E-customs to benefit businesses’ operations

Shorter import customs clearance times is a win-win situation

Deputy head of the General Department of Customs (GDC) reform division Nguyen Manh Tung said administrative reforms and e-customs promotion were  essential to slash customs clearance times.

Accordingly, the sector will work on promoting e-customs in 18 out of 33 customs departments across the country from just 13 departments by November 30, 2010 and applying e-customs to all kinds of goods. Besides, up to 80 per cent of total import export value and half of total import export declarations would involve e-customs procedures.

Notably, southern Binh Duong Customs Department recommended a fresh e-clearance model, the first of its kind in Vietnam with the potential to be replicated in other departments in the future. The model would reduce direct contacts between customs officers and businesses while pushing up specialisation and professionalism in customs checks. 

The GDC said the model would help streamline the sector’s work assignment and boost the service quality.

Deputy minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan urged the GDC to establish regional-level data processing centres by promoting cooperation between customs departments in particular regions, then striving to build a national data processing centre.

In 2010, the customs sector posted striking achievements in administrative  reforms.  It is one of four sectors leading the country in an administrative procedure simplification drive through paring down over 30 per cent of the sector’s administrative procedures.

GDC head Nguyen Ngoc Tuc said the customs sector significantly shortened the time for customs clearance in 2010. Survey results reflected that the time for customs procedures clearance at seaports was shortened to 7.78 days in 2010, 7 per cent lower than in 2004.

The success came from its strenuous efforts to push e-customs. Accordingly, it is now required three to 15 minutes for green channel declarations to pass customs clearance procedures and 30-45 minutes for yellow channel declarations. For green channel declarations, businesses now have no need to come to customs offices to submit procedures as previously.

By November 30, 2010 the GDC applied e-customs in 13 departments with 70 bureaus, 35 fold more than in 2009. Similarly, more than 254,000 declarations and $27.9 billion worth in import -export value dealt with e-customs procedures, about 13 times and 14 times more than in 2009, respectively. Around 2,500 businesses had gone through e-customs checks, about 6 times more than 2009.