Vietnam to cut time to clear customs by 30 pct in 2015: ministry
Vietnam to cut time to clear customs by 30 pct in 2015: ministry
Businesses will have to wait a shorter time to have customs cleared for their imports and exports next year, a deputy minister of finance said Tuesday.
It will take imported goods 13 days, and exported shipments 14 days, to pass through customs in 2015, Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan told a seminar on solutions to simplify customs and tax procedures in Hanoi.
Both imports and exports currently have to wait 21 days for customs clearance.
Tuan pressed that cutting customs time is not the mere responsibility of customs authorities, but also of the relevant agencies at seaports, border gates and especially the product quality watchdogs.
“Of the current 21-day customs time, businesses only have to work with customs authorities for around six days, and the remaining time is to deal with other agencies,” Tuan elaborated.
“What’s important is to minimize the time for the imports and exports to undergo quality or quarantine tests, while still maintaining the accuracy of the tests.”
In 2013, 34 percent of the imported goods to Vietnam had to undergo such tests, according to the deputy minister.
The ratio is 2.5 times longer than that of Singapore, he said.
“A large proportion of the imports are from markets with high risks on product quality, so they must be tested,” he explained.
Tuan added that the quality and quarantine checks on imported goods must be in accordance with eight laws, 33 decrees, and 134 circulars.
Many measures have been enacted to simplify customs procedures, including applying online for customs declarations.
“Customs procedures at 34 customs departments and 170 border gates have gone online starting on July 20 in a bid to cut customs time for businesses,” he said.
“To date, 38,000 out of 48,000 export-import businesses countrywide are declaring customs online.”
Despite these restructuring efforts from the customs sector, Tuan said the customs clearance time could not be reduced unless other relevant agencies join their hands by reducing paperwork and enhancing the quality and quarantine tests.
It is not really necessary to test all imports from reputable markets such as the EU or Japan, while those from high risk markets must be strictly tested, Tuan said.
vir
