Reinforcing Administrative Reform

The government’s project on administrative reform or Project 30 has been carrying out resolutely by the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs. After more than one year of checking administrative procedures, the Ministry of Finance has announced the result of the project’s Phase 1 of the two sectors. For the Phase 2 of the project, the ministry has instructed the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs and relevant agencies under the ministry to strictly recheck procedures in order to ensure the exact and effective simplification, contributing to cut costs of obeying administrative procedures for locals and enterprises. Under the instruction, the two sectors will consider to streamline papers and forms which are unnecessary and illogical; regulate the arrangement of settling administrative procedures at local levels, particularly those which have direct connection with tax payers and customs declaration in order to shorten time; apply other measures to replace procedures which are out of date and especially apply information technologies in declaration and reorganize the structure to avoid the overlap.  

Ending the project’s Phase 2, the taxation and customs sectors have cut a number of procedures such as granting priority card of customs procedure for enterprises; granting customs staff cards. In addition, the customs sector has strived to shorten the time of settling procedures of changing border gate for goods which go in or go out CFS stores to only eight hours. In terms of the taxation field, the sector has cut procedures mainly involving in printing, declaring, buying, paying and returning added value tax.    

 The administrative reform in the taxation and customs sectors has been reflected in not only rechecking administrative procedures but also in changing the awareness, view and working habit of almost all staff, contributing to facilitate enterprises and locals. According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s reports on conferences between the Ministry of Finance and enterprises relating to the administrative reform of taxation and customs, since conferences in 2008 to date the number of complaints by enterprises have reduced significantly. In detail, the rate of enterprise representatives who touched upon issues relating to tax and customs staff accounted for only 3 per cent of total questions at conferences.    

The Prime Minister has instructed the taxation sector to reduce the time of settling procedures to 1.5 times compared to the countries of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia by the year-end and have the time equal to those of Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines by 2015. For the customs field, by December 31, 2010, there will have 50 per cent of customs units, 50 per cent of declaration papers and 50 per cent of customs clearance turnover to be via Internet. These targets will reach 90 per cent by 2012. Currently, the whole sector has carried out customs declaration online. The General Department of Customs has been cooperated with ministries and agencies to expand the e-customs and will submit the Prime Minster for approval of an interdisciplinary cooperative mechanism at border gates in order to speed up the customs clearance. 

 

Pham Gia Tuc, Vice Chairman cum General Secretary of the VCCI, said the Chamber will closely join hands with the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs in researching general rules, international rules relating to the customs sector in order to propose the government to build policies and legal documents which are suitable to the country’s realty and international rules. In addition, the VCCI plans to print and deliver free of charge enterprises with notebooks on new regulations relating to taxation and customs.

 

From small actions to macro policies, plus with the rising awareness and responsibility of taxation and customs staff, the administrative reform work at the two sectors have been carried out strictly and comprehensively, proving the two sectors’ determination in building a democratic, professional and efficient administrative mechanism.