Workshop: “Customs management for e-commerce”

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The workshop. Photo: H. Nu

The workshop was attended by Deputy Director General of Customs Nguyen Cong Binh; Major General, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dam Thanh The – 389 National Steering Committee member, Chief of Standing Office of 389 National Steering Committee; Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, Deputy Director of E-Commerce and Digital Economy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade; Au Anh Tuan, acting Director of Customs Control and Supervision under the General Department of Customs and Vu Hung Son, Deputy Chief of Standing Office of 389 National Steering Committee.

Also in attendance wererepresentatives from the Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department, Customs Departments of Hanoi, HaiPhong, QuangNinh, Lang Son, Lao Cai and sponsors, enterprises and press agencies.

Editor in chief of Customs News Vu Thi Anh Hong chaired the workshop.

In the opening speech, the Hong said that as an official voice of the General Department of Customs, Customs News organised this workshop to help State agencies and the business community have a multi-dimensional look and better understand e-commerce; especially e-commerce for import and export goods in the context that the Ministry of Finance (the General Department of Customs) is drafting a “Scheme on e-commerce management for import and export goods”.

At the workshop, Deputy Director General of Customs Nguyen Cong Binh said in the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1254 / QD-TTg of September 26, 2018, approving the action plan to promote the National Single Window, the ASEAN Single Window, reform of specialised inspection of import and export goods and trade facilitation for the 2018-2020 period, the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Customs) is assigned to develop “the scheme on e-commerce management for import and export goods”.

This is to improve the operational efficiency of State management agencies and ensure strict control and compliance with the law to avoid abusing e-commerce activities to evade taxes and violate policies on goods items, intellectual property, origin or transport banned goods into Vietnam and vice versa. Nguyen Cong Binh asked the participants to discuss issues likecompleting the legal basis, promoting IT application in e-commerce management and give comments and proposals to promote e-commerce in general and e-commerce for import and export goods.

Speaking at the seminar, Major General, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dam Thanh The said that before enterprises take advantage of e-commerce for smuggling, trade of counterfeits, infringement of intellectual property rights, the Standing Office has worked with ministries, sectors and competent forces to survey and evaluate the development of scheme on combating smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit in e-commerce to advise the Head of 389 National Steering Committee. Dam Thanh The expected speakers from ministries, sectors,State management agencies and the business community to share difficulties, problems and propose effective solutions fore-commerce management.

At the workshop, speakers from specialised units of the General Department of Customs, Ministry of Industry and Trade focused on discussing issues includingthe current situation and solutions for e-commerce development in Vietnam; mechanismsfor inspection and supervision of goods in e-commerce environment; e-commerce management for import and export goods in Vietnam; enhancing operations and raising awareness in preventing the abuse of e-commerce for smuggling, trade frauds and trade in counterfeits; viewpoints on management policies for import and export goods in e-commerce; anti-smuggling, combat against counterfeit, infringement of intellectual property rightfor import and export goods; strengtheningcombat against illegal cross-border transport of goods; control and prevention of tax loss from import and export goods through e-commerce activities at border gates and express delivery services.

At the workshop, enterprises gave recommendations and proposed solutions to facilitate the e-commerce in general and e-commerce for import and export goods in particular.

Regarding e-commerce in Vietnam, according to statistics published by Statista (a German market research firm), in 2018, Vietnam's e-commerce revenue reached US$ 2,269 million and ranked in the top six e-commerce platforms. According to Vietnam E-Business Index 2018 report byVietnam E-commerce Association, the average annual growth rate of Vietnam was from 25 percent to 30 percent in 2017-2019. If Vietnam maintains this growth, Vietnam's e-commerce market size by 2025 will be ranked third in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Thailand.

According to statistics of Nielsen Vietnam and Miniwatts Marketing Group, 85 percent of Vietnam's population is using the internet, ranking 13th among the 20 countries with the largest internet use in the world. Vietnamese consumers spend an average of seven hours a day online. 90 percent of the urban population and 50 percent of the rural population use smartphones. E-commerce revenue in 2018 reached about $ 8 billion, an increase of more than 30 percent compared to 2017. With a growth rate of about 30percent per year, it is forecast that by 2020, Vietnam’s e-commerce revenue will reach about $15 billion.