Over the years, the General Department of Customs has been evaluated by the Government, ministries, branches and business community as one of the leading agencies in reform and modernization. According to Decision No. 2154/QD-BTC dated October 25, 2022 of the Minister of Finance, the General Department of Customs keeps six consecutive years first ranking in term of public administrative reform index among general departments and equivalent level of the Ministry of Finance. This is recognition of the results that Vietnam Customs has achieved in implementing administrative reform over the years.
In order to promote reform and perfect the customs institution, the General Department of Customs has submitted to the Prime Minister for approval the Customs development strategy for the period of 2021 - 2030 in Decision No. 628/QD-TTg dated May 20, 2022; focused on amending and supplementing legal documents in order to further institutionalize the Party's views on socialist-oriented market economy development, orient administrative reform, improve business environment, enhance national competitiveness, remove arising problems, ensure effective state management and create favorable conditions for individuals, organizations and enterprises, satisfy requirements on import and export activities in the period of Covid-19 epidemic prevention and control. Currently, the General Department of Customs has advised the Ministry of Finance to submit to the Government for consideration and promulgation a number of decrees such as: Decree on connection and sharing of information in the field of export, import and transit of goods, exit, entry and transit of people and vehicles under the National Single Window; Decree on management mechanism, methods, order and procedures for quality inspection and food safety inspection for imported goods; Decree on customs management for imported and exported goods transacted via e-commerce….
Implementing the Government's resolutions and the action plan of the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs has focused on implementing synchronous solutions on administrative procedures reform; researched and proposed to reduce and simplify 5% of regulations and 5% of costs related to business activities; submitted for promulgation of the Decree No. 67/2020/ND-CP reducing and simplifying 19/29 business conditions, reducing 22/52 components of dossiers of procedures for recognition of warehouses, yards, ports, duty-free shop; performed the assessment of administrative procedures impact on legal documents developing process, making an important contribution to ensuring the necessity, legitimacy and rationality of administrative procedures; promptly publicized administrative procedures to ensure the right to access information on administrative procedures of individuals, organizations and enterprises; submitted to the Prime Minister for promulgation of the Decision No. 38/QD-TTg dated January 12, 2021 approving the project "Reforming the model of quality inspection and food safety inspection for imported goods"; proactively reviewed legislation on specialized inspection to propose ministries and branches to remove difficulties for enterprises, reviewed and changed HS codes for the list of goods subject to specialized inspection.
The organization and apparatus of the customs authority continued to be consolidated in the direction of streamlining, effective and efficient operation, meeting the working requirements; formulating and completing regulations on personnel management on the basis of determining job positions suitable to functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure...; Regarding public finance reform, in 2021, the Customs sector achieved 114.2 percent of the assigned budget revenue estimate, reaching 107.4% of the target; focused on fighting and preventing value-added tax refund fraud, strengthening the fight against revenue loss; focused on disbursement, management and use of the budget, public assets, investment in capital construction in accordance with regulations, publicity, efficiency and thrift.
The General Department of Customs continues to effectively maintain and operate the VNACCS/VCIS and surrounding systems; signs cooperation agreements on state budget collection with 44 banks, electronic budget collection accounts for 98% of the sector's total budget revenue; implements whole online public services reaching 72.3%; implements 98 administrative procedures on the National Public Service Portal; develops a master plan on building and developing an information technology system serving the implementation of the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window; submits to the Ministry of Finance a plan on the Customs information technology application in 2021 - 2025 period; coordinates in implementing 244 administrative procedures of 13 ministries and branches involving in the National Single Window; connects the ASEAN Single Window to exchange information on electronic certificates of origin form D with 9 ASEAN member countries.
Administrative reform of the General Department of Customs has made a remarkable development, thereby contributing to creating an equal, transparent and open business environment, cutting costs for businesses. To contribute to building a government of creation, integrity, action, serving people and businesses, in 2021 - 2030 period, the General Department of Customs keeps implementing international integration strengthening policies, harmonizing trade facilitation goals and requirements of state management on customs, creating a transparent and fair import-export environment, contributing to improving national competitiveness. To achieve that goal, the General Department of Customs has identified administrative reform as a key political task to be implemented synchronously, regularly and continuously towards satisfaction of people and businesses.
In recent years, the General Department of Customs has promoted the application of information technology and digital transformation to support and facilitate people and businesses in implementing customs procedures. Up to now, 100% of basic customs procedures have been automated, 100% of Customs Departments and Sub-Departments have carried out electronic customs procedures with participation of 99.65% of enterprises. Accordingly, the declaration, information receipt and processing, customs clearance decision-making are done with a high degree of automation; processing time for a customs dossier takes about 03 seconds. At the same time, the General Department of Customs has promoted the collection of import and export tax by electronic method, reaching 98.4% of the total budget revenue assigned to the General Department of Customs; implemented automated customs management system through connecting and exchanging information with enterprises operating in ports, airports, warehouses, locations subject to customs supervision, etc; strengthened provision of online public services with 72% of whole online public services (level 4) and 28% of partial online public services.
In order to support and facilitate businesses in customs declaration, from January 1, 2022, the General Department of Customs has coordinated with EPAY Company to deploy free customs declaration software for businesses. In addition, in order to reduce congestion, remove difficulties for businesses, create favorable conditions for import and export goods to be traded smoothly through land border gates, from January 27, 2022, the anti-congestion warning function has been officially deployed by the General Department of Customs on the National Single Window Portal, accordingly, state agencies, businesses and vehicle drivers can access for searching by computers or smart devices with internet connection to search.
The General Department of Customs has actively chaired and coordinated with ministries and branches to implement administrative procedures through the National Single Window. As of December 1, 2022, 250 administrative procedures of 13 ministries and branches have been connected into the National Single Window. At the same time, the General Department of Customs continues to closely coordinate with ministries and sectors to further expand the ASEAN Single Window, maintaining the official connection of the ASEAN Single Window to exchange information on certificates of origin form D electronically with all 9 ASEAN member countries; Coordinate with the ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN countries to connect and exchange ASEAN Customs declarations (ACDD) according to the ASEAN common roadmap; Test C/O form D exchange with ASEAN countries; Prepare relevant requirements to connect for trial exchange of phytosanitary certificates; Exchange to develop solutions and roadmaps to connect and exchange electronic documents between ASEAN and partners such as Japan, China, and Korea.
(Thu Hằng)