Protect domestic production.

(Baonghean) - The General Department of Customs recently held a presentation on the new content of the draft revised Law on Export and Import Taxes; and the results of the implementation of the Customs Law. Accordingly, the actual import and export activities and production and business activities necessitate the amendment and supplementation of some contents of the current Law on Import and Export Taxes.

According to Deputy Director General of the General Department of Customs Nguyen Van Can, immediately after the Customs Law was passed, the General Department of Customs issued Directive No. 9296/CT-TCHQ dated July 25, 2014, outlining the tasks to focus on and a detailed plan for implementing the Customs Law. To date, the work has been carried out synchronously, uniformly, and with good results. In particular, the drafting of implementing documents has been proactively reviewed, identifying the necessary documents to build a unified, consistent, and convenient system of customs legal documents for implementation. To date, the General Department of Customs has drafted and submitted to competent authorities for promulgation 3 decrees, 1 decision of the Prime Minister, and 10 circulars; at the same time, the General Department of Customs has also issued operational procedures for implementation.

In disseminating and publicizing the Customs Law and its guiding documents, the General Department has organized timely training for customs officials, from key personnel to subordinate officers. Dissemination activities targeting the business community, organizations, and individuals have also been emphasized through various methods, such as: developing introductory materials on the Law; compiling and printing promotional publications; organizing training conferences; and conducting awareness campaigns at conferences organized by the General Department in collaboration with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as at business dialogue conferences.

Upgrading facilities is fundamental.

Simultaneously, the General Department of Customs urgently reorganized its structure and arranged human resources. After proactively reviewing the functions and tasks of its units to reorganize the apparatus and allocate resources in accordance with the requirements of implementing the Law, the sector dissolved, established new, and adjusted the functions and tasks of some units. The Customs Department proactively reviewed its staff to select trained and highly specialized personnel with experience to assign to departments suitable for the implementation of the Law. Preparation of physical infrastructure and technical equipment was accelerated: the sector officially received and implemented the VNACSS/VCIS system from the Japanese Government. The implementation of the system helps Vietnamese Customs effectively apply advanced customs management methods. In addition, the procurement and installation of modern equipment to support customs inspection and supervision have been actively and comprehensively implemented.

The sector has also implemented and piloted a customs surveillance system using barcodes at several port branches to shorten the time for monitoring goods passing through port gates and create a foundation for connecting with the systems of agencies and businesses operating warehouses, yards, and ports. The electronic payment gateway (E-payment), through the connection and exchange of information between the Customs IT system and the Treasury and commercial banks, continues to be implemented in parallel with the upgrading and operation of other IT application systems in customs fields (such as: risk management information system, tax accounting, tax valuation data management information, digital signature authentication, tax exemption, tax reduction, and tax refund management information, etc.). In the first six months of 2015, two surveillance camera systems were completed, handed over, and put into use at Dinh Vu Port - Hai Phong and the new Noi Bai cargo terminal - Hanoi. Installing camera systems at Terminal 2 of Noi Bai International Airport, Tan Thanh - Lang Son, Tan Cang - Cat Lai, and the Customs Sub-department of Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Proceeding with the procurement procedures for 5 container scanners, 3 cargo and baggage scanners, and 6 underground scanners.

Continue to simplify customs procedures.

Assessing the impact of the Customs Law on several customs operations, Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Can stated that the changes to the Customs Law and its implementing regulations have had a profound impact on all customs activities, especially operational ones. The entire sector has proposed the abolition of 17 procedures and the simplification of 46 procedures; customs documentation has been simplified and reduced; the time for document review and physical inspection of goods has been shortened; and electronic customs procedures have been implemented at all customs branches nationwide. Modern customs operations based on risk management principles have been applied to all customs inspection and supervision activities, ensuring suitability for enhanced inspection of high-risk targets. Post-clearance inspection work has been strengthened to ensure modern customs management methods: changing the management method, shifting from "pre-inspection" to "post-inspection," facilitating the circulation of goods, strengthening post-clearance inspection work, expanding the collection and analysis of information, and focusing on key businesses, sectors, and goods with high risks - Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Can affirmed.

Furthermore, the professional skills of customs officials have been specialized in each field; the customs organizational structure has been streamlined. Each customs official is aware of the need to improve their sense of responsibility and professional skills to meet the requirements of modern customs management. Some local customs units have reorganized their organizational structure at the grassroots level towards specialization in specific fields. The rights and obligations of customs declarants, and related organizations and individuals, have become more transparent, as the self-responsibility of customs declarants has been enhanced, clearly defining the responsibilities between customs declarants and customs officials, and between customs agencies and related agencies; minimizing direct contact between customs officials and customs declarants; and creating positive changes for organizations and businesses in administrative reform to coordinate the management of export and import activities - said Ms. Phung Thi Bich Huong, Director of the Legal Department of the General Department of Customs.

There are still many shortcomings and limitations that need to be addressed.

According to Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Can, after 10 years of implementation, Law No. 45/2005/QH11 on Import and Export Taxes has had a positive impact on many aspects of the country's socio-economic development and achieved the objectives set out when the Law was enacted. However, the Law on Import and Export Taxes has now revealed some shortcomings and limitations that need to be amended. Firstly, when implementing the tariff reduction roadmap under the Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), the basic import tax rate will be eliminated from 2018. To contribute to protecting domestic production, it is necessary to supplement and upgrade the legal basis for some important contents regarding tax defense measures in the Law on Import and Export Taxes. Furthermore, some provisions in the Law are no longer consistent with the regulations of the Law on Tax Administration, the Law on Customs, the Law on Investment, the Law on Environmental Protection, etc. Some provisions in the Law are not in line with the commitments made in international integration that Vietnam has participated in and will participate in, and need to be amended to contribute to achieving socio-economic development goals and administrative reform requirements in the new period.

Accordingly, the main amendments to this draft Law encompass several groups of content. Within the group of issues concerning the encouragement of development and reasonable protection of domestic production and business in line with the Party and State's development orientation and signed international commitments, the Ministry of Finance proposes adding several provisions on anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard taxes; amending the principles and authority for issuing tax schedules and tax rates; stipulating the minimum export tax rate in the tax schedule according to the list of taxable export goods instead of the current tax rate framework; and amending and supplementing regulations on tax incentives to encourage the development of production, business, and exports, and promote socialization. Furthermore, the new draft law also amends and supplements provisions to ensure consistency with related legal documents; and addresses difficulties arising during the implementation of the current Import and Export Tax Law, including provisions on the scope of application, tax-exempt subjects, and taxpayers.

Regarding issues related to compliance with international commitments and treaties on export and import taxes, the draft adds regulations on the application of export taxes in cases where goods are exported to countries, groups of countries, or territories with preferential export tax agreements; on the application of tax rates to goods from non-taxable zones; and adds regulations on tax exemptions. To simplify and facilitate tax payment for taxpayers, contribute to administrative reform, improve the business environment, and enhance national competitiveness, the draft requires the chuyển of some goods used in export production to tax exemptions to encourage production...

Red River