The General Department of Customs is developing a draft circular on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision of imported goods transferred from a border gate to another border gate for imported shipments stuck at border gates amid the pandemic.

Solutions are quickly being developed to deal with congestion at ports. Photo: TH

On August 5, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Customs Mai Xuan Thanh chaired an online meeting to consult local customs units (HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau) and Saigon Newport Corporation on the draft contents.

Deputy General Director Mai Xuan Thanh said to solve the congestion of goods at Cat Lai port, the General Department of Customs has issued Official Letter 3847 to guide local customs units to work with Saigon Newport Corporation to carry out temporary customs procedures to deal with the congestion of goods at Cat Lai port.

However, under the direction of the leader of the Ministry of Finance, it is necessary to issue a circular on customs procedures; Customs inspection and supervision of imported goods transferred from a border gate to another border gate for imported shipments stuck at import border gates during the pandemic period.

At the meeting, representatives of the participating units gave opinions on the draft contents, including the time of sending send the goods transportation plan, documents and procedures; execution time; as well as responsibilities of the seaport operators and shipping lines.

The Deputy General Director requested after this meeting the units urgently finalise the draft circular and submit it to the Ministry of Finance for consultancy from relevant units for promulgation.

On the morning of August 5, Mai Xuan Thanh chaired an online meeting to execute Official Dispatch 3847 on temporary instructions for customs procedures and inspection and supervision to solve cargo congestion at Cat Lai port.

Accordingly, imported goods stuck at Cat Lai port will be transported to other seaports in HCM City and inland ports or inland container depots in other provinces and cities for storage, including imported goods of enterprises in Dong Nai province will be transported to ICD Tan Cang - Long Binh or ICD Tan Cang Nhon Trach; imported goods of firms in Binh Duong province will be transported to ICD Tan Cang Song Than; and imported goods of businesses in the western provinces will be transported to Tan Cang Hiep Phuoc port.

Backlogged goods that have gone through the counting, classification and valuation according to Article 12 of Circular 203/2014 of the Ministry of Finance will be transported from Cat Lai port to Tan Cang Hiep Phuoc port.

The General Department of Customs asked Saigon Newport Corporation to notify customers who are import-export companies, shipping lines, shipping agents about the congestion at Cat Lai port so they can have a plan to unload their goods and store goods at Cai Mep port, and change the destination port from Cat Lai port to Cai Mep port.

At the same time, Saigon Newport Corporation is requested to contact with specialised inspection units at seaports to speed inspection progress and return specialised inspection results to reduce clearance time for imported goods and quickly release the goods from the port.

To solve cargo congestion at Cat Lai port, the Ministry of Finance also sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of Transport. In which, the Ministry of Transport is requested to direct the Vietnam Maritime Administration to direct the Port Authority to make a plan to regulate shipping lines/shipping agents, goods to Cat Lai port and other seaports in Vietnam to solve the cargo congestion at Cat Lai port.