Post-customs clearance inspections helped add over VND1.6 trillion (US$75.87 million) to the State budget last year, 20 per cent higher than in 2012.— Photo baohaiquan

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Post-customs clearance inspections helped add over VND1.6 trillion (US$75.87 million) to the State budget last year, 20 per cent higher than in 2012, according to the General Department of Customs.

Duong Phu Dong, head of the Post-Customs Clearance Inspection Department, said that last year, about 2,430 post-customs clearance inspections were conducted, concentrating on enterprises that imported or exported petrol, minerals, electronic equipment, medicines and garment products.

The inspections helped improve enterprises' law compliance, prevent violations and collect more tax arrears and fines for the State's budget, he said.

According to Dong, this year also saw improvements in the legal framework for such inspections, including the introduction of a plan to improve the capacity of clearance forces as well as a new inspection scheme that would align better with the Government's policies and enterprises' activities.

This year, he added, authorities would develop a set of criteria to classify risks when implementing e-customs, particularly focused on enterprises in "sensitive" industries like oil and petrol and mining.

Head of the General Department of Customs Nguyen Ngoc Tuc emphasised that post-customs clearance inspection was the "backbone" of modern customs management and urged further inspections in key fields like goods valuing identification and goods' codes.

According to the general department, last year Viet Nam officially implemented e-customs procedures at all customs offices across the country.

The country aims to have all customs offices and 60 per cent of enterprises use e-customs procedures under its Customs Development Strategy toward 2020 and Customs Reform and Modernisation during 2011-15.

By the end of last year, over 49,000 enterprises – or nearly 96 per cent of the country's customs applicants –used e-customs procedures to trade $239.13 billion worth of goods, over 95 per cent of the national import and export value. — VNS