Who has predestination with specialized investigation
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Ms. Dao Thu Lan, Head of the Anti-Smuggling Department and handling violations, Lang Son Customs Department. |
Although quite busy with work at the end of the year, Dao Thu Lan gave me an intimate conversation at the office. Listening to her talk about many cases she directly explored and participated in since collecting information on documents and evidence, selecting objects with high suspicion to conduct investigation and verification, to the process of prosecuting cases, I felt a bit of the hard work that she and civil servants did in the anti-smuggling and handling of violations.
If there is no passion, no “anxious feeling” for each investigation by each customs officer, so the "super investigation" cases that Customs authorities investigated in the past would not have been so successful.
She said that the investigation secret name of LS712, fighting and handling acts of fraudulently importing and trading agricultural, forestry and aquatic products and evasion of VAT occurred at Tan Thanh border gate, Lang Son province.
She said that according to regulations, agricultural, forestry and aquatic products have not been processed or just processed through normal processing (peeled, dried...) when imported, they are exempted from VAT. However, when selling these products to households, business individuals and other organizations and individuals, enterprises must declare and pay VAT at the trade stage with the tax rate of 5% as prescribed.
Realizing the loopholes from the regulations is "fertile land" for the smugglers to gain illicit profits. And also from the results of the application of customs control measures, she and her colleagues grasped the methods and tricks of the abusing subjects to set up companies and hire people who lack legal knowledge or objects of social evils named as directors of importers... to operate for a short time (1-2 years), then dissolve; establishing new businesses or setting up many enterprises in different localities to legalize vouchers and invoices for fraud and evasion of VAT.
In order to investigate and struggle to clarify the above suspicious signs, Ms. Dao Thu Lan reported to the Department's leadership to coordinate with the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department (General Department of Customs) to establish a special case to fight for clarification of the violations by enterprises. Regardless of the day and night, she and her colleagues conducted a review of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products data of importers through Tan Thanh - Lang Son border gate, carefully studied the documents, focused on verification and collection; collected documents and evidence to find a "breakthrough" direction for the investigation. As a result, she has counted 93 enterprises importing agricultural products with a total value of about 2,739.9 billion VND. Imported goods are mainly direct consumer goods such as oranges, tangerines, pears, apples, onions, dry garlic, potatoes... If selling all of these agricultural products to households, business individuals will have to declare and pay VAT at the trade stage, equivalent to a tax amount of about 136.9 billion VND.
Through the time of collecting information, reviewing and evaluating business activities, importing agricultural, forestry and aquatic products of the enterprises suspected of fraud and evasion of VAT, the specialized Board conducted investigation and deep verification with 2 Enterprises that have signs of violation. They are: Truong Son Trading One Member Co., Ltd., (Tax Code: 5701786020), address in Hong Thai Dong Commune, Dong Trieu Town, Quang Ninh Province, and Lang Son Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Import Export Company Limited (Tax Code: 0201573096), the address at No. 20 - Group 6, Cat Ba, Hai Phong City. The amount of fraudulent VAT of these enterprises is quite large.
Recounting the process of investigation and verification from the localities while the people fled, we understood the difficulties in the process of judgment that customs officers met during their investigation process. Eight months later, the Investigation Security Agency prosecuted the criminal case "Le Thanh Phong and co-conspirators to buy and sell illegal invoices and receipts of state budget" in Hai Phong, and the Decision to start criminal procedures for Le Thanh Phong accused of illegally buying and selling state budget invoices and receipts prescribed in Clause 2, Article 203 of the Criminal Code.
With the position of Head of Anti-smuggling Department and handling violations, Lang Son Customs Department, there are extremely difficult investigation cases, that must be done during many days, and every day at midnight, early in the morning she will return home. We understand that after each victory is the silent sacrifice of her and her comrades to contribute to the loss of revenue for the state budget.
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