Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung issued on March 25, 2011 Decision No. 448/QD-TTg approving the Customs Development Strategy to 2020. Reporter Le Hien interviewed Vice Head of the General Department of Vietnam Customs Vu Ngoc Anh.
Could you tell us about the overall development targets of customs?
The strategy’s general target is to build Vietnam Customs into a modern agency with transparent mechanisms and policies; a system of simply procedures in accordance with international standards; with information and technology (IT) application on par with customs forces in other Southeast Asian countries. The strategy also aims to build the professional customs force, equipped with modern tools, contributing to the legitimate commercial activities, development of tourism, attraction of foreign investment, national security and social safety and protecting legal rights and obligations of as well as better serving the Vietnamese business community.
What are detailed targets of the strategy?
The strategy includes five specific targets, as follows:
In terms of the mechanism: The strategy aims to complete the comprehensive system of customs laws in accordance with the policy of reforming administrative procedures and following international standards and to build modern customs laws.
Regarding professional skills: Up to 2020, customs procedures and management must be simple, effective, and harmonized in compliance with international standards and practices. From 2020, process centralization clearance database at level Customs Department; exercise single window national customs mechanism and join ASEAN single window. Strengthening tax management skills, ability in line with regional countries. Organising performance and strengthening quality of basic techniques works and preventing smuggling activities and transportation of banned goods via border gate effectively. Up to 2020, audit post clearance activities have professional, competent, effective level basing on method of risk management with standard process basing IT application and strict sanctions.
For IT application: To set up modern IT customs system based on data processing centralization, integrate complete functions, process e-documents, e-manifest, e-payment, e-certificate; build regional data process central at over level 2+, agency customs data process central at over level 3+, ensure IT system meeting standard on high security, safe level (24/7) and manage in service trend, establish electronic gate in connection and exchange information with related offices; perform national and regional ASEAN single window customs mechanism. To ensure sufficiency, accuracy, timely customs national statistics data, making basis for supervise, analysis, estimate, forecast export-import situation and other activities, supply timely for state agencies to make plan, lead, control the state policies of economics, trade and tax.
The final is performance route which focuses on specific objectives as follows: Up to 2015, 100 per cent of Customs Departments and all key Customs Branches (sea border gates, airports, land border gates, main economics areas) will apply electronic customs procedures and e-customs procedures will be used in 60 per cent of basic import export types, 70 per cent import export revenue, 60 per cent enterprises. By 2020, e-customs procedures will be offered in 100 per cent Customs Departments and Branches, 100 per cent of basic import export types, 90 per cent import export revenue, 80 per cent enterprises.
By 2015, time of customs clearance is as short as average of developed countries in ASEAN in 2010, and by 2020 Vietnam customs strives to have time of customs clearance as short as in developed countries at the same time. The rate of physical examination of goods is less than 10 per cent in 2015 and less than 7 per cent in 2020. Rate of import export licenses issued by national customs single window is 50 per cent in 2015 and 90 per cent in 2020. By 2015 e-database transactions will be centrally processed.
Lots of resources will be needed to ensure the strategy’s success, particularly finance. Could you tell us some details of financial distribution for implementation?
The development strategy of Vietnam Customs up to 2020 is built on the Vietnam strategy of socio-economic development in 2011-2020. Thus, the state budget will be main source for the strategy. Annually, the state spends a part of the budget based on the sector’s income to maintain customs activities. In addition, the customs sector will also mobilize other sources from international organizations, for example Japan’s program of supporting container scanners at Cat Lai port. Also, we plan to call for capital from society based on the public-private cooperation model, including cooperative projects between the customs sector and enterprises which ensure benefits for both sides. Initially, we will focus on sources for 2011-2015, which aims at facilitating commercial and investment activities, raising the effectiveness of export-import activities, shortening time of customs clearance as well as reducing fees for enterprises. Through the magazine, we want to call on businesses to travel with the customs sector in successfully carrying out the strategy.
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