Online seminar: Simplifying customs procedures, increasing attractiveness of investment environment

MC Kim Oanh and guests

MC Kim Oanh: Hello ladies and gentlemen, who are watching the Online Talk Show "Simplifying customs procedures, increasing the attractiveness of the investment environment" conducted by the Information Center - Electronic Information Portal of Thai Nguyen province. Ladies and gentlemen! According to a recent report by the General Statistics Office, Thai Nguyen is the only province in the country with a trade surplus of over 5 billion USD in the first 6 months of 2024. This impressive result continues to show the resilience and positive recovery of Thai Nguyen's economy in the face of many difficulties and challenges. Contributing to that general picture is the important role of the Customs sector and enterprises operating in the field of import and export.

According to the assessment of the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry, administrative reform (AR) in the field of import and export can be considered the most effective and fairest support package for businesses. For Thai Nguyen , although there is no international border gate, it is the locality with the 4th largest import and export turnover in the country with a large number of operating enterprises and import and export goods. Therefore, simplifying customs procedures (TTHQ) is one of the key solutions for the provincial Customs sector to create maximum convenience for businesses operating in this field, contributing to creating an attractive investment environment and increasing revenue for the state budget in the area, while promoting local economic development. Let's learn about the efforts of the Thai Nguyen Customs sector and the feelings of businesses operating in the import and export sector about the breakthrough solutions of the Customs agency, through the exchange with the guests.

We would like to respectfully introduce: Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh, Head of Thai Nguyen Customs Branch and Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu, General Director of Dowooinsys Vina Company. Thank you for your participation. First of all, we invite you to watch the following short video clip.

MC Kim Oanh: Yes! Dear two guests, we can see a picture of Thai Nguyen's economy with many bright colors in the first 6 months of 2024. In which, although continuing to face many difficulties and challenges, the import-export sector is still one of the impressive highlights. Dear Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh, Head of Thai Nguyen Customs Branch. Could you provide more information about the import-export activities in the province, from the perspective of the Customs agency?

Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh: In the first 6 months of 2024, the number of enterprises registering for customs procedures at Thai Nguyen Customs Branch was about 500 enterprises with 141,000 customs declarations (an increase of 5% over the same period last year); Import and export goods are mainly raw materials, supplies for production and products of processing and export production (XK) in the group of electronics, garments, medical equipment, solar panels; Imported machinery and equipment to create fixed assets of investment projects, processed products from various minerals for export... Import-export turnover reached 27.49 billion USD (up 12% over the same period last year), of which 64.04% was export turnover, which shows the improvement in the export market of enterprises in the area, especially in the field of garment production, manufacturing enterprises in the area have found markets and exported to countries in the EU and the United States, which are demanding markets for garment products.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh, Head of Thai Nguyen Customs Branch

MC Kim Oanh: What about the budget collection from import-export activities, sir? Is the Customs Department under pressure in terms of revenue when many businesses are facing difficulties and many tax exemption and reduction policies are applied?

Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh: The budget revenue from import-export activities in the first 6 months of 2024 at Thai Nguyen Customs Branch reached 1,531.19 billion VND. We have completed 61.24% of the assigned plan target of 2,500 billion VND, an increase of 105% over the same period last year. This result shows the recovery in production and business of enterprises in the area. However, with the unstable political and economic situation in the world and the impact of the Government's policy of continuing to reduce 2% of VAT rate from 10% to 8% for some goods, from now until the end of 2024, it is forecasted that there will still be many difficulties in collecting and paying state budget revenue. To complete and exceed the State budget revenue target in 2024, Thai Nguyen Customs Branch continues to focus on implementing a number of key solutions such as: Continuing to facilitate and remove difficulties for enterprises, mobilizing enterprises in the area with import-export activities currently performing customs procedures at border gate customs branches to perform customs procedures at Thai Nguyen Customs Branch. Implementing the plan to reform administrative procedures, modernize customs, improve the qualifications of civil servants, focusing on reviewing and inspecting the classification of goods, applying tax codes, preventing and combating smuggling and trade fraud to avoid tax losses.

Representative of Samsung Electronics Vietnam Thai Nguyen Co., Ltd. introduced the Company's new products to the Provincial Party Secretary and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

MC Kim Oanh: Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu, General Director of Dowooinsys Vina Company, in that general context, how is the production situation of the enterprise, especially for import-export activities?

Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu: Dowooinsys is a manufacturer of UTG glass for Samsung's new generation of foldable phones. According to the Investment Certificate, the Company will invest 120 million USD in a factory in Vietnam, which currently has about 1,000 employees. The Company's planned revenue in 2024 will be 90 million USD. As of June 2024, the Company has paid about 4 million USD in taxes.

Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu, General Director of Dowooinsys Vina Company

MC Kim Oanh: Surely, choosing to invest in Thai Nguyen, the company has considered very carefully. So, after a period of investing and producing here, can you share the company's feelings about the investment environment of Thai Nguyen province?

Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu: After surveying several localities, the Company decided to choose Thai Nguyen as a business location because of its geographical location, the highway is convenient for transporting goods and the leaders of Thai Nguyen province always have policies to support FDI enterprises, including Korean enterprises. And especially in the field of customs, during the time of investing here, we have received a lot of help from the customs agency in the process of importing and exporting goods.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dang Xuan Truong awarded the Investment Certificate to Viglacera Thai Nguyen Joint Stock Company to invest in construction and business of infrastructure of Song Cong II Industrial Park - Phase 2, contributing to attracting investment into the province.

MC Kim Oanh: Yes! Obviously, to achieve this result, it requires great determination and effort from both sides: the Government and enterprises. For the Customs Department, it is known that before 2015, import-export activities in Thai Nguyen province were quite quiet, however, since the Samsung Group and the Nui Phao Mining Project came into operation, import-export activities have become very active. This also means a huge workload and pressure for the Customs force. So are there any difficulties in state management of import-export activities in the area? And what solutions has the Thai Nguyen Customs Department focused on implementing to meet practical requirements, as well as create the most favorable conditions for enterprises?

Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh: Thai Nguyen Customs Branch has organized and implemented the plan to reform administrative procedures and modernize customs through promoting the application of information technology towards a digital customs model, smart customs with a high level of digitization and automation; Customs procedures are performed 24/7 completely in a digital environment (paperless) and are performed by customs declarants anytime, anywhere. Import and export goods are cleared quickly, without backlog but still ensure the management requirements of the Customs agency through good collection and analysis of risk management information, coordination between the Customs Branch outside the border gate and the Customs Branch at the border gate, and implementation of the Coordination Regulation with State management agencies in the area such as: Tax Department, Police, Industrial Park Management Board. Every year, through the assessment and forecast of import-export activities in the area close to reality, Thai Nguyen Customs Branch has advised competent authorities to develop plans for staff organization, training and equipping facilities and techniques for the unit to ensure the requirements of state management of customs and best serve the import-export needs of newly established enterprises in the area.

MC Kim Oanh: As you just shared, the important and breakthrough solution of Thai Nguyen Customs Branch in recent times is the simplification of customs procedures towards a digital customs model, smart customs with a high level of digitization and automation, right? Let's listen to the opinions of some local businesses about this breakthrough.

MC Kim Oanh: Back to the online discussion "Simplifying customs procedures, increasing the attractiveness of the investment environment". It can be seen that the solutions of Thai Nguyen Customs Branch, especially the simplification of customs procedures, towards the digital customs model, have created favorable conditions for the production and import-export activities of enterprises in the area. So what about Dowooinsys Company? As an enterprise with a large volume of import-export goods in the area, can Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu share his personal feelings about the solutions of Thai Nguyen Customs to create favorable conditions for the production and business activities of enterprises?

Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu: Simplifying customs procedures not only helps Dowooinsys but also all enterprises operating in Vietnam save time and costs. Enterprises can open declarations anytime, anywhere, conveniently and easily thanks to the electronic and digital customs procedures; goods are cleared quickly and promptly, helping us minimize time, helping enterprises have goods in time for production; document storage is also much more convenient. As I know, in the past, we had to wait in line to submit customs clearance documents, which was very time-consuming and costly in terms of travel and logistics costs. With these innovations, I think they are really useful for enterprises.

Yen Binh extended warehouse, Yen Binh Industrial Park, Pho Yen City, Thai Nguyen

MC Kim Oanh: To get such a good assessment, Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh, can you tell us more about this breakthrough solution of Thai Nguyen Customs Branch?

