Customs force of Lang Son province: Strongly preventing smuggled goods through the border gates

According to statistics of the Provincial Customs Department, from the beginning of October 2022 to now, the customs force has detected and prevented 189 cases of smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeit goods, up 175% compared to August and September 2022. According to the Provincial Customs Department, at the end of the year, the smuggling is likely to become more complicated, therefore, the customs force has been strengthening the prevention solutions.

From the beginning of October 20220 to November 25, 2022, Customs Sup-department of Chi Ma Border Gate promptly detected and prevented 18 cases of importing goods that were not those declared, up 100% compared to August and September 2022.

Customs force of Chi Ma Border Gate checks imported goods through the border gate

Mr. Nguyen Bao Ngoc, Director of Customs Sup-department of Chi Ma Border Gate said: “The smugglers with businesses importing goods take advantage of the risk management mechanism in customs clearance of goods to make false declaration of imported goods in order to evade tax.”

Also during this time, Customs Sup-department of Huu Nghi International Border Gate and Tan Thanh Border Gate also detected 75 cases of smugglers inserting smuggled goods into containers to re-import into Vietnam.

Mr. Phung Van Ba, Deputy Director of Customs Sup-department of Tan Thanh Border Gate said: “Through control activities, the customs force discovered a number of containers that were re-imported through the border gate with added goods which were not imported previously”. According to Mr. Ba, smugglers had taken advantage of the delivery without meeting, when the containers were re-imported, they were rarely inspected in order to create a fast clearance flow. Well aware of this, the smugglers inserted the smuggled goods into the empty container in order to bring the smuggled goods cross the border gate.”

Talking to the leader of the Provincial Customs Department, it was known that the act of taking advantage of preferential policies in the control activities of the customs force as well as favorable conditions for goods clearance activities during this time of the year smuggling were new tricks of the smugglers. This situation was predicted to increase at the end of 2022 and at the Lunar New Year 2023 because of the increasing demand for goods, especially consumer goods, food, cosmetics and electronics in the country at this time.

Mr. Vu Tuan Binh, Deputy Director of Lang Son Provincial Customs Department said: “In order to prevent this act, over the past time, the customs force has been promoting supervision of declaration of businesses importing goods through the area. Specifically, the professional divisions and customs sub-department of the Provincial Customs Department have strengthened the review of trademarks upon receipt to check the customs documents declared on the software. When in doubt, we request the businesses to show the original contract, commercial invoice, detailed list of goods, certificate of origin (C/O), bill of lading in customs procedures when there are signs of fraud in the declaration of goods categories.

Custom force of Huu Nghi International Border Gate screens containers carrying imported goods

In addition, customs sup-department and professional teams have been strengthening inspection, supervision and strict control of imported goods, especially goods with high tax rates; strengthened inspection and supervision of re-imported vehicles and containers; strengthened the collection and analysis of information about businesses, especially those with false declaration of imported goods… and proactively taken professional measures to detect, prevent and handle them according to regulations for the transportation of smuggled goods through border gates.

At the same time, the customs sub-departments at the border gates strengthened customs supervision at inspection sites and goods gathering places; supervised goods warehouses in order to prevent smuggled goods gathering points within the border gate areas; promoted online supervision through the monitoring system from the warehouse area of ​​the Vietnamese side and the Chinese side; strengthened the supervision of goods passing through the border gates, especially those imported ,through the automatic container screening system at the border gates to closely monitor the source of goods imported into Vietnam according to the type of goods declared.

From the actual situation, it has been shown that smuggling activities have changed from through trails and shortcuts to through border gates. Therefore, the customs force has been strengthening professional measures to strictly control and supervise goods imported and exported through the border gates, especially goods imported through the border gates into Vietnam, contributing to preventing smuggled goods from being smuggled through border gates into the domestic market.

In the first 11 months of 2022, the Provincial Customs Department detected and coordinated to detect 1,093 cases of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods across border gates and border lines, up 7.9% over the same period of 2021.