Hanoi's E-customs Fills up

Following the precept of “Going with businesses”, the Customs Department of Hanoi City is going side by side with businesses to carry out the plan set for 2007, with 80 per cent of cargo being cleared through e-customs.

 

Mr Nguyen Cong Dat, Director of Hanoi Customs Department, said the city’s customs sector has completed investing in equipment and machinery, as well as plans for training enterprises about e-customs or distance customs procedure clearance. The Hanoi Customs Department has also been very active in reforming administrative procedures and simplifying customs formalities. The clearest evidence for the effectiveness and result of the renovations could be seen during the 14^th APEC Vietnam 2006, which took place in Hanoi in November 2006.

 

Apart from assisting businesses and facilitating the customs clearance, the Hanoi Customs Department also focuses on developing human skills. In late November 2006, the Hanoi Customs Department organised the “leadership skill & teamwork spirit” training course, which drew the attendance of 86 learners who were cadres and officials working for customs units in the city.

 

In 2007, in addition to following hard on the focal tasks of the national customs sector, the Hanoi Customs Department also implemented six new working programmes; namely, modernisation and integration reform programme; human resource management and development programme; examination - supervision - taxation knowledge model development programme; risk management model development programme; information and communication technology development programme; and workplace construction and repairing programme. One of the focal and breakthrough tasks in 2007 is reform, modernisation and integration.

 

As of December 7, 2006, the Hanoi Customs Department fulfilled 82.3 per cent of the state budget collection target set for the entire 2006. The reason for the failure to reach the preset target came from the decision banning the transhipment of commercial import-export goods through the municipal customs gates. These kinds of goods contributed a large sum of taxes; hence, the budgetary collection from taxes was estimated to decrease by VND618 billion (US$38.62 million) in 2006 compared with the amount it gathered in 2005.

 

In 2007, the Hanoi Customs Department aims to collect VND5,150 billion (US$321.87 million) from taxes. “As for customs procedure, 80 per cent of imports and exports going through Hanoi will be cleared electronically or on the internet,” Dat affirmed. However, to achieve this goal, it requires the effort of customs authorities and the consent of businesses. Hence, to facilitate the customs clearance and understand more about works and procedures of the customs sector, enterprises need to cooperate with it in order to get familiar with its formalities and technologies.