VTIP improves the efficiency of providing information for businesses

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The conference. Photo: Xuan Thao

On the morning of March 11, Deputy Director General of Vietnam Customs Mai Xuan Thanh chaired a conference to review the operation of the VTIP in 2021 and set out tasks for 2022.

At the conference, Deputy Director General Mai Xuan Thanh cited requirements of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organization as saying that each member country, including Vietnam, needs to build a website to provide information. Therefore, the development of the VTIP aims to meet Vietnam’s commitments in the TFA, and to be an effective tool to further facilitate parties involved in import and export and transit activities with Vietnam.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) is assigned by the Government to directly operate the VTIP. The GDVC has regularly updated documents and regulations related to import and export activities on the website www.vietnamtradeportal.gov.vn in both Vietnamese and English.

Speaking about the achievements in the operation of the VTIP in 2021, Editor-in-Chief of Customs News, Deputy Head of Standing Editorial Board of the VTIP Vu Thi Anh Hong said the operational policies of the VTIP has been completed, contributing to improving the efficiency of communication on the portal with diversified contents including an overview of Vietnam’s economy; current legal documents and procedures on trade such as legal documents, administrative procedures, export and import procedures, tax tariffs, instructions, forms, permits and licensing, applicable fees under international, regional and bilateral trade agreements acceded by Vietnam to the business community.

However, the contents of information updated on the VTIP by Customs are mainly under the management of the Customs sector and legal documents sent by other ministries and government agencies. Therefore, to fully update Vietnam’s trade information, there needs to be coordination between relevant ministries, government agencies and units.

To promote the efficiency of the portal, which is a reliable national portal in providing transparent information to the business community, creating favorable conditions for boosting trade activities between Vietnam and other countries, on the basis of the achieved results, to overcome the shortcomings and limitations, Deputy Director General Mai Xuan Thanh requested the units in the customs sector to continue updating information, rearrange databases and documents, and perfect technology to better meet the needs of enterprises.

“In the near future, the GDVC will propose the Prime Minister to consider issuing coordination mechanisms with ministries and government agencies for better coordination in updating legal documents related to trade on the VTIP,” the Deputy Director General said.