As of May 31, the Customs sector collected and remitted to the State budget VND158,693 billion, increasing 27.65% year-on-year.

A Tan Thanh Customs officer worked with the Border Guard force 
to conduct channel classification for export agricultural products Photo: Tran Cuong

Pandemic prevention while ensuring customs clearance

Amid the complex Covid-19 pandemic, the Customs sector has deployed solutions to effectively prevent and control the pandemic and facilitate trade, contributing to the implementation of the "dual goals” of the country.

To solve difficulties for firms to ensure the source of raw materials for production and business, as well as not to disrupt the supply chain, the General Department of Customs has requestedlocal Customs departments and their subordinates andBacNinh Customs Department to carry out urgent solutions.

Although Bac Giang and Bac Ninh are hot areas of pandemic, customs operations in Bac Giang industrial parks Customs branch (Bac Ninh Customs Department) still works as normally. The branch has arranged facilities so that 100% of cadres and civil servants stay at the unit during the Covid-19 pandemic and developed a work plan on arotating basis if there are Covid-19 cases in the unit.

Bac Ninh Customs Department has developed anti-Covid-19 pandemic measures. The unit has mobilised more than 20 civil servants from the Department's office to be willing to work at the unit in case Covid-19 cases ariseat the branches to ensure professional requirements and not to affect operations of firms engaging in import-export activities in the area.

Bac Ninh Customs Department has required affiliated customs branches to guide customs declarants to declare and submit customs dossiers to Customs via the customs electronic data processing system. For other procedures performed on the online public service system, customs officers must check the customs dossiers on the customs electronic data processing system; handle the procedures on the online public service system, without direct contact with the customs declarants.

At the Lang Son border area, adjacent to China, Tan Thanh Customs Branch (Lang Son Customs Department) has implemented many measures to prevent and control the pandemic and prevent the virus from spreading in the unit.

At the same time, the unit has guided businesses to strictly implement anti-pandemic measures upon customs process. The unit added officers and working time to support fast customs clearance for shipments of fresh lychees.

In Hanoi, the Hanoi Customs Department has asked its units and subordinates, especially the Noi Bai Airport Customs force, to "activate" anti-pandemic measures at the highest level. The unit quickly planned and directed its units to ensure import-export activities, immigration, and customs supervision, especially flights from pandemic areas and flights carrying anti-pandemic equipment.

Motivated by positive solutions and facilitation to businesses in customs clearance by Customs agencies and strong growth in import and export activities with many import-export goods with high tax rates such as iron, steel and common metals of all kinds reachingUS$5.7 billion, up 47.2%, revenue rose by VND4,200 billion; CBU cars of all kinds reached 65,700 units, up 78% in volume, valued at US$1.49 billion, up 87% in value, the revenue rose by about VND6,200 billion; machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts of all kinds reached US$10.65 billion, up 26.1%, the revenue rose VND6,000 billion year-on-year; group of plastics and auxiliary materials reached US$3.9 billion, up 41.48%, State revenue by VND3,000 billion year-on-year; crude oil price increased to nearly US$70 per barrel, resulting in the value of imported petroleum products reaching US$1.45 billion USD, up 53% in value, hitting 2.73 million tonnes, up 20% in volume, the revenue rose about VND2,500 billion year-on-year.

The budget revenue from import-export activities in the first five months of the year reached VND158.693 billion or 50.3% of the estimate, 47.94% of the target, up 27.65% from the same period last year. In May alone, State budget revenue gained VND34,751 billion.

The unit contributing the largest revenue of the Customs sector was HCM City Customs Department, which collected VND 50,723 billion, 46.97% of the estimate, up 26.83% over the same period last year,Hai Phong Customs Department collected VND26,846 billion, reaching 47.94% of the estimate, up 20.68% fromthe same period last year; Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department collected VND9,954 billion, hitting 56.55% of the estimate, up 49.13% compared to the same period last; Hanoi Customs Department collected VND11,401 billion, reaching 49.57% of the estimate and up 24.14% over the same period last, and Binh Duong Customs Department collected VND 8,371 billion, reaching 52.65% of the estimate and up 40.44% over the same period in 2020.

Monitoring items with great fluctuations

Amid the current outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the General Department of Customs continues to direct its attached and subordinate units to strictly implement anti-pandemic measures and ensure trade flow, import and export activities of firms and immigration activities.

The General Department of Customs also requested customs units to build a plan to ensure customs management when there is a F0 case at the General Department, department or branch levels. Units must arrange customs officers to work on a rotating basis, work online or work from home under the guidance of the Ministry of Finance on duty performance amid the pandemic.

At the same time, the General Department of Customs required units to strengthen the implementation of anti-pandemic measures, handle work, ensure to avoid stagnation or congestion, especially works with deadline,increase online meetings, work from home,promptly handle and report problems beyond their competence to ensure customs clearance of import and export goods,anti-smuggling and trade fraud.

The pandemic is arising in industrial parks affected the production of export goods andthe whole Customs sector will continue to capture, analyse and closely evaluate the budget revenue movement foreach month and the whole year to ensure the completion of the target of budget revenue estimates for 2021 and serve as a basis for making revenue estimates for 2022.

In particular, key units will closely follow the actual situation of import and export of goods and must make estimates and forecasts close to reality, especially some key commodities and fields with great fluctuations. It is necessary to make statistics and reports on a weekly basis to have timely solutions to avoid difficulties for the 2021 budget revenue target.