The Vietnam Automated System for Seaport Customs Management (VASSCM) has reduced time required for delivery and pickup of cargo at seaports. Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The time to clear exports through customs, including the time for obtaining, preparing and submitting documents and and inspections, averaged 38.4 hours in Vietnam last year, a drop of 57.38 hours compared to 2019, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).
The average time for customs clearance of imports stood at 54.8 hours, down 48.88 hours from a year earlier.
Total cost to complete cross-border trade procedures for exports was 338 USD in 2020, down 81.72 USD from the previous year, while that for imports was 313.17 USD, a decrease of 256.41 USD year on year, the GDVC said.
A survey by the Ministry of Finance indicates that digitalization of documents, such as those for specialized inspection lodged to the National Single Window, is one of the factors that help businesses save time and costs for the release of imports and exports.
Up to 94 percent of importers and 98 percent of exporters use e-documents, according to the survey.
Respondents said the use of digital documents in replace of hard-copy ones have allowed them to cut time and costs required for documentary compliance (such as for printing, or covering staff’s travel) as well as customs clearance and inspection.
Additionally, the deployment of the Vietnam Automated System for Seaport Customs Management (VASSCM) has reduced time required for delivery and pickup of cargo at seaports.
Data from the GDVC shows that the number of import declarations submitted in Vietnam reached approximately 6.75 million in 2020, while that of export declarations totalled 6.98 million. The figures suggest that Vietnamese enterprises saved around 730.4 million hours, equivalent to about 3.3 billion USD, including 981 million USD in indirect and 2.3 billion USD in direct costs.
To effectively implement the Government’s Resolution 02/NQ-CP on improving the business environment and national competitiveness, the Ministry of Finance has been assigned to put forward measures to increase Vietnam’s ranking of Trading Across Borders, one of the 10 indexes of the World Bank (WB)’s Doing Business Report, by 10 – 15 spots by the end of 2021.
The other indexes include starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minor investors, paying taxes, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.
In 2019, the ministry established an inter-sectoral working group, whose members include those from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Government’s Office and a number of relevant ministries and business associations, to conduct surveys and take measures to cut time and costs for enterprises in getting exports and imports through customs.
“Trading Across Borders” records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. It measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with three sets of procedures — documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport — within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The trading across borders indicator set assesses the efficiency of trade processes related to control agencies, customs and border authorities, among others.
Vietnam was placed 70th among 190 economies in the 2020 Doing Business ranking. It was the second year the Southeast Asian economy’s ranking has declined despite achieving a higher score. The country scored 69.8 in this year’s report, higher than the previous two years’ figures of 66.77 (2018) and 68.8 (2019).
In ASEAN, Vietnam was behind Singapore (2nd), Malaysia (12th), Thailand (21st) and Brunei (66th). Vietnam were followed by Indonesia (73rd), the Philippines (95th), Cambodia (144th), Laos (154th), Myanmar (165th) and Timor Leste (181st)./.
