The fourth customs management programme at department level took place on October 4 and 7. This is an online seminar within the framework of the Customs Capacity Building Working Group (CCBWG) with participation from all ASEAN member states. At the seminar, states shared experiences on the contents and role of customs in force majeure, border management, anti-smuggling and illegal trade management. The General Department of Vietnam Customs shared: “The role of Customs in force majeure: experience learned from the pandemic”.

The Customs forces at airports have made great effort to ensure safety and prevent
pandemic during processing customs procedures for exit and entry passengers.
Photo: Dang Nguyen.

Vietnam Customs has done well the role of the gatekeeper of the country's economy in the force majeure situation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Promptly response

In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Vietnam Customs closely followed the development of the pandemic and drastically deployed solutions and measures to prevent the disease spreading in the community, clearing the flow of goods for import and export, facilitating trade, protecting people's health and ensuring safety for customs officers in the whole sector, while ensuring the fight against smuggling and trade fraud, and excellently accomplishing assigned tasks.

When the pandemic began, Vietnam Customs has established the steering committee, working groups for Covid-19 prevention and control, rapid response group at the General Department of Vietnam Customs and at municipal and provincial customs departments to implement their duties, collect information and report daily on the situation of the disease affecting the departments as well as update information related to import and export activities at border gates to the General Department of Vietnam Customs for prompt direction and handling of problems and report the daily situation to the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Finance and the Government.

To ensure trade activities and trade facilitation amid the pandemic, Vietnam Customs has focused on shortening time for customs clearance and release by promoting IT application in customs clearance and release, minimising direct contact between customs officers and customs declarants related to goods import and export.

Along with that, it has promptly grasped the situation, resolved arising problems and provided solutions for quick customs clearance and release such as directing the implementation of fast clearance of goods, especially goods for pandemic prevention and control; directing the reduction of sample required for analysis, verification and classification of goods, shortening sample return time, increase the rate of notification of analysis and classification results before the time limit and on time; promoting application of risk management in customs operations; handling congestion of goods at border gates by directing municipal and provincial customs departments to work with relevant agencies in the area to organise bilateral talks to facilitate trade, and provide initiatives to remove goods congestion at border gates.

In addition, Customs has accelerated the reform of administrative procedures in response to the pandemic through reviewing some operational activities and promptly advised and perfected customs mechanisms, policies and laws to assist enterprises importing and exporting goods amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs has submitted to the Ministry of Finance for promulgation of Circular No.47/2020/TT-BTC dated May 27, stipulating the C/O submission time limit and form for imports and exports amid the pandemic. The circular has removed difficulties and problems of businesses in submitting the original C/O due to the impact of the pandemic and supported businesses in considering special incentives when businesses lack the original C/O, and prolonged late submission time of C/O to Customs for businesses to enjoy special incentives, amid the complex development of the disease.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs also submitted to the Ministry of Finance for promulgation Decision No.155/QD-BTC dated February 7, 2020 and Decision No. 436/QD-BTC dated March 27, 2020 for promulgation of the list of commodities subject to import tax exemption for the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic, and issued instructions on dossiers and procedures for tax exemption, reporting regime for goods subject to tax exemption.

During the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, realising that smuggling and trade fraud have increased, Vietnam Customs has identified the task of combating smuggling and trade fraud, protecting health and safety for consumers, ensuring national security is an urgent and important task. Therefore, Customs has coordinated and urged specialised management agencies to improve the quality of control of goods through reviewing and providing technical requirements amd identifying targeted areas to prevent and arrest hasardous goods, fake goods with fake documents or smuggled goods across borders and fight smugglers.

Effectively prevent pandemic

Determining ensuring the safety of the whole force in the pandemic as one of the most important tasks amid the complex development of the pandemic with information about diseases that can be transmitted through communication and can exist in both import and export goods, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has directed the sector to take measures to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure safety for customs officers and arrange officers on duty and handle procedures for customs clearance. So far, Vietnam Customs has not faced any customs officers suffering from Covid-19.

Through pandemic prevention peaks, Vietnam Customs has many experiences as follows:

Firstly, there has been close attention and unified direction from the central to local levels in disease prevention and trade facilitation for import and export.

The second, Vietnam Customs has a foundation and continues to promote the use of information technology, modern machinery and equipment in customs declaration, inspection and clearance and release of goods. This helps Customs clearance and release of goods be implemented quickly and minimise direct contact between customs officers and customs declarants, an important measure to avoid the spread of diseases.

Third, the advisory and enforcement units have strictly followed directions their superiors, promptly advised policies related to trade facilitation as well as reviewed business operational stages and policies that are overlapping, causing difficulties for goods import and export activities for submission to authorities for timely guidance.

Fourth, the Customs units have done well publicity to each customs officer about disease prevention as well as improving the spirit of service in disease prevention.

Fifth, Vietnam Customs considers the above difficulties are a challenge, but also an opportunity for it to continue to innovate, perfect and develop in a modern, professional, effective manner to perform well "dual goals", facilitate trade and ensure social security and safety, protect the interests of the nation, making action plans and appropriate performance solutions.