Customs officers of Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch inspected imported goods. Photo: T.H

According to the HCM City Customs Department, the Department handled nearly 1.6 million import-export declarations in the first half of 2024, a 5.59% increase compared to the same period in 2023. The total import-export turnover reached US$ 61.05 billion, up 7.04% (or US$ 4.02 billion) from the same period in 2023 when it was US$ 57.02 billion.

Notably, both import and export values increased strongly this year. Specifically, imports reached US$ 31.70 billion, rising 4.57% (or US$ 1.38 billion), while exports hit US$ 29.34 billion, up 9.85% (or US$ 2.63 billion) compared to the same period in 2023.

As a result, the trade balance through the HCM City Customs Department's border gates recorded a trade deficit of US$ 2.36 billion in the first six months of the year.

The HCM City Customs Department's revenue collection reached VND 61,007.3 billion in the first half of 2024, equivalent to 46.64% of the assigned ordinance estimate (VND 130,800 billion), down 4.12% (or VND 2,622.3 billion) compared to the same period in 2023 when it reached VND 63,629.6 billion.

Analyzing the reasons for the decrease in revenue, the HCM City Customs Department said that the main import and export commodity groups in the first half of 2024 increased compared to the same period in 2023. However, completely built-up automobiles, which account for about 13% of the total customs revenue structure, saw a sharp decrease in both volume (19.3%) and value (35.4%), leading to a decrease in customs revenue of nearly 45% (equivalent to nearly VND 6,000 billion) compared to the same period in 2023.

In addition, many imported goods with high import tariffs have had their tariffs reduced and will be further reduced in the following years in accordance with the tariff reduction commitments in the FTAs; some goods affected by the policy of reducing VAT (from 10% to 8%) according to Resolution 101/2023/QH15 dated June 24, 2023, also have an impact on revenue collection work of the HCM City Customs Department.