regularly to solve the problem with the motto, "do all the work not finish time." In the lay-out of staff, the unit will arrange them to have good qualifications to resolve the procedure quickly for businesses. At the same time, this unit is to inspect the observance of discipline of civil servants regularly.

Along with the implementation of solutions to facilitate enterprises, the Hanoi Customs Department focused on preventing losses of state budget through the review of the Green stream declaration where the classification and cases are applied special preferential tax rates. They are to detect errors and collect the State budget promptly, and at the same time, the post-audit clearance should be intensified by focusing on key enterprises, sectors, and key items with high risks.

Focusing on solutions to facilitate businesses

Concretizing the solutions of the Department, representatives of subordinate departments have also set out specific implementation plans. According to representatives of the Ha Noi Northern Customs Subordinate Department, it is expected that in the first quarter of 2018, private conferences will be held for automobile enterprises to provide more information about Decision No. 38/2017 / QD-TTg, Procedures to help businesses have the ability to carry out procedures at the unit. In addition, the sub-department also catalogs commodities with high tariffs, which are worth a lot of money to develop procedures for each specific commodity. At Vinh Phuc Customs Subordinate Department, they have grasped the situation of new businesses operating in the area so they able to approach and actively guide the procedures for enterprises.

In addition to building and organizing the solutions of state budget collection, the Hanoi Customs Department proposed the necessity of removing problems related to tax administration, as well as the supervision and management to implement these solutions effectively. For example, the issue of moving goods through border gates, currently, 80-87% of declarations, the turnover of goods by the Hanoi Customs Department is carried out with the procedures of transfer at the border gate. In order to create favorable conditions for enterprises, it is necessary to define clearly the responsibilities of the customs sub-departments at the border gates and the customs sub-departments outside the border gates so that the border-gate customs sub-departments may keep goods for inspection in case of doubtful and prohibited goods; In other cases, the information shall be coordinated with the customs sub-department outside the border-gate for inspection.