1,671 Customs Violations Found in May

The General Department of Customs said customs authorities found 1,671 customs violation cases from April 16 to May 15, 2013. The value of violations was estimated at VND112.964 billion and the State Budget collected VND545.454 billion.

 

According to the data from the Bureau of Smuggling Investigation, authorities caught 933 cases on sea routes, 441 cases on airways and 297 cases on overland routes. However, the value of overland violations was the biggest, with VND104.89 billion while the value of seaborne violations was just VND8 billion.

 

In the month, the wild animal trafficking prevention had outstanding results. On May 20, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department seized six rhino horns, weighing 5 kg, sophisticatedly hidden in luggage and illegally trafficked into to Vietnam. On May 4, a joint force of customs authorities and police captured three people trafficking rhino horns at Noi Bai International Airport. The confiscated rhino horns weighed 2.3 kg and valued VND2.7 billion.

 

In addition, the customs sector achieved good results in customs reform and modernisation, e-customs implementation and especially post-clearance inspections. In May, the sector carried out 177 post-clearance checks, collected in arrears VND370.04 billion (1.3 folds over April 2013), and sent VND109.80 billion to the State Budget. In the first five months of 2013, customs authorities examined and retrospectively collected VND770.25 billion, 3.7 times higher than the same period last year.