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Poor Internet connection holds up e-customs clearance
One of the obstacles to the pilot e-customs clearance project has been the reluctance of officers to apply new technology at work.
The customs department‘s effort to operate an internet-based platform for customs clearance procedures has been undermined by poor connection quality, businesses and officials said at a recent meeting.
The e-customs clearance service has been offered on a trial basis to 204 trading businesses in Ho Chi Minh City since 2005.
However, many participating businesses complained the municipal customs office had not improved its network infrastructure to facilitate access.
Nguyen Ha Phuong, a representative from the dairy firm Vinamilk, said slow connections and regular disconnections had often prevented his company from completing customs procedures.
“Every time the customs network malfunctions, our shipment is delayed for one day pending their bug-fixing,” Phuong told the meeting on Wednesday.
Nguyen Hoanh Hoa, deputy general director of Saigon Industry Corporation, suggested the customs office should also link with other related government agencies to ensure the process becomes smoother.
As of now, after a business pays taxes for a shipment, a customs officer has to go to the treasury to get a certificate for that payment before continuing clearance procedures.
“Why don’t these agencies get connected so the process could be accelerated?” Hoa asked.
Tran Ma Thong, deputy head of the HCMC Customs Department, blamed poor information technology infrastructure in the country for the connectivity problems.
Nguyen Hanh Thu, deputy head of General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC), said customs officers’ “shyness” in applying new technologies in their work also hindered the electronic clearance.
He said GDVC had to turn down some proposals to apply e-customs services in Dong Nai, Ba Ria Vung Tau and Binh Duong due to the weak network infrastructure in those provinces.
Thong said his agency would work to improve staff qualification and upgrade its network infrastructure.
The scope of the trial project would also be expanded beyond trading companies to producing and outsourcing businesses, he said.
Private service
Thu said GDVC would encourage the private sector to improve e-customs services through a value-added network which provides services for running automated customs clearance procedures through online processing or electronic data transmission.
Commonly known as Custom Value Added Network (CVAN), this network has been applied in many countries. It helps free both customs offices and businesses from being burdened by technical issues.
Only FPT, a leading Vietnamese IT firm which set up a platform for the e-custom service, has applied to provide CVAN so far, said Thu.
Besides this trial program, the GDVC has realized another projects funded by the World Bank and other financial institutes to modernize the customs department to international standards, Thu said.
Under its commitments as a member of the regional bloc ASEAN, Vietnam will apply e-customs services by 2012.
Thanhnien
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