Why does Lang Son propose to stop the pilot on importing medicinal materials through Chi Ma border gate?

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Lack of warehouse, long testing time

One of the reasons making the project ineffective is that the storage infrastructure on both sides of the border gate does not meet the requirements of importers.

According to the report of the Economic Zone Management Board of Dong Dang - Lang Son border gate, currently the Chi Ma border gate area does not have a specialized warehouse to preserve medicinal products according to regulations due to high investment costs, high requirements for machinery, technology, people..., so warehouses and yards operators at Chi Ma border gate have not invested.

According to a representative of Tue Minh Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (Lang Son City), medicinal materials are conditional business items. During the process of testing medicinal samples, in addition to checking medicinal properties, medicinal materials must ensure humidity, freshness... Therefore, storage warehouses must ensure special important standards during the import process.

Through a reporter's survey, there are actually eight warehouses at Chi Ma border gate, but none of them meet all the criteria for warehouses to preserve medicinal materials.

In addition to the above reasons, many businesses said that the pharmaceutical testing process also takes days, takes a lot of travel time and costs... This makes importers not really interested in importing medicinal materials through this border gate.

Mr. Phan The Truong, Director of Truong Xuan Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (Hanoi) said that the company often imports 20 - 30 different types of medicinal materials, but when specialized agencies suspect one type of medicine, and take samples for testing, all other types had to be stored in the warehouse at the border gate area, raising costs for the company because the testing time lasts several days.

Some others also said that the testing time lasts 3-5 days, raising costs for businesses and affecting the delivery time to partners.

Discussing the issue of testing time, a representative of the Lang Son Center for Testing Drugs, Cosmetics, and Food said that testing of medicinal samples takes a long time to get results, so to return test results on the same day is impossible.

Since 2022, relevant authorities and Lang Son Customs have provided information and supported 23 businesses who are in need of learning about importing some products such as blood tree, amomum, and nutmeg... through Chi Ma border gate, but through actual surveys, they found limitations in warehouses, testing procedures, all switched to other border gates (Huu Nghi international border gate and Dong Dang International Railway border gate).

Inefficient

Talking to Customs Magazine, Mr. Nguyen Bao Ngoc, Director of Chi Ma Border Gate Customs Branch (Lang Son Customs Department) said that the Customs unit at the border gate has implemented many solutions to call on businesses to import medicinal materials through Chi Ma border gate. However, businesses from both Vietnam and China have not returned to the border gate after their actual surveys.

According to the representative of Lang Son Department of Industry and Trade, the unit is proactively coordinating with the Management Board of Dong Dang - Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone and a number of related industries to organize connection activities and meetings with businesses to capture import and export trends of goods in general and medicinal products in particular through Chi Ma border gate to support businesses and organized training classes to update knowledge on import and export of medicinal products.

Mr. Hoang Khanh Duy, Deputy Head of Dong Dang - Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone Management Board, said that the Economic Zone Management Board and related agencies also offered many solutions to attract businesses to import through Chi Ma border gate; and is encouraging warehouses and yards operators to invest infrastructure and coordinate with businesses dealing with medicinal products to invest in warehouses and yards at the border gate.

Besides, the management board continues to meet with businesses operating in the field of pharmaceutical production and business in provinces and cities across the country to call on them to carry out import procedures at Chi Ma border gate; and continues talks to the People's Government of Ninh Minh district (China) and requests them to invest in upgrading warehouse infrastructure in Ai Diem border gate area (China); continues to disseminate and promote the potential and strengths of the Chi Ma - Ai Diem bilateral border gate pair, especially about the advantages in importing medicinal materials; continues to invest in pharmaceutical testing machines to shorten the testing time.

The above efforts show that relevant agencies are still focusing on implementing solutions to attract businesses to import medicinal materials through Chi Ma border gate. However, in reality, the implementation of the project is not as efficient as expected.

Proposal to stop the pilot project

Although the People's Committee of Lang Son province has actively directed specialized agencies to implement tasks and solutions, to date, only one imported shipment of Viet Nam Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company worth over US$433,000, weighing 23.4 tons went through customs procedures at this border gate with a tax amount of nearly VND510 million, failing to reach the target of the project.

Therefore, the People's Committee of Lang Son province proposed that the Prime Minister consider allowing to stop the implementation of the project according to Resolution No. 111/NQQ-CP dated September 23, 2021. In addition, based on the actual needs of importers, Lang Son province will research and report to the Prime Minister on the import of medicinal materials through the Chi Ma - Ai Diem bilateral border gate at the appropriate time.

In addition, the People's Committee of Lang Son province proposed that the Prime Minister direct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss with relevant ministries and authorities on the Chinese side to agree on standardizing the working hours of bilateral border gates, Chi Ma - Ai Diem bilateral border gate to add to the appendix of the Agreement on border gates and Regulations on management of Vietnam - China land border gates.

After the two sides agreed on the official working time and added it to the appendix of the Agreement, the Chinese side restored import-export activities and customs clearance of goods as before the COVID-19 pandemic.