Tan Thanh Customs quickly processes procedures for means of transport of goods. Photo: H.N

Deputy Manager of Huu Nghi International Border Gate Customs Branch Tran Van Nghia said that the branch had assigned officers to process customs procedures and work overtime, including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Accordingly, in the first two months of the year, the number of declarations registered at the branch rises by 91% year-on-year.

At Tan Thanh Border Gate, as of February 15, Tan Thanh Customs Branch processed customs procedures for 7,429 import and export declarations, up 1457.4% compared with the same period in 2022. As a result, the total trade in goods rose by 1,183.4% to US$ 69,822,566.

In addition, since the beginning of the year, 104 enterprises have carried out customs procedures across Tan Thanh Border Gate, increasing by 108% compared with the same period of the previous year. Especially, Tan Thanh Customs Branch have cleared 830 consignments of fruits with 155,000 tons, up about 200% year-on-year, with a turnover of VND48 million.

According to Deputy Director of Lang Son Customs Department Nguyen Huu Vuong, the department has directed customs branches at five border gates to clear and exempt physical inspection and directly classify into Green Channel for nine types of fresh fruit allowed to export to China.

Lang Son Customs has also assigned officers to process declarations based on the digital border gate platform 24/24h, thereby quickly clearing agricultural products and fresh fruits even during lunch breaks. Therefore, customs clearance for these consignments takes only 2-3 minutes when the cargo arrives border gates.

Motivated by the great effort of local governments and management agencies, the import and export activities across border gates are maintained stably. The competent authorities of Vietnam and China have focused on inspecting and supervising goods and enterprises, thereby minimizing problems in slow customs clearance and a backlog of goods at the border gates of the two sides. In addition, the competent authorities have implemented solutions to ensure smooth import and export activities, Vuong said.

The Tan Thanh Customs Branch deputy manager, Be Thai Hung, said that the branch had listed fresh fruit into the Green channel and exempted physical inspection when the cargo arrived at the border gates. In addition, the branch has coordinated with other law enforcement agencies to classify private channels for this consignment. Therefore, it only takes 2-3 minutes for customs clearance for one fresh fruit consignment.

The Plant Quarantine authority at border gates has facilitated importers and exporters of agricultural products in quarantine. Ms Nguyen Thi Ha, Director of Region-VII Plant Quarantine Branch, said that the branch had increased human at border gates to ensure compliance with regulations while shortening quarantine time and facilitating quick customs clearance.

To improve customs clearance capacity and create maximum conditions for importers and exporters, especially agricultural products, not only the ministries and local government agencies at border gates, the forces of Customs, Quarantine and Border Guard have actively collaborated and processed procedures for one shipment in the same time to complete related procedures, thereby shortening the customs clearance time.

Mr Ho Tien Thieu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Lang Son province, said the province had defined its responsibilities for import-export activities of the whole country across the local border gates, created the most favourable conditions to build a civilized and friendly business and investment environment to attract investors.

The export turnover of agricultural products and fruits to China accounts for about 80% of the total value of export goods across border gates in Lang Son province. Typically, key fruits such as dragon fruit, mango, jackfruit, lychee, watermelon, and banana and dried agricultural products such as black jelly and cassava starch.