Nguyen Dang Chinh: Reforming administrative procedures, modernizing customs, and creating favorable conditions for enterprises are among the top goals of the entire Customs sector. Under the direct guidance of the Bac Ninh Provincial Customs Department and the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee, the Thai Nguyen Customs Branch has gradually shifted customs management from pre-inspection to post-inspection, helping customs declarants to clear goods quickly and easily. At the same time, the Branch has also been active in applying customs declaration on the VNACCS/VCIS Electronic Customs Clearance System and the National Single Window, helping declarants to declare anytime, anywhere and shortening the time for customs clearance of goods as well as reducing the time for obtaining permits from relevant ministries and branches.

Currently, the Department continues to deploy solutions to effectively implement Decision No. 123/QD-TCHQ dated January 31, 2023 of the General Department of Customs on assigning targets for reforming administrative procedures, simplifying customs procedures, and facilitating trade in 2023, with the goal of creating maximum convenience for enterprises engaged in import and export of goods, helping to save time, costs, and shorten customs clearance and release of goods. In particular, focusing on implementing targets such as: Reducing 5% of red lane declarations; 10% of yellow lane declarations; reducing 10% of customs clearance time; completing the resolution of problems within the authority in implementing customs procedures within 2 working hours; enhancing online dialogue with enterprises...

At the same time, the Department also focuses on collecting information on enterprises with import-export activities in the area to supplement and fully update the risk management system, serving the search, classification of declarations, assessment of the level of compliance and law observance of enterprises in order to classify and apply appropriate management measures for each group of enterprises to ensure maximum convenience for groups of enterprises that comply with the law.

The Customs sector strives to reduce 5% of red channel declarations, 10% of yellow channel declarations, reduce 10% of customs clearance time, and cut 25% of post-clearance inspections.

MC Kim Oanh: Strengthening dialogue with the business community is also one of the key solutions of the functional sectors of Thai Nguyen province, in order to promptly grasp and resolve difficulties and obstacles in the production and business activities of enterprises in the area. As shared by the Branch Director, this is also one of the priorities of the Thai Nguyen Customs sector, right Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh?

Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh: In recent years, the direct dialogue between the Customs agency and the business community has been organized by Thai Nguyen Customs Branch twice a year with the participation of over 80 enterprises representing import and export industries and sectors in the area. This is an opportunity for the Customs agency to exchange information and promote State management policies on customs; at the same time, it is also an opportunity to listen to the difficulties and problems of enterprises in order to find solutions to remove difficulties for enterprises as well as propose improvements to mechanisms and policies. In addition, Thai Nguyen Customs Branch also maintains dialogue activities with enterprises through various channels such as: Activities of the Problem Solving Team at the branch; hotline numbers are publicly posted at the place of customs procedures; forums on the Customs agency's website; Implementation of the plan to develop the Customs-Business partnership and related parties proposed by the General Department of Customs and through the pilot program of voluntary compliance with the law signed between local businesses and the Customs authority.

MC Kim Oanh: Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu, surely businesses have also attended dialogue conferences between Thai Nguyen province's functional departments and the local business community. How do you evaluate the effectiveness of these activities, especially the dialogue conferences of the Customs sector?

Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu: Recently, Thai Nguyen Customs Branch has organized dialogues between customs agencies and enterprises. This is a truly practical activity for enterprises in the area in general and our Company in particular, helping enterprises promptly grasp new regulations in legal documents, circulars, decrees, etc. At the same time, at these dialogues, we have leading experts in the field of customs and taxes to discuss and resolve difficulties and obstacles in the process of customs clearance. Hopefully, the Customs agency will organize more Customs - Enterprise dialogues so that we can absorb new regulations in the customs field, have difficulties resolved and learn from the experiences of other enterprises.

MC Kim Oanh: As one of the large FDI enterprises operating in the field of import and export in the area, can you give your wishes and sincere suggestions so that the State agencies of Thai Nguyen province, including the Customs agency, can continue to improve operational efficiency, contributing to creating the most favorable conditions for production and business activities of enterprises investing in Thai Nguyen?

Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu: Enterprises hope that the VNACCS/VCIS systems, customs information systems... of the Customs will be further upgraded to be suitable and meet the number of accesses and registrations of enterprises. Thereby, helping enterprises to carry out customs procedures quickly and effectively. We also hope and expect that in the future there will be an online question and answer department for enterprises.

Yen Binh Customs Team assigns civil servants to supervise and be on duty 24/7 to create the most favorable conditions for import-export enterprises.

MC Kim Oanh: The program has just received a question from an audience member. The content of the question is as follows: "Enterprises that purchase raw materials from foreign traders for production and export 100% from bonded warehouses open a declaration according to type E31. However, there are some places that instruct to declare type A12, pay import tax and then request a tax refund instead of opening an E31 declaration. Please provide guidance in this case?"

Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh: Pursuant to Official Dispatch No. 5529/TCHQ-TXNK dated November 24, 2021 of the General Department of Customs on handling difficulties in Decree No. 18/2021/ND-CP of the Government:

1. In case a domestic enterprise imports goods directly from a bonded warehouse (goods sent to a bonded warehouse must be imported from abroad or from a duty-free zone, excluding goods previously sent from the domestic market to a bonded warehouse) to produce export goods through a sales contract, it is exempt from import tax if it meets the provisions in Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP, Clause 6, Article 1 of Decree No. 18/2021/ND-CP. The declaration uses the type code E31 - import of raw materials for import and export, is exempt from import tax, and is not subject to VAT.

2. In case a domestic enterprise signs a contract to purchase goods from a foreign trader and is designated by the foreign trader to receive the goods from a bonded warehouse. However, previously, these goods were imported for processing and export production by a domestic enterprise that was exempted from import tax according to the provisions of Article 10 and Article 12 of Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP. After production, the domestic enterprise exports the goods and sends them to a bonded warehouse as designated by the foreign trader, and then continues to import them back to Vietnam as designated by the foreign trader. The imported products of the Vietnamese enterprise registered for declaration under the type of import for business (A11) or import for business and production (A12) must be declared and paid import tax. For VAT and other taxes, the enterprise must declare and pay tax corresponding to the declaration type codes A11 and A12.

When locally imported products are put into production and actually exported abroad or to duty-free zones, enterprises will be refunded import tax corresponding to the export according to the provisions of Article 36 of Decree No. 134/2016/ND-CP.

MC Kim Oanh: An export processing enterprise signs a processing contract with a foreign trader. During the processing process, a part of the raw materials is supplied by the foreign trader and a part is purchased domestically by the enterprise. After completing the processing of the order, there is a surplus of raw materials that the enterprise has supplied itself. Can it open a B13 declaration for liquidation sale?

Mr. Nguyen Dang Chinh: Enterprises are allowed to liquidate and use the type code B13 to carry out customs procedures.

All customs procedures can be performed right at the enterprise via the digital environment (In the photo: The Accounting and Import-Export Department of UTI Vina Co., Ltd. reports to the unit's leaders about customs procedures)

MC Kim Oanh: Also related to the activities of import-export enterprises, an audience member has a question for FDI enterprises about the need to recruit workers for positions related to customs clearance and logistics?

Mr. Hwang Kwan Gu: Our company is in the process of expanding production, I think in the near future the company will need a large number of human resources in the field of customs clearance. I hope that the company will receive many applications from young, talented and enthusiastic people to help the company grow stronger.

MC Kim Oanh: Surely after hearing this information, many young people in Thai Nguyen will be interested and apply to the Company.

Dowooinsys Vina Company in Song Cong 2 Industrial Park

MC Kim Oanh: Yes, it can be affirmed that with efforts in reforming administrative procedures and creating maximum convenience for businesses, Thai Nguyen Customs has been contributing significantly to improving the investment environment, as well as significantly increasing revenue for the province's State budget. In 2022, revenue from import-export activities in the area was 2 months ahead of schedule, reaching nearly 3,100 billion VND and exceeding the assigned estimate by more than 700 billion VND. In 2023 and the first 6 months of 2024, the impact of the world political and economic situation has significantly affected import-export activities and revenue from these activities. However, with many solutions, Thai Nguyen Customs Branch has focused and made efforts to achieve the highest set goals. In the context of globalization, trade liberalization and increasingly deep international integration, the increasing volume of goods circulating between countries has posed new requirements for the Customs sector in improving operational efficiency, building digital Customs towards a smart Customs model, thereby ensuring transparency, fairness, effectiveness, efficiency, conformity with international standards, serving people and businesses. This is also the destination of the whole industry, including Thai Nguyen Customs Branch.

Once again, thank you to all our guests for joining us! Thank you for your attention and support. Goodbye and see you again in our next programs.

Thainguyen.gov.vn

Source: https://thainguyen.gov.vn/vi_VN/thoi-su/-/asset_publisher/L0n17VJXU23O/content/toa-am-truc-tuyen-on-gian-hoa-thu-tuc-hai-quan-tang-suc-ap-dan-cho-moi-truong-au-tu?redirect=%2Fvi_VN%2Fthoi-su&inheritRedirect=true