30 Percent Coverage of National Single Window Fulfilled

 

According to Mr Thai, the National Single Window (NSW), which was assigned by the Prime Minister to the administration of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Customs), officially launched in late 2014. So far, 9 out of 14 ministries use the mechanism, including the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance (Department of Customs), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Health.

 

So far, the number of NSW administrative procedures has reached 30 percent of total procedures conducted including certifications for import - export goods and permissions for enter-exit the country as well as transit. 100 percent was conducted in electronic form on a national scale based on the automated customs clearance system VNACCS/VCIS, except for a few specific cases which accounted for less than two percent of total import-export shipments. In the field of professional management of import-export goods as well as means of entry, exit and transit, it was evaluated that out of all involved ministries, the one that implemented the most procedures (the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with eight procedures, including animal/plant quarantines at the border) accomplished about 40 percent of the number required to conduct under the NSW. The transport sector had only implemented procedures for ships at 8 out of 25 ports. The enter/exit seaport procedures for Vietnamese vessels operating domestically were officially launched on 1st March.

 

Aiming to bring all public services having effect on businesses and organizations regarding export/import activities, exit/entry and transit into NSW, the General Department of Customs was cooperating with ministries and agencies to develop the Master Plan of Implementing NSW period 2016 - 2020. The customs service’s recent efforts in reforming administrative procedures were seen by the business community as helpful and making positive changes. The application of information technology had been helping businesses save time and cost. However, more determination was still needed to improve the image of Vietnam’s business environment in the eyes of international investors. According to the PCI 2015 report announced recently in Hanoi by the VCCI in conjunction with USAID, there was an increasing concern about the business environment of Vietnam in light of the rise of unofficial cost (as surveyed at more than 8,000 enterprises). This was an obstacle to the reform of Vietnam as well as the effort to attract investment and develop the economy, especially in the sensitive fields of taxation and customs.

 

The target set by the leadership for the customs service as a permanent body is by 2018, all administrative procedures directly relating to import-export and enter-exit activities of ministries and agencies to be conducted through the national single window portal level Four. At the regional and international level, starting from September 2015, NSW has connected successfully with four ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore) for the exchange of certificates of origin (form D) for exports originating within ASEAN; ready to officially connect to the ASEAN Single Window as soon as the Protocol on the Legal Framework to Implement the ASEAN Single Window takes effect in 2016.