Leaders and officers of the Legal Department. Photo: H.N

Early days of establishment

From the establishment of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the legal work was assigned to the Legal Division under the General Department Office to advise on the development of legal documents and handling Customs offences.

To meet the new requirements and tasks of theState Administration of Customs, on May 8, 1993, the Director General of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Truong QuangDuocsigned Decision No. 201/TCHQ -TCCB established Legal Department.

Director of Legal Department Kim Long Bien said that establishing a legal organization with assigned functions, tasks, and powers is the legal basis to improve and affirm the important role of the advisory body, helping leaders perform in the State administration of customs by the law.

In the early days of its establishment, the Department had only 12 officers and was assigned to perform key tasks on customs legislation, such as making programs and plans for the development of legal documents,drafting legal documents,appraising and consulting in drafting legal documents; disseminating and educating the law; reviewing and inspecting legal documents; monitoring and checking the law enforcement; instructing the handling of administrative violations and participating in the proceedings at the Administrative Courts; State Compensation and reforming administrative procedures.

The Legal Department is also a bridge contributing to the implementation of various forms of legal dissemination and education at all levels in the Customs sector.

Making great efforts to overcome difficulties in the early years of establishment, the Legal Department has played an important role in raising the legal consciousness ofthose subject to the provisions of the customs law, supporting the customs declarants, and solving problems and difficulties in import and export activities.

Achievement from great efforts

According to Director Kim Long Bien, the customs legal has played a key role in ensuring customs compliance and enforcement in the State administration of customs in line with the actual situation of socioeconomic development of the State in each period.

In addition, the Department has developed key legal documents and projects such as the Customs Law 2001,Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Customs Law 2005,the Customs Law 2014 and guiding documents, which show the proficiency of the Legal Department during 30 years.

As the leading Department in building the law project, the Department has actively developed the project's documentsand closely coordinated with the National Assembly's Law Committee to organize activities such as: implementing domestic and foreign survey delegations,holding the seminar to gather opinionsfrom delegations of the National Assembly, state management agencies, importers and exporters nationwide, local customs departments; reviewing, studying and reporting National Assembly deputies to complete and revise the draft Law and submit it to competent authorities.

The approval of the Customs Law by the National Assembly in each stage has met with international standards, the requirements of administrative reform, implementation ofmodern customs management, contributed to ensuring national security, social safety, and customs facilitation for import-export activities and transit acrossVietnam's territory.

The development of the Customs Law project has shown great effort of the Legal Department.

Motivated by the 30 years of establishment and development with outstanding results, the Department is intensely proud of its role and position. It makes an effort to build a professional department with solidarity, discipline, and creativity in task performance, contributing to the successful implementation of customs reform, modernization and development goals.

Director Kim Long Bien said that legal work solves specific and short-term tasks andperforms long-term vision. It is the updating of modern legal and customs law development, especially the contents related to the integration of Vietnam Customs with the world, aiming at transparency, efficiency, professionalism and modernity.

Therefore, to accomplish the assigned tasks, the Legal Department is determined to improve its initiative, sensitivity and creativity in advising the GDVC's leaders shortly. Furthermore, when implementing the project on amending the Customs Law in the coming time, the Department will further strengthen its role in developing and improvingCustoms institutions.