Can Tho City Customs Department Accelerating Administrative Reform, Accompanying Enterprises

Over 35 years of construction and growth, the Can Tho Customs Department has been growing constantly in all aspects and obtained many achievements; Notably, breakthroughs in administrative procedure reform and customs modernisation have contributed to fulfilling the task of collecting the State budget and facilitating the import and export activities of enterprises. This contributes significantly to the socio-economic development, the industrialisation and modernisation, and the international integration of the city.

Throughout 35 years of development, Can Tho Customs Department has fulfilled its assigned political tasks, actively contributing to the socio-economic development of the region. With the motto of transparency, professionalism and effectiveness, the Can Tho Customs Department has focused on building forces, strengthened facilities to meet the requirements of reform, development of customs localisation, and created favourable conditions for enterprises and import-export activities.

According to Mr Nguyen Hung Hai, Deputy Director of the Can Tho Customs Department, the department is in charge of a large area with one city and four provinces; the number of enterprises is constantly increasing and the import and export goods are more diverse. Therefore, to complete the assigned tasks, the Can Tho Customs Department always directs the implementation of Resolution 19 of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and Resolution 35/NQ-CP dated May 16, 2016 of the Government. Besides, the Department is stepping up the administrative reform and intensifying the application of information technology for customs modernisation and shortening the time of customs clearance, thereby creating maximum favourable conditions for export and import activities. This has been recognised and appreciated by the business community.

Following the implementation schedule of VNACCS/VCIS of the General Department of Customs, starting from June 2, 2014, the Can Tho Customs Department officially deployed the e-customs on the VNACCS/VCIS automatic customs clearance system. Since its inception more than three years ago, VNACCS/VCIS has become the core of Can Tho Customs Department in the implementation of clearing the customs of export goods, contributing to building a modern, professional and effective authority. The VNACCS/VCIS system operates stably at high processing speed. The processing of declarations on the system at sub-departments is very fast; the clearance time for export lots of green streams is only in seconds. Up to now, Can Tho Customs Department has put all customs declaration and customs clearance on VNACCS/VCIS system. This helps to simplify the procedures for businesses and save time and costs of the clearance process of goods export. The average clearance time in 2017 at ports and boradergates is 01 hour 45 minutes 05 seconds, much less than the targeted 70 hours under Resolution 19/2016/NQ-C, the import declaration at ports is 32 hours 32 minutes 41 seconds, much less than 90 hours under Resolution 19/2016/NQ-CP. In addition, the Department is also implementing the National Single Window (NSW), and the National Single Gate, an electronic customs clearance system for e-manifest and technical connection, ASEAN Single Window (ASW), an application of bar codes on customs declaration to facilitate the business community.

To speed up the reform and modernisation of administrative procedures, since March 1, 2017, the Can Tho Customs Department has officially implemented the online public services for 46 administrative procedures at the level 3 with 119/168 administrative procedures, accounting for 71 per cent; and at level 4 with 114/168 administrative procedures, accounting for nearly 68 per cent. On average, the Department handles more than 200 sets of records on the online public service system, shortening the time for businesses when implementing administrative procedures. Also, to reach the goals of creating favourable conditions and saving time and costs for businesses, the Can Tho Customs Department is deploying electronic tax when carrying out customs procedures. Up to now, 100 per cent of enterprises in the locality have declared and paid taxes and fees electronically through the commercial banks and the State Treasury. Besides, the department has accelerated the application of information technology and help businesses to save time and costs in the process of import and export procedures, gaining the confidence, supporting the reforming and modernising the customs procedures.

The Can Tho Customs Department focuses on publishing and promoting the legal information to enterprises on new regulations and policies related to import and export. Besides, the department regularly organises the implementation of propaganda and dialogues with enterprises, removes difficulties and problems and acknowledges the contributions and proposals from the enterprises to propose solutions to higher levels the procedures and regulations that help improve customs law. Deputy Director Nguyen Hung Hai stressed, "We appreciate the great importance of cooperating with the business community, shifting the perception, seeing the enterprises as important partners, towards legal compliance, contributing to raising high efficiency of import-export activities in the period of international economic integration."

In the current period of integration, the Can Tho Customs Department targets to build a professional, modern and integrity customs force and step by step to improve the capacity of operation as well as capacity to accompany and support for the business community. Therefore, the Department will focus on synchronously implementing solutions, contributing to the development of modern e-customs and effective and efficient implementation of mechanisms and policies on state management of customs. The Department aims to become a leading state management agency in the provision of public services, to step up cooperation partnerships and to create favourable conditions for partners to carry out customs procedures. The Department focuses on reviewing, proposing amendments and supplementing legal documents in the direction of reducing unnecessary administrative procedures, simplifying administrative procedures.

In addition, the Department will promote the propaganda so that businesses are aware of the importance and benefits of carrying out e-customs procedures in the VNACCS/VCIS system and completing the National Single Window to implement the ASEAN Single Window on a roadmap to facilitate trade and strengthen national competitiveness.

Hoang Lam