HCM City vows quick return of e-customs

HCM City customs authorities have assured businesses that e-clearance will only be suspended briefly before being introduced nationwide and not abolished as they fear.

Speaking at talks the Department of Customs held with businesses on Wednesday, Nguyen Trong Hung, the department deputy director, promised businesses the suspension would not affect their activities.

"E-clearance has been tested for the last four years and it is now withdrawn to prepare for expansion: it will be applied to every economic sector, not just selected companies."

The pilot was done using 370 businesses selected by the department in HCM City and over 300 in Hai Phong. Hung emphasised that the department did not plan to discard the e-clearance system but only withdraw it for implementation everywhere.

"It has drawn up a strategy to help businesses clear their goods," he said in response to a concerned Vinamilk official, promising that manual clearance would not act as a hindrance. The Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, the meeting organiser, said such dialogues would be organised regularly to serve as a forum for city authorities and businesses to discuss issues.

The meeting was attended by industry associations, city agencies, district authorities, and around 60 business executives from the city.

vietnamnews

>   Houses worth over 600 million dong to be taxed (31/07/2009)

>   Domestic breeders incurring losses because of meat imports (31/07/2009)

>   More orders coming to garment companies (31/07/2009)

>   Domestic goods still out of favour with Vietnamese consumers (31/07/2009)

>   Vietnamese people queuing to beat tax increase on some cars (31/07/2009)

>   Leading property firm breaks into Vietnam market (31/07/2009)

>   Fuel price proposal won’t change much, experts say (31/07/2009)

>   Vietnam may allow private sector participation in oil market (31/07/2009)

>   Nippon Oil plans Vietnam refinery as domestic demand dries up (31/07/2009)

>   Economists say go steady on credit supply, avoid sharp turns (31/07/2009)