Officers of Customs Enforcement Team, Binh Duong Customs Department inspect cargo by the container scanner. Photo: T.D

Removing difficulties for enterprises

Industrial precursor chemicals are essential links in a series of important industries such as: production of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, construction materials.

Because of the complex nature and potential for harm, many countries, including Vietnam, have imposed strict regulations to control and ensure safety during the production, import and use processes.

This forces businesses to strictly comply with the law, but many firms still face difficulties when carrying out import and export procedures.

Businesses said that they face some difficulties in declaring CAS codes and chemical composition; regulations on annual reporting to the national database on the use of chemicals; licenses to import precursors, etc.

For example, Thanh Hong Company Limited and Wanek Furniture Limited Liability Company reported that the company faces difficulties when suppliers refuse to provide detailed information on CAS codes and chemical composition content in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

According to the requirements of the enforcement authorities, MSDS must fully and accurately show the ingredients, but enterprises depend on the information provided by the supplier.

The representative of the leader of the Customs Control and Supervision Division, Binh Duong Customs Department cites Clause 3, Article 25 of Decree 08/2015/ND-CP amended by Decree 59/2018/ND-CP as saying that “Customs declarants must fully, accurately, honestly and clearly declare the criteria on the customs declaration...”.

Therefore, the authorities require enterprises to ask the supplier to provide accurate information in the MSDS. If the MSDS does not show all the ingredients, the enterprise can ask the supplier to commit that this chemical is not subject to declaration or is not dangerous to serve as a legal basis when declaring insufficient information.

Regarding the difficulties of some enterprises related to reporting on the use of chemicals, Binh Duong Customs Department cites Article 9 of Circular No. 32/2017/TT-BCT dated December 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade stipulating and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Chemicals and Decree No. 113/2017/ND-CP amended and supplemented by Clause 6, Article 1 of Circular No. 17/2022/TT-BCT dated October 27, 2022 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade as saying that the enterprises must make reports on the use of chemicals and submit them before February 15 every year to the National Chemical Database system.

However, some newly established enterprises or those having difficulty in reporting have not met the requirements on time. Binh Duong Customs Department recommends that enterprises update promptly to avoid administrative sanctions.

In order to serve the state management of customs and the goals and plans for 2024, Binh Duong Customs Department has coordinated with specialized units to organize a conference to disseminate policies and regulations of laws related to the import and export of industrial precursor chemicals in the area.

Additionnaly, to support the business community to comply with the law, Binh Duong Customs Department has updated information when carrying out procedures for importing industrial precursor chemicals on the Department's website and distributed leaflets to the business community.

Strengthening control

According to Customs Enforcement Team, Binh Duong Customs Department, there are about 100 enterprises importing industrial precursors and psychotropic substances in the area.

Currently, this is the most difficult item to manage, including precursor chemicals that are indispensable ingredients in the preparation of addictive substances and synthetic drugs such as: Acetone, Toluene, Sulfuric acid, Hydrochloric acid, Acetic acid, Merthyl Ethyl Ketone, etc.

The use of industrial precursor chemicals to produce drugs tends to increase. These precursors can be used for production of drugs and addictive substances, causing many risks to security and order. Taking advantage of the strong development of industrial zones in Binh Duong, some subjects have mixed precursors into imported goods to implement illegal activities.

This poses a great challenge to the management and control of enforcement agencies, especially the Binh Duong Customs Department.

In addition to facilitating businesses in the import and export of the items, Binh Duong Customs Department has taken measures to strictly control industrial precursor chemicals, ensuring security and order in the area.

Recognizing the difficulties in the management of import and export of precursor chemicals in the province, the leaders of Binh Duong Customs Department regularly direct the Customs Enforcement Team to closely cooperate with relevant units to update information on imported precursor chemicals as well as strictly control and supervise the import and export of precursor chemicals of enterprises.

In order to improve the effectiveness of the management and control of precursor chemicals, Binh Duong Customs Department has strengthened coordination with the Drug-related Crime Investigation Police Department PC04 (Binh Duong Provincial Police).

The department has exchanged information on new methods and tricks of drug-related crimes, as well as the characteristics of synthetic drugs, helping enforcement authorities to be more proactive in detecting and preventing illegal trafficking and transportation cases.

According to the department, in the coming time, the increase in human resources, equipment and monitoring mechanisms will be the key factor to help the department cope with challenges, ensure safety for the community and contribute to sustainable economic development.