Deputy Director of the General Department of Customs Hoang Viet Cuong delivers the opening speech at the workshop. Photo: Q.H

Centralized interdisciplinary risk management center model

Deputy Director of General Department of Customs Hoang Viet Cuong said to promote administrative reform, enhance the application of information technology and build a digital e-Government, 100% of the core customs procedures must be processed on the VNACCS / VCIS, the number of businesses carrying out procedures on the systems accounts for over 99%, the customs clearance time for the Green channel shipments is only from one to three seconds.

In addition, as a standing body of the National Steering Committee on ASEAN Single Window, National Single Window and Trade Facilitation, the Ministry of Finance has made efforts to effectively implement tasks assigned by the Government and played an important role in connecting the ASEAN Single Window and the National Single Window.

Following the direction of the Ministry of Finance to implement the Trade Facilitation Technical Assistance Project, funded by USAID, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has coordinated with USAID Project to organize this workshop to exchange and share international experiences on risk management and the model of Centralized interdisciplinary Management Center.

“By applying risk management combined with the transition from ‘pre-inspection’ to ‘post-inspection’, the Customs sector has created a fundamental change in the method of customs management, from manual methods to automation based on risk assessment; thereby significantly reducing the physical inspection rate of goods. In particular, the Customs sector has actively detected and controlled risks of violations in customs laws; creating a compliance environment and enhancing the competitiveness of the country's economy to meet trade facilitation goals and state management requirements,” Deputy Director General Hoang Viet Cuong said

To meet the above requirements, the application of risk management in specialized inspection activities is necessary and consistent with the requirements of reform and international economic integration. Together with efforts of ministries and agencies, the specialized management has achieved encouraging results such as reforming specialized procedures and policies, and reducing goods subject to specialized inspection and implementing risk management in specialized management activities.

However, in addition to the achieved results, there are certain limitations and difficulties, such as customs inspection according to the requirements of specialized management; inspection content, method and efficiency; information and data are dispersed, inconsistent and have not been shared with relevant parties in a timely manner; and no focal agency to preside over management of contents related to risk management in specialized management and inspection.

Deputy Director General Hoang Viet Cuong hopes that this workshop will be an opportunity to review the customs risk management, the application of risk management in the management of import and export activities, as well as the application of risk management on the basis of implementation of specialized management policies of ministries and agencies and to exchange international experiences on issues of concern by ministries and agencies, and to research and develop plans to implement the “Centralized interdisciplinary Management Center model”.

Building of a centralized interdisciplinary management center is vital

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Claudio Dordi, Director, Trade Facilitation Project funded by USAID, said that the implementation of Government Resolutions on specialized inspection and customs clearance of imports and exports has been significantly improved. The rate of goods required for specialized inspection has decreased from 30% in 2015, to 19% so far.

Mr. Claudio Dordi said, despite efforts, specialized management and inspection procedures must be further improved to facilitate trade at the request of the Government. On the other hand, the Government has required ministries and agencies to reduce specialized inspection procedures and related regulations in the direction of reducing inspection and applying risk management. The Government has also set goals in coordination of relevant agencies in the construction of the Centralized Risk Management Center to manage customs clearance across the country.

The workshop. Photo: Q.H

At the workshop, representatives of specialized regulatory agencies such as Vietnam Register (Ministry of Transport), Department of Food Safety, Department of Traditional Medicine Management, Department of Medical Equipment (Ministry of Health), Department of Science and Strategy (Ministry of Public Security) and a number of businesses expressed their interest and consent for the construction of a centralized interdisciplinary risk management center.

According to Deputy Director of Department of Science and Strategy Nguyen The Hai, risk management is the inspection and supervision of quality inspection activities. The mechanism of inspection and supervision is necessary, because inspections are conducted to avoid risks of management and quality of goods before they are sold in the market.

“At present, it is difficult for each agency, ministry or department to set up an organization to carry out the inspection and supervision tasks. Therefore, the construction of a centralized interdisciplinary risk management center is necessary to share information among ministries and agencies. For example, the Ministry of Public Security has only three officers in charge of state management of quality, and the documentary management rather than physical inspection and post-inspection,” said Mr. Nguyen The Hai.