The overview of conference. Photo: Thu Nga

In recent years, motivated by the policy of focusing on developing the border gate economy to boost economic growth, Lang Son province has taken measures to improve customs clearance for imports and exports at border gates by seeking and attracting resources for infrastructure investment, actively exchanging and negotiating with the government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China) to unify measures to further facilitate trade.

At the conference, Deputy Director of Lang Son Customs Department said the Covid-19 pandemic has seriously impacted imports and exports, leading to a surge in the cost of sea freight. However, resulting from effective performance in disease prevention and control, the import and export operations at the province have developed. Therefore, the import and export turnover and revenue have soared.

In addition, the local customs department has implemented customs clearance for a huge quantity of goods in transit, temporarily imported for re-export, and deposited in bonded warehouses; imports and exports transferred through border gate as raw materials, components, machinery and equipment for production; raw materials and finished products for export of investment enterprises across the country with a volume of hundreds of thousands of vehicles, a weight of millions of tons and annual trade of over tens of billions of USD.

As of end-November, 96,859 declarations of 3,211 businesses have been processed via the VNACCS. The total import and export turnover showed a year-on-year increase of 54.2% to US$3,668.4 million.

Despite the huge volume of goods, almost all goods owners and enterprises across the country have not directly carried out customs procedures. They have authorized the customs declarants to implement procedures by signing a letter of introduction considering the declarants as their employees. Some declarants only declare in the fastest and most profitable manner, while the responsibility belongs to the goods owners, thereby distorting the nature of the operation of customs brokers. This main issue affects the development of customs broker operations in Lang Son province.

Customs brokers in Lang Son province mainly carry out procedures for goods in transit and imports and exports across Huu Nghi Border Gate. Some brokers implement procedures for goods temporarily imported for re-export and goods deposited in bonded warehouses across Coc Nam and Chi Ma border gates. At Tan Thanh border gate, the export of fruits and agricultural products is mainly implemented by individuals with business registration, failing to be conducted by customs brokers.

In the customs process, almost all customs brokers in the province have complied with customs regulations, made periodical reports and coordinated with the customs authority.

Currently, the majority of customs brokers have not yet signed agency contracts with goods owners. They have only implemented services through verbal agreements such as entering declared information criteria, implementing procedures for parking, regulating vehicles, loading and unloading goods. The goods owners are still named on the declaration, pay taxes, fees and charges and other amounts. Therefore, customs brokers in the province have not yet performed effectively. Some customs brokers have not operated in line with their role.

Vice Chairman of the Lang Son Business Association Ha Xuan Quang said that the regulations on the preferential policies between the customs brokers and normal import-export enterprises have not yet been issued. Goods owners have not yet understood the difference, efficiency, benefits, and privilege when carrying out customs procedures through the customs brokers compared with customs declarants.

Therefore, many goods owners do not want to sign customs agency contracts due to complicated procedures and additional costs related to signing the contract such as money transfer fee and VAT. Most of the goods owners authorize declarants to implement procedures.

To develop customs brokers’ operation, it is necessary to promote dissemination to the import-export business community about the benefits and rights when carrying out customs procedures via Customs brokers so that the goods owners know and authorize reputable customs brokers to conduct customs clearance procedures, Quang said.