Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs: A Year of Remarkable Endeavors and Accomplishments

The Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department has been steadfast in its commitment to forging robust partnerships with the local business community and entrepreneurs. With a dedicated focus on overcoming challenges, the department has made significant contributions to the socioeconomic development of the region. Notably, it stands ready to address emerging issues faced by the business community in navigating the complexities of customs procedures. Our correspondent conducted an exclusive interview with Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang, Director of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department, to shed light on their notable achievements.

Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang, Director of Director of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department, awards Certificates of Merit to outstanding individuals

In light of the challenges faced in 2023, the customs sector has made significant strides to ensure optimal performance in collection tasks. Could you elaborate on the strategies employed by the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department to achieve these objectives?

Since the commencement of the year, the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department has assigned specific tasks and provided guidance to its affiliated units. They have meticulously monitored budget revenue developments on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis, proactively proposing effective solutions. Additionally, the department has engaged in active dialogue to comprehend the import and export performances of local companies, offering swift resolutions to challenges. Notably, they have conducted meetings with major corporations to gain insights into their business landscapes and encourage streamlined procedures through the customs offices in the province.

As of December 15, 2023, the department had successfully collected VND16,308 billion for the State Budget, achieving 75.15% of the target outlined in Decision No. 2575/QD-BTC dated December 7, 2022, by the Ministry of Finance (VND21,700 billion). This accomplishment reflects a 16.84% year-on-year improvement.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs has mandated its subordinate units to expedite digital transformation initiatives. Could you provide insights into how the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department has implemented this directive?

The Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province Customs Department has proactively and promptly implemented a multitude of strategies to successfully execute its digital transformation. Here are the key areas of focus:

Executive direction: The department has issued implementation documents based on the Party’s policies, action programs, and digital transformation plans from the Government, the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs, and the Provincial People’s Committee.

Communications on digital transformation: The department has utilized various communication channels, including written announcements, directions, newspapers, television stations, meetings, conferences, seminars, websites, and fan pages. These efforts aim to educate its employees and inform the public, importers, and exporters about the digital transformation policies and plans adopted by the Party, the Government, the General Department of Customs, the Provincial People’s Committee, and the Provincial Customs Department.

Application of digital transformation to operations: The department has robustly integrated information technology into customs operations and public services. A significant majority of customs clearance documents have been processed electronically (over 99.98%), with 75.3% of import and export documents automatically cleared by the system (green channel).

In addition, the department has contributed to the development of the digital customs IT system and smart customs. It has expanded the implementation of the VASSCM automatic customs monitoring system, with nearly 100% of port, warehouse, and yard operators connecting and exchanging information with the VASSCM system. The department has also utilized GPS electronic positioning seals in customs monitoring processes and effectively operated two mobile container scanners.

Digital transformation in internal administration: The department has implemented a document management and administration system with digital signatures and operated an online surveillance camera system connected to two affiliated customs branches. Recently, the agency has developed and executed a project to apply information technology in evaluating and classifying the quality of its customs officers.

Furthermore, the department has implemented solutions to enhance the quality of its information technology infrastructure for digital transformation and developed plans to ensure adequate human resources for digital transformation.

The Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department has obtained notable achievements in 2023

Given the partnership between the customs and business sectors, how has the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department leveraged technological advancements to streamline procedures and foster a supportive environment for businesses?

In an effort to maintain a sustainable customs-business cooperation relationship, the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department has consistently prioritized understanding and supporting companies through timely measures:

The department provides comprehensive support to companies to ensure compliance with customs laws, facilitate trade activities, and build mutual trust. To become customs partners, companies must fulfill regulatory conditions to enjoy preferences on customs procedures, inspection, and control restrictions.

The department is committed to enhancing the customs-business partnership, which benefits both parties. While the customs authorities administer customs activities, provide effective trade support, and improve control quality, the business community benefits from expedited customs clearance, reduced administrative procedure costs, and transparent, easy-to-understand procedures.

Annually, the department executes plans from the General Department of Vietnam Customs to measure the release time of imported and exported goods. This allows them to identify time-consuming stages and introduce specific solutions to effectively reduce the customs clearance time for goods.

By measuring cargo clearance time, the department has proposed solutions to system overloading, built a robust server system and transmission lines, and upgraded satellite systems to meet customers’ needs for customs clearance speed on the system, as well as export and import clearance.

The department has strengthened cooperation in communications and law education, improved the quality of customs officers, and enhanced law enforcement capacity. It informs and communicates consultation plans and activities to the local business community to provide necessary knowledge and support, enabling them to better collaborate with customs authorities.

The department organizes business-customs consultative meetings to discuss recommendations and solutions to difficulties in customs procedures. In 2023, leaders of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department and its affiliated units visited and worked with eight businesses, including Long Son Petrochemicals Company, Baicheng Steel VN, and Coretronic Technology Company (BRVT), to support them in dealing with customs procedures. The department also organized eight customs-business consultative meetings and conducted 81 consultations on customs value.

Thank you very much!

By Van Luong, Vietnam Business Forum