'Where there are procedures, there are difficulties, and there is feasting.'

Tran Dinh Thien, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, emphasized: "We are exploiting this country to the point where it cannot grow. There are too many procedures, procedures linked to vested interests; where there are procedures, there is obstruction, there is exploitation."

Explaining to the Prime Minister's task force regarding the issue of customs officers receiving bribes from businesses, as reported by the press during this morning's specialized inspection of import and export goods, the Director of Hai Phong Customs, Nguyen Tien Loc, stated that the press recently photographed customs officers receiving money from businesses.

The Hai Phong Customs Department has extracted footage from surveillance cameras monitoring the official's duties. However, there is currently no basis to determine the facts, and they have invited the General Department of Customs Inspectorate to conduct an investigation and report to the Prime Minister.

Minister and Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung inspects specialized procedures for import and export goods in Hai Phong.

"Management, especially public service management and the conduct of civil servants, is very difficult in our administrative system. Hai Phong Customs has implemented a solution using cameras to monitor the official conduct of its civil servants."

"At the same time, we are strengthening channels for critical feedback, and have signed a cooperation agreement with VCCI and business associations, which includes a mechanism for handling obstacles to minimize harassment in the official duties of civil servants and to purify the workforce," Mr. Loc said.

The Director of Hai Phong Customs also stated that they have reported to the City Party Committee and the Ministry of Finance on the implementation of an automated inspection and monitoring project using an electronic system. This project will monitor the entire process from the time imported goods arrive at the seaport until they leave the customs supervision area, as well as the process of exporting goods into and out of the customs supervision area. This will minimize the direct involvement of customs officials. An evaluation and nationwide rollout is expected by December 31st.

Are there hidden costs?

Minister Mai Tien Dung requested the Hai Phong Customs Department to respond to the feedback from the Business Association: There is an unspoken regulation requiring a fee of 50,000 VND per set of declaration forms for green-lane containers, and 100,000 VND for red-lane containers.

"I request that the Director of Customs confirm whether or not this is true. If it is, then the cancellation must be announced immediately," the Head of the Government Office emphasized.

The Director of Hai Phong Customs, Nguyen Tien Loc, affirmed: "There is absolutely no such secret policy or regulation. All acts of harassing businesses and demanding illegal money from outside sources are subject to two levels of handling."

Mr. Nguyen Tien Loc, Director of Hai Phong Customs Department.

However, Nguyen Dinh Cung, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management Research, stated: "We have asked many people, and they all gave relatively similar answers. Perhaps there are no such regulations, but it is easier to implement through this space. In reality, many informal costs do exist."

Mr. Cung suggested that the team could check more thoroughly instead of immediately responding with "I have nothing" which is not satisfactory.

Mr. Loc immediately reaffirmed: "There are no unwritten rules, but we still have many ways to conduct inspections."

There are rituals, and there are feasts.

According to Tran Dinh Thien, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, Vietnam's most important growth potential today is not money but institutions, yet these very mechanisms are holding it back.

"We've been exploiting this country to the point where it can't grow. There are too many bureaucracies, bureaucracies tied to vested interests; where there are bureaucracies, there's obstruction, there's exploitation," Mr. Thien emphasized.

Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, Tran Dinh Thien.

The Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics stated that information technology is different now, and the process of transparency is also different, suggesting: "This period will provide a comprehensive overview of the institutional system based on technology, with completely new mechanisms and principles."

According to him, some ministries and agencies are currently maintaining a system of requesting and granting approvals, dragging procedures onto themselves and shifting social risks. They claim to conduct strict inspections, but in reality, they don't inspect anything, ultimately passing the risk to society. "By doing this, we are shifting responsibility to the state, which it cannot handle," he warned.

Mr. Thien noted two issues. Firstly, a standardized approach must be used, businesses must operate openly and be held accountable, while the state supervises.

Secondly, specialized information needs to be interconnected; it's difficult if one person finishes an inspection and another comes down for a "private meeting" for convenience.

"This is definitely a story that needs to be re-evaluated. Unethical business practices are difficult to expose openly, but society implicitly understands that they are very common," Mr. Thien said.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Trong Thua also acknowledged that there are too many procedures, and they take too much time, so many businesses want to resort to corruption to speed things up.

According to Vietnamnet.vn