The figures were revealed by the General Department of Vietnam Customsduring the second meeting of the National Steering Committee for National andASEAN One-Stop-Shop (OSS) Mechanisms and Trade Facilitation (Steering Committee1899) in Hanoi on July 11, which was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister VuongDinh Hue.
[National one-stop shop mechanism to be applied across ministries]
Meanwhile, three more administrative procedures were added to thesystem, bringing the total figure to 39. The department is launching OSSmechanism in aviation, and a project to supervise import-export activitiesthrough the national OSS mechanism in Hai Phong and Hanoi, before expanding tolocalities accommodating major seaports and airports.
Vietnam is ready to officially connect to the ASEAN OSS Mechanism assoon as the protocol on legal framework for the system becomes effective.Currently, nine ASEAN member countries, excluding the Philippines, haveapproved the protocol.
However, Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs NguyenVan Can said that coordination in building legal documents among ministries remainedweak, affecting businesses and agencies implementing online customs proceduresthrough the OSS mechanism at nine international seaports.
He pointed to the sluggish amendment to legal documents in managing andsupervising exports and imports, along with agencies’ failure to recognise eachother’s inspection results.
Addressing the meeting, Deputy PM Hue held that some ministries have yetto actively reform administrative procedures, especially customs examinationformalities.
He noted that inspection procedures account for 30-35 percent of totalcustoms procedures, but the ratio of discovered violations is only 0.04percent, while the World Bank recommends that the inspection should make uponly 15 percent of customs procedures and base on risk assessment.
Pointing out that 50 percent of the total inspection procedures of nineministries do not have specific standards, the Deputy PM said that the applicationof different standards has caused difficulties to businesses.
He asked relevant ministries, especially the Ministries of Industry andTrade, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Health, to promptly review and reviseoverlapping regulations on customs inspection, lowering the ratio of inspectionto 15 percent by 2020.
Deputy PM Hue urged ministries and sectors to make greater efforts tofulfill the plan to add 130 procedures to the national OSS mechanism in 2017.
The Deputy PM also requested ministries and sectors to complete theirspecific action plans to implement the ASEAN OSS mechanism by August thisyear.-VNA