A meeting between the General Department of Vietnam Customs and GEA and the CAPEC.

Open and cooperative relationships between Customs and Businesses reflect the General Department of Vietnam Customs concerted effort to promptly address challenges and obstacles, facilitate businesses and underscore the role of the business community in advisory and policy-building aspects. Both parties exchanged views on various problems, challenges and recommendations to enhance voluntary compliance and further facilitate businesses operating in the cross-border express delivery and e-commerce sectors. Priority topics for discussion included: specialized inspections for low-value imported goods, upgrading the Vietnam Automated Cargo Clearance System (VNACCS), AEO scheme for express couriers, and the tax collection model for e-commerce goods from suppliers.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the regulations outlined in legal documents regarding specialized inspections for low-value imported goods, as well as recommendations for addressing and facilitating specialized inspections for goods imported by individuals through e-commerce transactions for personal consumption purposes.

The participants also discussed the existing shortcomings of the VNACCS electronic customs declaration system as the volume of goods continues to increase.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-border trade through e-commerce transactions has become a common practice among the public, leading to a significant surge in the number of customs declarations compared to the capacity of the VNACCS system.

Recognizing this issue, the General Department of Vietnam Customs is actively intensifying efforts to build a new customs clearance system, embrace digital transformation, and adopt modern customs technology in the near future.

Concerning the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) scheme for express couriers, as per current regulations, this scheme is applicable to exporting and importing enterprises, customs agents, and strategic projects that meet the specified criteria.

To align with international standards, particularly the Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade (SAFE Framework), the General Department of Vietnam Customs is actively reviewing amendments to legal documents to expand and supplement the entities eligible for the AEO program.

Express couriers are encouraged to introduce best practices related to the conditions for AEO recognition, ensuring supply chain security and the benefits for AEOs. These insights will serve as valuable references for the General Department of Vietnam Customs in revising regulatory frameworks.

In addition to the aforementioned topics, the representatives from GEA also shared insights with the General Department of Vietnam Customs regarding a tax collection model for suppliers. Given the escalating trend of cross-border e-commerce transactions, the supplier tax collection model becomes beneficial for customs administrations in tax management, especially for small-value shipments.

This supplier tax model has proven effective in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Mr. Dietmar Jost - Customs and Security Advisor (GEA) expressed his willingness to provide more detailed information about this model during his attendance at the WCO Technology Conference and Exhibition in Hanoi scheduled on 10-12 October, 2023.