On the afternoon of December 21st, the General Department of Customs announced that the 2023 state budget revenue forecast for the customs sector was based on a GDP growth rate of 6-6.5%, a crude oil price of 70 USD/barrel; export turnover increasing by 8-9%, and import turnover increasing by 7-8%.

However, statistics as of December 17th show that the total state budget revenue collected by the entire Customs sector is estimated at 353,033 billion VND, equivalent to 83.1% of the projected target, a decrease of 16% compared to the same period in 2022.

Explaining the reasons for the decrease in revenue, Director of the Import-Export Tax Department Le Nhu Quynh said: The global economy in 2023 faced many difficulties, most economies around the world experienced lower-than-expected growth, inflation had cooled but remained high, leading to tight monetary policies, global public debt reached record highs, while the Russia-Ukraine military conflict and the Hamas-Israel conflict continued to escalate, geopolitical instability, food security, natural disasters, and climate change… were increasing.

"The global consumer spending trend has declined sharply, and global supply chains continue to face the risk of disruption and breakdown, leading to many negative consequences for import-export activities and economic growth," said Ms. Le Nhu Quynh.

According to Le Nhu Quynh, Director of the Import-Export Tax Department, major economies that are Vietnam's export partners, such as the United States and the EU, have reduced their purchasing targets, leading to a decrease in order volume. In particular, the continuous fluctuations in fuel prices have also contributed to the sharp decline in the total value of taxable import and export goods.

In addition to the above reasons, representatives from the General Department of Customs stated that the main revenue sources from four groups of imported goods with decreased import value have also strongly impacted budget revenue from import and export activities. Specifically: For the group of imported raw materials, machinery, equipment, and spare parts serving production such as coal, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, iron and steel, textile raw materials and accessories, electronic components, and automotive components… accounting for 57% of the total taxable import value, the decrease was 16.7%, resulting in a revenue reduction of approximately 32,200 billion VND compared to the same period in 2022.

In the imported petroleum sector, due to preferential import tax rates of 5% for gasoline from ASEAN markets and 0% for diesel and fuel oil, businesses mainly import from ASEAN instead of South Korea with a tax rate of 8%. Therefore, import volume increased by 21.4%, but revenue decreased by approximately VND 2,400 billion compared to the same period in 2022.

For the imported crude oil group, the 19.4% decrease in crude oil prices compared to 2022 resulted in a revenue reduction of VND 2,300 billion. Specifically, for the imported complete automobile group, the number reached 110,771 units, a decrease of 26.8%, resulting in a revenue reduction of approximately VND 4,700 billion compared to the same period in 2022.

Furthermore, according to Ms. Le Nhu Quynh, the implementation of Government Decree 44/2023/ND-CP, which reduced value-added tax (VAT) for certain goods from July 1, 2023, is also a reason for the decrease in revenue, with the estimated VAT revenue for 2023 decreasing by nearly 9,000 billion VND. In the recent Resolution No. 104/2023/QH15, the National Assembly assigned the General Department of Customs a state budget revenue target of 375,000 billion VND for 2024.

Of this total, export taxes amounted to VND 8,200 billion; import taxes to VND 47,500 billion; special consumption tax to VND 38,000 billion; environmental protection tax to VND 1,200 billion; value-added tax (VAT) to VND 279,400 billion; and other revenues to VND 700 billion. Meanwhile, the 2024 budget forecast was based on a GDP growth of 6-6.5% and a crude oil price of USD 70 per barrel.

Given the projected continued economic challenges, and in order to fulfill its assigned revenue collection tasks, in 2024, the General Department of Customs will continue to reform and simplify administrative procedures, promptly resolve arising issues within its jurisdiction related to customs procedures, tax policies, tax management, accounting regulations, tax refund and exemption schemes, and remove obstacles to create favorable conditions for businesses participating in import and export activities.

Continuing to apply international standards and modern customs management procedures aims to provide maximum convenience for the business community while ensuring strict supervision and management in accordance with regulations.

Focus on reviewing and thoroughly understanding the tax debt situation; classify debt groups and the tax debt status of businesses, and propose handling measures in accordance with regulations; resolutely handle, enforce, and recover tax debts in accordance with the law, reduce outstanding tax debts, and periodically publicize businesses with tax debts; prevent the accumulation of new debts and ensure that the debt at December 31, 2024, is not higher than at December 31, 2023.

Furthermore, in 2024, the Customs sector will review and conduct inspections of product names, codes, and tax rates at the customs clearance and post-clearance stages to detect and handle cases of incorrect declaration of product codes and names... to apply lower tax rates or enjoy special preferential tax rates. The focus will be on inspecting goods on the list of high-risk import/export goods regarding classification and tax application, inspecting and consulting on value during customs procedures, and inspecting post-clearance value for goods and businesses at risk of incorrect declaration of value, in order to determine the correct customs value and taxable value.