Why hundreds of customs clearance agents stopped working?

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Customs clearance agents are allowed to process at the priority door. Source: Internet.

Stop operating more than 200 agents

According to Mr. Le Van Tien, Deputy Head of Management Supervision Department of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, Ho Chi Minh City currently has more than 600 businesses recognized by Customs General Department as customs clearance agents. Although the number of customs procedure agents has increased significantly over the past time, but the customs agency activities are still limited, have not developed and are not operated properly by customs clearance agents.

Although Circular 12/2015/ TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance clearly defined the rights and obligations of customs clearance agents, many enterprises have not fully implemented the rights and obligations of agents according to regulations. The most common violation is the failure to implement quarterly reporting. At Point a, Clause 9, Article 13 of Circular 12/2015 / TT-BTC, customs agent are responsible for: "Periodically on the 5th day of the first quarter of the following quarter, report on the situation of customs clearance agent according to the form of sending to customs departments of provinces and cities or other necessary information for customs management activities when requested by the customs office in writing". Also according to this Circular, if the enterprise does not report three times in a row, the General Department of Customs will consider terminating their customs clearance operation.

Through reviewing the implementation of the regulations of more than 600 customs clearance agents, recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has issued a report to the General Department of Customs concerning over 200 customs clearance agents that have not reported 3 times consecutively, and about the operation of agents. Based on the current regulations, the General Department of Customs has issued a decision to stop the operation of these violating agents.

Talking to reporters, representatives of a number of customs clearance agents that were stopped from working, said that because of no activity related to agency contracts, enterprises did not make reports as prescribed.

The General Department of Customs has issued a document to correct the implementation of customs clearance agents. In particular, one of the requirements of the General Department of Customs is: For businesses that have not fully implemented the responsibilities of customs procedures agents as stipulated in Article 13 of Circular 12/2015/ TT-BTC to redress violations and implement the reporting and notification regime for changing information (business names and addresses) of customs procedure agents, notifying changes in customs procedure agents (refunding pay code of customs clearance agent according to the provisions of Point d, Clause 1, Article 10 of Circular 12/2015 / TT-BTC, and propose the grant of a code to new employees who meet the prescribed conditions).

Taking advantage of customs clearance agents... to smuggle

In addition to the above-mentioned typical violations, according to Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, some customs clearance agents do not use digital signatures; do not use agency code issued by the General Department of Customs when carrying out customs procedures, the goods owners only hire agents to sign the introduction letters, turn agents into employees of the goods owners...

In fact, because the implementation is not in accordance with the law leads to unfortunate consequences. Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has just reported to the General Department of Customs to consider and handle a customs clearance agent in Ho Chi Minh City. Specifically, at the end of 2018, this customs clearance agent did not comply with the regulations on customs clearance agents, leading to the use of accounts and digital signatures of the company for its employees to open customs declarations, falsely declaring a smuggled goods lot. Examining this imported shipment, the Customs Sub-Department of Investment Management - Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, found that there are no imported helmets under customs declaration in the actual imported goods, but only consumer goods of all kinds, such as: perfume, cosmetics, watches, clothes, bags...

According to Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, not only the above case, some customs agents were criminally prosecuted before taking advantage of the delivery of digital signatures by the goods owners, making fake documents and smuggling goods that were discovered by Customs authorities. From this fact, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has repeatedly noted that customs clearance agents should not assign digital signatures and login accounts for VNACCS system to customs agents to make declarations and transmit customs declaration. Because from the looseness of management, allocation, use of introduction paper and power of attorney, this has created opportunities for a number of subjects to take self-seeking advantages, hiding the risk of smuggling and trade fraud.

With a large number of enterprises operating in import and export in Ho Chi Minh City, over nearly 50,000 enterprises, this will be an opportunity for customs clearance agents to develop and expand operations. However, according to some customs clearance agents, the fact that customs clearance staff of some unreliable enterprises has significantly affected the operation of customs clearance agents doing genuine business. This makes shippers worry when authorizing businesses to name on customs declarations. In addition, some import-export enterprises also have the characteristic of business shooting, violating the customs law, which also makes the customs agents uneasy when signing agency contracts...

Customs agents could do specialized inspection procedures on behalf of the shipper VCN – To simplify specialized inspecting procedures, in accordance with the provisions of Customs law, the Ministry ...

In order to limit the violations, the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department and the agency of customs clearance agency proposed that Ho Chi Minh City facilitate to quickly set up a customs agent association to support the big agencies for existing management development and proper operation, facilitating enterprises in import and export activities. Orient businesses operating in the area to apply the customs procedures agency mechanism according to the inevitable trend of the world, improve the competitiveness of enterprises, to meet the requirements of international integration more and more deeply.