Under aresolution recently issued by the government, the duration for clearingexports and imports through customs is to be cut to less than 10 daysand 12 days, respectively, by late 2016, in order to be on par with theaverage of the ASEAN-4( Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines andThailand).
To that end, it requires determined efforts fromthe customs sector and other units, said Deputy Head of the GeneralDepartment of Customs’ Customs Reform and Modernisation Committee Le NhuQuynh.
According to the 2013 report by the GeneralDepartment of Customs, 28 percent of the time needed for customsclearance is consumed by the customs sector, with the remaining by otherState management agencies including the Ministry of Industry and Trade,border gate management units, storage enterprises, port authorities andlogistics firms.
Pham Thanh Binh, a customsadvisor from the US Agency for International Development’s Governancefor Inclusive Growth programme, spoke of shortcomings in specialisedmanagement of cargos subject to customs clearance, including overlappingand cumbersome procedures.
Deputy Head of theMinistry of Industry and Trade’s Export-Import Department Do Thi ThuHuong called for the streamline of legal regulations to reduceoverlapping management and shorten customs clearance process.
Regulations on tracking the origin of goods and customs incentives to firms were also clarified at the event.-VNA