(VOVworld) – E-customs has brought practical benefits for enterprises and met the requirements of the government’s administrative procedure reforms. According to Vietnam General Department of Customs, the 10-month-old e-customs pilot program has helped to modernize the sector and make import-export activities more efficient.
E-customs procedures have been used by all 34 customs departments across the country. More than 45,000 enterprises, 95% of those conducting import-export activities, have used the e-customs service since it was officially launched earlier this year. Of these, 6,300 are foreign direct investment companies.
Vu Hai Linh, Deputy Director of the Minh Thai Company, says the procedures have enabled businesses to find out whether or not their goods can immediately be cleared with just a mouse click. Linh says:
“E-customs allows us to mafile ke customs declarations at the office at any time of day. If the goods are classified in the green zone, they are exempt from checking and the company can receive them immediately. The biggest benefit for an enterprise using e-customs, obviously, is that it can reduce the time and costs of making customs declarations.”
Tran Quoc Dinh, Deputy Head of the General Department of Customs' Reform Board, comments:
“The electronic customs procedures are based on IT and a simple but united professional process in line with international standards. The General Department has directed all its branches to change customs declarations from a manual to an electronic procedure. Problems arising during the procedure are recorded for timely handling.”
The project team of FPT IS, a member of the FPT Corporation is working on the FPT.VNACCS. (Photo: FPT)
Under the Customs development strategy until 2020 and the plan to reform, develop, and modernize the sector until 2015, the Vietnam Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System and the Vietnam Customs Information System (VNACCS/VCIS) will be put into operation nationwide next April. The new system will offer a number of new procedures for tax-exemptions, low-value goods, commercial and non-commercial goods, and the management of commercial goods temporarily imported for re-export. The system allows connection to several ministries and sectors pursuant to the one-door mechanism.
Dinh says the system was developed using the expertise and technology of Japan's trade procedures and customs clearance systems. It is hoped that the system will be a turning point in modernizing the Customs sector, improving state management, and safeguarding national economic and social security, trade, and the environment. Dinh adds:
“Once the system is officially implemented, enterprises will enjoy greater speed and convenience. It will take just 3 seconds for customs clearance for goods classified in the green zone. Businesses will use electronic signatures instead of paper documents. The system will automatically classify cargo. Since the system is linked to ministries and relevant agencies, enterprises will have to declare information only once.”
To advance e-customs clearance, the sector will have to upgrade its infrastructure, improve its human resources, and create synchronous action plans. Communications will increase between the business community and state management agencies to make things easier for importers and exporters.