Pilot National Single Window Customs Mechanism: Promoting International Trade

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently signed a decision to run a pilot experiment on national single window customs mechanism applicable to exports, imports, transit goods and means of transport on entry, exit or transit in accordance with the Law on Customs. According to the General Department of Customs, the pilot mechanism will create most favourable conditions for businesses, promote international trade, reduce costs, and ease heavy burdens of administrative procedures on businesses. This is also a stepping stone for Vietnam to prepare connectivity with the ASEAN Single Window.

 

According to experts, there is no single definitive viewpoint of what a single window system should be. A common definition of the term national single window mechanism is “A facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised electronic information and documents with a single entry point to fulfil all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements. If information is electronic then individual data elements should only be submitted once."

 

Under this mechanism, authorities and businesses agree on the use of standardised information data and businesses only have to declare once at the national single window system. Then, the system will send the data to decision-making agencies. At the same time, it will record processing results in a suitable, complete method and inform freight owners of the results.

 

An official from the General Department of Customs said the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) is the environment where national single windows operate and integrate. The functions and roles of a national single window are based on a single submission of data and information, of a single and synchronous processing of data and information and a single decision making for customs release and clearance. A single decision making is uniformly interpreted as a single point of decision for the release of cargoes by the customs agency on the basis of decisions taken by line ministries and timely communicated to the customs agency. For example, if goods need permits from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, all permit requests are sent to the above ministries. When the customs agency handles the goods, it already has responses from these ministries.

 

According to the decision adopted by the Prime Minister, experimenting units, apart from State agencies responsible for licensing and resolving administrative procedures according to the laws (collectively referred as administrative procedures) concerning the clearance of imported and exported goods and means, also include companies with imported and exported goods and means already participating in e-customs procedures which meet conditions of this mechanism.

 

Pilot contents include selecting and announcing the list of administrative procedures applied to national single window customs mechanism; Declaring and receiving declared information on administrative procedures by electronic means; Responding and exchanging information and returning results to stakeholders by means of electronic instrument and documents (as for procedures not electronically applied); and Paying taxes, fees and charges through commercial banking system on the basis of agreements on exchange and processing of information on collection and settlement of taxes, fees and charges between public involved and commercial banks.

Electronic documents have the same legality as written ones. Necessary conditions are prepared to exchange information on certificates of origin (C/O) under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and to head for the recognition of electronic C/O of ASEAN member countries.

 

From now to the end of 2012, Vietnam will build up legal documents and procedures, prepare information technology infrastructure, and construct national single window customs information technology systems. By December 2013, the mechanism will be applied to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Customs), the Ministry of Transport and some local State agencies involved in financial, trade and transport. In 2014, the program will be expanded to the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and some local State agencies engaged in health, agriculture, rural development, national resources and environment.