Facing strict measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic, to create favorable conditions for businesses in customs clearance, Da Nang Customs Department has developed timely solutions.

Operations of Customs Branch at Hoa Khanh - Lien Chieu Industrial Park.
Photo: Hong Vi.

Facilitating customs clearance

Accordingly, the head of Da Nang Customs Department requested affiliated units to arrange customs officials to work shifts to carry out customs procedures under the "3 on-the-spot" model; and establish a support group to solve problems for businesses.

The department has developed a plan to apply IT to work from home so that customs officials can handle customs procedures in all situations, even the worst case when the department's headquarters is locked down and run the IT system online to monitor and solve problems to ensure customs clearance 24 hours a day.

For document checks, Da Nang Customs Department has offered many solutions to support customs declarants. The customs declarant is allowed to declare and submit a complete set of dossiers as prescribed to the customs electronic data processing system.

For documents that are required to be submitted in paper form and will be submitted late, the Customs declarant is allowed to ask for late submission by ticking the “Note” on the e-customs declaration and send it to the Customs agency through the customs electronic data processing system and submit scanned copies with a digital signature.

For documents related to explanations, supplements, customs branches will receive them via email. Customs officials on duty at branches will check electronic documents submitted by customs declarants through the system to handle customs procedures.

For physical inspection of goods and customs supervision, to expedite customs clearance during the lockdown, Da Nang Customs Department gives specific instructions as follows:

First, for imported and exported goods leaving/arriving at border gates that are not managed by Da Nang Customs Department, the businesses will work with the border-gate customs branches to inspect the goods.

Second, for imported and exported goods leaving/arriving at border gates under the management of Da Nang Customs Department, businesses are instructed to gather goods at the warehouse of the seaports/airports in Da Nang for physical inspection.

At the same time, businesses are notified that if they want clearance during this time, they must authorize warehouse, yard or port operators to represent them to witness the physical inspection of goods by the customs authority.

Developing specific plans for each unit

Da Nang Customs Department has developed specific plans based on the characteristics of customs clearance at its branches.

Accordingly, the Customs Branch at Hoa Khanh - Lien Chieu Industrial Park and the Investment and Processing Customs Branch will guide businesses to take goods to the border gate and work with the border gate customs branch to inspect the goods; and notify the customs declarant to authorize the warehouse, yard, port operators or shipping lines if it is necessary to clear the goods during the hard lockdown; and instructs businesses to work with the border-gate customs branches to handle physical inspection, customs clearance of goods and related issues for declarations registered at the branches.

Da Nang Seaport Border Gate Customs Branch and Da Nang International Airport Border Gate Customs Branch will work with warehouse, yard, port operators or shipping lines authorized by the customs declarant to conduct physical inspection of goods.