The General Department of Customs is developing a process to check goods which are often subject to trade fraud. (Photo: tapchitaichinh.vn)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Government will adopt stricter penalties toprevent foreign goods being exported to the other markets under Vietnameselabels to avoid tariffs.
Experts forecast that firms exporting goods from countries subject to high taxrates would find ways to illegally transfer the goods to Vietnam and thenexport them to the US, Europe and Japan to circumvent the ongoing US-Chinatrade dispute.
Nguyen Van Can, director of the General Department of Customs, said they haddirected provincial and municipal units to drastically strengthen inspectionsto uncover fake certificates of origin (C/O).
Goods imported from China are sometimes repackaged with “made in Vietnam”labels, before they apply for certificates of origin for export to the US,Europe and Japan.
Violations have been uncovered in different sectors, including garment andtextiles, seafood, agriculture and honey, as well as steel, aluminium and timber.
The General Department of Customs is developing a process for check-up andsupervision of goods which are at risk of illegal transfer and fake C/O toprevent trade fraud and protect local production.
Hoang Thi Thuy, head of C/O Supervision and Intellectual Property, saidVietnamese businesses (including foreign invested companies) only implementoutsourcing or simple assembly and do not meet C/O principles. However, theystill apply for C/O in Vietnam.
They have discovered dozens of C/O violations and transfers of illegal goods sofar.
The General Department of Customs has instructed customs branches to enhancecheck-ups on C/O and goods labelling. Goods imported from China will be checkedregarding their code, name, origin and labelling.
National Assembly deputies also warned that domestic companies should becareful in associating with foreign firms to ensure transparency. They shouldnot take advantage of legal loopholes to collaborate with foreign businesses inexporting goods to the US.
Do Van Sinh, a permanent member of the Economic Committee of the NationalAssembly, said that it was possible some countries could choose Vietnam as atrans-shipment point when it is difficult to export goods directly to the US.
Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh during an NA question and answer sessionlast week said that authorities uncovered violations of illegal goods importedinto Vietnam. This has affected Vietnamese brands, goods and consumers.
He believed that the Vietnamese brand has improved in terms of quality andreceived positive feedback from foreign markets. This was the reason that manyforeign firms have taken advantage to sell poor quality goods.
He said the Government assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) todevelop a decree which increases penalties for such violations.
MoIT’s deputy minister Do Thang Hai said counterfeit goods labelled as “made inVietnam” had not only been exported to other countries but also consumed in thelocal market.
Hai said the ministry had closely co-operated with relevant agencies to solvethe problem, thus ensuring rights of Vietnamese businesses and not affectingthe image of Vietnamese goods on the global market. — VNS/VNA
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