With the specialized State management of customs in the area where there are many businesses engaged in import and export activities with 100% foreign capital, recently, Binh Duong Customs Department has undertaken many solutions to improve the efficiency of customs management and legal compliance capacity of enterprises through the customs - business partnership.

The leader of Song Than Industrial Park Customs Branch signed a partnership
with Hoa Sen Group Joint Stock Company.

Actively support businesses

To surmount and limit the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic,since the beginning of the year, Binh Duong Customs Department has actively undertaken many positive solutions to support import and export activities of enterprises. Accordingly, leaders of Binh Duong Customs Department instructed branches to capture the regular operation situation for businesses in order to have timely solutions to support and remove difficulties for businesses as well as prevent abuse of the difficult situation for trade fraud, smuggling, evasion, and going missing. In particular, some branches have set up a separate professional group to advise and support businesses on procedures and policies related to the export of cloth masks and medical protective equipment to serve anti-pandemic work.

Binh Duong Customs Department said that although the pandemic in Vietnam has been controlled, the unit still continues to monitor and closely follow the operation of businesses in the area to promptlycarry out support to help business respond to the impacts ofthe Covid-19 pandemic on import and export activities and budget collection.

As of the beginning of June 2020, the production, trading and import-export activities of businesses in the area continued to see positive changes due to the relaxed social distancing measures in some countries and  production and import-export activities among countries around the world showing signs of recovery. However, some businesses are still facing difficulties, such as garment, footwear, iron and steel because they have not found new orders or reduced orders in the second quarter. According to statistics, currently in Binh Duong province, 58 businesses have returned to normal operation, but 30 new businesses have been affected. Accumulated to June 8, there are currently 872 businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr. Bui Hung Luan, Head of Import-Export Department, POB HUAT Vietnam Co., Ltd., said that previously due to the pandemic and reduced orders, the company cut the number of employees working in two factories (Binh Duong and Dong Nai) by about 55% and arranged employees to work only three days per week to maintain the production of old orders.

However, the export of indoor furniture of the company to the US, Europe, Japan has been improved, the proportion of export orders reached about 50%, and production activities have been stable and returned to previous levels. Currently, the company is planning to call employees who have stopped working to return to work as well as recruit hundreds of new employees to reorganize production.

Develop a partnership

To improve the efficiency of customs management and the law compliance capacity of businesses; and strengthen connectivity to spread partnership activity widely to the business community, Binh Duong Customs Department is launching a plan to develop Customs –Business partnerships and stakeholders in 2020.

The unit will sign a partnership with between two and five businesses at the department level and 70 businesses at the branch level.

On June 16, at the business dialogue, Song Than Industrial Park Customs Branch held a signing ceremony of cooperation agreement with ten typical businesses. Mr. Le Minh Quoc Thinh, Manager of Thu Dau Mot Customs Branch, said that it was expected that by the end of July, the branch will hold a signing ceremony of cooperation agreements with 10 typical firms in the area.

In addition, in order to support and facilitate import and export activities, Binh Duong Customs Department recently completed the construction of a question bank about common customs procedures of businesses in the area. The questions have been sent to all businesses in the area by the Binh Duong Customs Department through the focal points of the Business Associations. In addition, the questions have been also publicly posted by the Binh Duong Customs Department in the "Questions and Answers" section on the unit's website (https://haiquanbinhduong.gov.vn/) for businesses to look up.

Building the question bank is also a practical action in supporting businesses. Through this, businesses will be more favorable, proactive and faster in researching, understanding and complying with customs laws and policies. At the same time, in customs process, if there are difficulties and obstacles, businesses can contact Binh Duong Customs Department through many different channels such as meeting in person, in writing, phone, email, via the department’s website and the online consulting teamfor answers.