Professional operations at Cai Lan Port Customs Branch. Photo: Thu Trang

Many brokers fail to report their activities

As of early March 2019, the General Department of Customs had recognized more than 1,000 customs brokers. Most were managed by the Hanoi Customs Department (229 brokers), Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department (440) and Hai Phong Customs Department (138). Although the legal regulations governing customs brokerage activities were already in place, according to the General Department of Customs many enterprises had not complied seriously. Many had failed to report their operations as required by Clause 9, Article 13 of Circular 12/2015/TT-BTC and therefore fell within the cases handled under Clause 2, Article 7 of Circular 12/2015/TT-BTC. Hanoi Customs listed more than 90 such enterprises and Ho Chi Minh City Customs more than 200. To ensure compliance, the General Department of Customs asked customs brokers on the “warning” list to promptly review and remedy their shortcomings.

Despite notices requiring full compliance with reporting rules, not every enterprise took corrective action. A review by the Customs Supervision and Management Department found that of the 300 customs brokers that the General Department of Customs required to promptly review and report their activities, only half had complied.

Speaking to Customs News, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Ngan, Director of HNH Mover Co., Ltd. in Ho Chi Minh City, an enterprise on the General Department of Customs’ warning list, said that after receiving the notice the company promptly reviewed its operations and submitted a customs-brokerage activity report covering import-export types, the number of enterprises under contract, the number of declarations and turnover.

Asked whether preparing the activity report was difficult, Ms. Ngan said it was quite simple and took the enterprise only a short time, about half a day, to complete reports covering several years. She explained that the company had been placed on the warning list because it had not carefully studied the current regulations on customs brokerage. This was also a lesson for the enterprise to be more careful in complying with the law. Periodic reporting also helps enterprises regularly review their brokerage operations, exercise better control and plan expansion of the service.

Efforts to create an operating mechanism for customs brokers

The Customs Supervision and Management Department has reported to the leadership of the General Department of Customs for consideration of action against customs brokers that intentionally violate regulations, potentially including termination of their operations.

Also in relation to customs brokerage, the General Department of Customs completed a draft Circular amending and supplementing Circular 12/2015/TT-BTC in a direction that facilitates operations while still meeting state-management requirements; tightens rules on recognition, suspension and termination of customs brokers; and ensures sanctions for brokers that operate contrary to regulations or intentionally commit fraud.

At the end of 2018, the General Department of Customs surveyed customs brokerage services at provincial and municipal customs departments with large declaration volumes and tax revenues, including Lang Son, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong, to identify measures to improve the quality and effectiveness of customs brokerage and develop a plan to enhance brokers’ operational capacity.

The General Department of Customs collected information from customs authorities, customs brokers and import-export enterprises. Nearly 2,400 questionnaires were distributed and more than 1,100 were returned, including responses from nearly 250 customs brokers out of 637 questionnaires sent to brokers.

The survey recorded issues mainly concerning customs brokers not signing brokerage contracts or using the broker’s digital signature for customs declarations; shortcomings in issuing and extending employee codes for customs brokerage staff and in training and professional development; support in providing and sharing information; non-acceptance of customs brokers’ digital signatures by specialized agencies; the relationship between brokers and enterprises using brokerage services; and reasons why enterprises do not use customs brokerage services.