Proposal to "enable priority mode" for customs clearance of high-tech goods

Apply preferential treatment to high-tech enterprises

The draft revised Customs Law is being submitted to the National Assembly with many new points, including a sharp reduction in customs clearance time, while proposing a number of mechanisms to facilitate key economic sectors such as semiconductors, high technology, logistics and manufacturing.

One of the notable points in this draft is the proposal to expand the customs priority regime for enterprises operating in the high-tech sector, especially the semiconductor industry. Accordingly, enterprises producing microchips, electronic components, and high-tech equipment that meet certain criteria will be ranked as priority, allowed to apply simplified procedures, expedite customs clearance, reduce the rate of physical inspection, and have customs documents processed before the goods arrive at the border gate.

The draft proposes to apply preferential treatment to goods in the high-tech and semiconductor sectors.

In terms of procedures, the draft law proposes to allow enterprises to pre-declare customs declarations and receive classification results before the goods arrive at the port to shorten waiting time; enhance connectivity and data sharing between customs and other ministries and sectors such as agriculture , health, industry and trade, create conditions for one-stop processing of specialized inspection goods, promote digitalization of documents and logistics data, from declaration registration to payment and post-clearance inspection.

In addition, the draft also adds new regulations allowing innovative startups operating in the high-tech sector to enjoy a policy testing mechanism (sandbox) in customs procedures, helping to test new products and technologies within the framework of state risk control.

Notably, the draft commits to shortening customs clearance time to the same level as ASEAN-4 countries, specifically: Export goods no more than 36 hours, import goods no more than 48 hours under normal conditions.

Avoid the situation of "clear above, blocked below"

Speaking to Tien Phong reporter, Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Linh - CEO of an import-export enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City - said that currently, the rate of yellow channel declarations of enterprises still accounts for 20-30% of declarations. Meanwhile, Vietnam's customs procedures are still cumbersome, many bottlenecks lie in specialized inspections and the lack of synchronization of the number system between ministries and branches, causing enterprises to spend a lot of time and money in carrying out procedures.

Compared to other countries in the ASEAN region, customs clearance time for Vietnamese goods is 1.5-3 times slower than that of leading countries. This is greatly affecting the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises.

“If businesses can declare in advance, handle early traffic flow and shorten the waiting time at the port, logistics costs can be reduced by 10-15%. Businesses want to promote the post-inspection mechanism, and at the same time shorten the response time for customs procedures to less than 2 working hours, especially at major ports such as Hai Phong , Cat Lai…”, Ms. Linh said.

Customs procedures in Vietnam still take a long time.

Mr. Nguyen Tuong - Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Logistics Services Association (VLA) - said that according to the current survey, the average cost of compliance with an administrative procedure for Vietnam's exports is 2.01 million VND, and for imports is 6.1 million VND. The average time to complete a transaction procedure is 14.9 hours, of which the time to complete business procedures at the port to pick up goods takes 7.1 hours, accounting for 46.7% of the total time.

The lengthy procedure processing comes from the lack of synchronization between the national single window portal and specialized inspection systems, causing delays and difficulties for businesses.

In the context of digital technology development, according to Mr. Tuong, to speed up customs clearance time, it is necessary to apply a common data standard among relevant ministries and branches to unify the system, support goods release and handle specialized inspections.

In particular, the draft revised Customs Law supplements the risk management mechanism in the direction of strengthening post-inspection instead of pre-inspection. However, this person believes that there needs to be a standardized process, ensuring the right to complain and object to businesses in post-inspections, avoiding the imposition of unfounded additional collection.

Economist Nguyen Minh Phong assessed that expanding the preferential regime to high-tech industries is a necessary and timely step. In Vietnam, there are currently about 1,400 manufacturing enterprises, including more than 100 manufacturing enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises operating in the fields of electronics, high technology, and machinery manufacturing belonging to most of the world's major technology corporations such as Intel, HP, Samsung, Amkor, LG, Panasonic, and Sony.

With the wave of semiconductor production shifting, Vietnam needs a flexible mechanism to welcome technology "eagles". However, according to the expert, the revised Customs Law must be accompanied by substantial and synchronous changes in implementation at the units below. Otherwise, the situation of "clearing above, blocking below" will continue, and the goal of fast customs clearance will be difficult to achieve.

According to tienphong.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/de-xuat-bat-che-do-uu-tien-thong-quan-hang-cong-nghe-cao-post402270.html