Lawmakers on September 17 agreed on the need to issue a draft decree regulating customs procedures for goods transiting Vietnam via the ASEAN Customs Transit System.

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung at the 37th session of the National Assembly (NA)
Standing Committee (Photo: VNA) 

The issue was part of the ongoing 37th session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee in Hanoi.

 Submitting the Government’s draft decree, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said this decree is necessary to create the legal basis for modernising customs procedures for goods transiting ASEAN countries, including Vietnam. The issuance will also improve Vietnamese businesses’ competitiveness and allow the best use of the advantages of the country’s geographical location in goods transportation.

 Delivering a report verifying the draft, Chairman of the NA’s Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs Nguyen Duc Hai said his committee supports the decree issuance to regulate customs procedures for goods transiting via the ASEAN Customs Transit System and to implement Protocol 7 on the customs transit system under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit.

 The draft decree features regulations on some aspects that existing law hasn’t covered, along with several stricter regulations. Additionally, no stipulations in the draft run counter to existing law and the NA’s resolutions, he noted.

 NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong stressed that the decree needs to ensure the connectivity of Vietnam’s customs sector with its ASEAN counterparts while guaranteeing the information system’s safety, as well as national interests and interests of organisations and individuals.

 Echoing the view, NA Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien said basing on opinions of the parliament’s finance-budget and law committees, the Government should make sure that its decree will guarantee the country’s sovereignty and interests, along with interests of organisations and individuals.

 Parts of the decree should be piloted first to gain experience before the whole document is applied, he noted.

 Other participants in the meeting also asked the Government to continue directing the customs sector to enhance its capacity and intensify examination to prevent the abuse of transit for smuggling or trade fraud.