Instead of implementing direct professional operations as before, HCM City Customs Department has implemented an online form to timely clear import and export goods of businesses during social distancing.

Customs officials of Saigon port area 1 customs branch (HCM City Customs Department)
processes clearance procedure via electronic system for enterprises. Photo: T.H

Set up a website for price consultation

The number of foreign-invested firms carrying out import-export procedures in HCM City is very large. The Investment Customs Branch has always accompanied, supported and removed difficulties for businesses, especially customs procedures in general and price consultation in particular based on strengthening the use of IT applications, such as Zalo, Viber and email, especially the newly created website of the branch.

According to Nguyen Xuan Binh, Director of Investment Customs Branch, due to travel restrictions, to help businesses while ensuring compliance with regulations during customs procedures, the Customs branch conducted price consultations following new steps for social distancing. Accordingly, besides scheduling an appointment for price consultation by giving feedback on the system for businesses, the branch has sent the phone number of the customs official performing the consultation with feedback for businesses to know, contact and prepare documents and information for consultation.

The consultation is done online via Zalo and Viber. At the end of the consultation, the minutes will be sent via the above applications or email for completion. In case more information is needed or documents are required, the firm will send it to the branch via express delivery. Records will be disinfected before being transferred to the consultation unit.

Because of being proactive in this work, the cargo clearance of shipment subject to price consultation has run quite smoothly and there are no cases where the consultation dossier is overdue without reason.

The branch's website at https://hqdautu.org helps businesses look up information related to the transfer of firms' declarations, which customs official receive the declarations, as well as look up information related information, like Directory of the Procedure Team, Distance working schedule of the Branch, receiving the Customs branch's notices to the business community. The Branch is receiving comments from businesses to further develop the website to fulfill the objectives of customs and businesses to develop together.

Prioritise quick cargo clearance

Sharing with firms' difficulties, HCM City Customs Department determined that the top priority is to ensure quick clearance of import and export goods for firms. Not only online price consultation with foreign-invested firms, at seaport and airport border gate customs branches, some customs operations instead of having to be performed as before, have been deployed online to facilitate to clear import and export goods for businesses during the peak period of anti-pandemic work and travel restrictions.

According to the leader of Saigon port area 1 Customs Branch, in the period of social distancing in HCM City, the activities of price consultation and post-clearance audit at the customs authority, etc. were all conducted online by customs officials with businesses. Documents related to customs declaration subject to inspection were sent by firms via express delivery. In addition, to speed up the handling of problems related to the cargo clearance process, some customs branches have conducted online meetings to discuss with business leaders to solve problems immediately, avoiding backlogs causing difficulties for businesses, as well as the monitoring work of the customs authority.

Facing the complex and unpredictable developments of the pandemic, to ensure the safety of key forces performing customs clearance, several units under the HCM City Customs Department have begun to implement the "three on-spot" option. The "three on-spot" option of each unit, although there are differences due to the dependence on the facilities of the place of residence, in general, customs officials and employees all make great efforts with the common purpose of ensuring the best prevention of pandemic and cargo clearance of firms.