Ministry issues order to streamline import procedures
Ministry issues order to streamline import procedures
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has issued an order requesting the Department of Import and Export to end the issue of import licences for vehicle parts, unprocessed petroleum, and semi-processed petroleum for combination, distillation or production in factories.
Previously, the import of the above-mentioned products required an import licence from the department and a certificate from the Department of Industry and Handicrafts.
But this involved the processing of several documents which was costly in terms of time and money and drove up costs for businesses, reducing their competitiveness.
The order stipulates that the Department of Import and Export shall terminate the issue of import licences for vehicle parts and raw and semi-processed petroleum and gives the Department of Industry and Handicraft responsibility for technical considerations in issuing an import certificate. This means there will be only one procedure.
The import certificate will replace the import licence. The Department of Import and Export will coordinate with the Department of Customs of the Ministry of Finance to inform customs authorities at border crossings of the new procedure and ensure it is strictly implemented.
The order will help domestic and foreign business operators in Laos to reduce burdensome document compliance and save time and money. It is also aimed at attracting more domestic and foreign investors to Laos.
The move aims to develop and expand the commerce sector so that it makes a greater contribution to socio-economic development and enables the government to achieve its goal of creating a competitive market economy.
Since Laos became a member of the World Trade Organisation in 2013 and the Asean Economic Community in December 2015, the government has formulated various trading policies, especially trade facilitation for business operators.
These policies aim to help increase transparency and reduce the number of import and export documents required.
They are also helping to improve Lao trade regulations so that they encompass the basic principles of international agreements that Laos is a party to.
The overall goal of the government is to facilitate competition with international and regional business operators.
