MoF requests not to overlap tasks among enforcement forces in implementing digital border gate in Lang Son

Avoid overlapping tasks and functions

On December 7, the Ministry of Finance issued Official Dispatch 13558/BTC-TCHQ to the People's Committee of Lang Son province. According to the Ministry of Finance, Lang Son province has made great efforts and proactively implemented digital transformation under the National Digital Transformation Program.

The digital border gate platform in Lang Son has been piloted from 2022. The assistance by the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Vietnam Customs) in providing and sharing data on imports and exports, exit-entry means of transport to province's digital border gate platform operation center has actively supported in the management and operations of Lang Son Provincial People's Committee and enforcement agencies at border gate.

However, Lang Son province currently develops a decision to replace Decision 941/QD-UBND on the process of using the digital border gate platform. The Ministry of Finance said that many contents are not consistent with the functions and tasks of units at the border gate, and there is overlap between forces. Recently, the Ministry continues to comment on the draft decision to replace Decision 941/QD-TBND.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the draft decree specifically stipulates the responsibilities and obligations of organizations and individuals (state management agencies, import-export enterprises, vehicle operators), and local enforcement agenciesand authorities under the management of ministries and sectors, such as: Customs, Border Guard, Quarantine when performing export and import processes on the Digital Border Gate Platform; procedures for Vietnamese and Chinese vehicles transporting goods into and out of border gate areas, enclosed with a declaration form on vehicles carrying exported and imported goods.

The draft Decision provides provisions on administrative procedures, but these procedures are not specified in legal documents or governed by laws and resolutions of the National Assembly assigning the People's Committee to issue guiding decisions. Accordingly,the administrative proceduresstipulated in the draft Decision is not consistent with the provisions of Clause 4, Article 14 of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents.

Therefore, the Ministry of Finance requests Lang Son province to carefully review the legal basis for the province's authority, functions and tasks in regulating the subjects of application.

Moreover, the ministry said thatthere are overlapping tasks of enforcement forces in the draft. The Customs Law 2014, the Law on Border Guard 2020 and sub-law documents stipulate the functions, tasks and powers of the Customs and Border Guard agencies in inspection, supervision and carrying out procedures for imports, exports and transited goods; exit, entry and transit means of transport and exit and entry passengers.

Accordingly, the Customs agency is in charge of implementing customs inspection and supervision for imports, exports and vehicles across the border gate, and coordinating in preventing and combating drug-related crime in the customs control area. The Border Guard is in charge of controlling immigration at the border gates managed by the Ministry of National Defense, and only checks and monitors goods traded by residents at sub-border gates without the Customs.

“The draft decision provides that the Border Guard inspects and certify vehicles across border gates in Lang Son province, which is not consistent with the Vietnam Border Guard Law and the Customs Law.

In addition, customs procedures, inspection and supervision are assigned by the National Assembly and the Government to the Ministry of Finance to develop in the Customs Law and legal documents guiding the Customs Law, and are applied uniformly in customs control areas across the country. The promulgation of regulations by Lang Son province will change the process and lead to inconsistencies in enforcing Customs law among border gates and localities, causing overlap and rising administrative procedures for people and businesses, and prolonging customs clearance time for goods across border gates," the Ministry of Finance analyzed.

Thus, the Ministry requests the People's Committee of Lang Son province to direct the drafting unit to review the implementation of Decision 941/QD-UBND and legal basis, and receive comments of the Ministry to develop the draft decision.

Procedures need to be processed on National Single Window

The Ministry of Finance said that currently, some border provinces have developed plans to build digital and smart border gate platform models. However, in fact, there are overlaps between the systems, processes and procedures stipulated by the Law on Customs, the Law on Border Guard Law and the regulations of other state management forces in the border area.

The building of a digital border gate platform by each locality will lead to inconsistencies in customs processes, procedures, inspection and supervision, as well as other processes, especially the different characteristics of border gates. This affects the customs control and causes inconsistencies in enforcing customs laws and other specialized management among border gates and localities, leading to waste of construction investment and human resources.

Decision No. 2294/QD- BTTT, dated November 21, 2023 of the Ministry of Information and Communications, supplements regulations on the Digital Border Gate Platform and assigns the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense to be the focal points in developing the Digital Border Gate Platform in line with the reality of border trade management, creating favorable conditions for customs clearance of import and export goods.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance has requested the General Department of Vietnam Customs to review the professional processes of the Customs, Border Guard, Quarantine authorities and other state management agencies at land border gates; to build an overall operational processes towards that administrative procedures related to import and export goods, people and means of transport are carried out on the National Single Window (NSW).

When carrying out administrative procedures, organizations and individuals only declare once and the NSW system will automatically transfer information to relevant units for processing. The NSW system will automatically receive and share data and information related to goods, people, and vehicles with relevant agencies, organizations, and units to serve professional and management requirements; connect data with the management system at the smart border gate.

In addition, inspection and supervision equipment at the border gate is only installed in the area managed by the Customs, Border Guard and border gate economic management board; is connected to NSW and used by the state management agencies at border gates under their functions and tasks.

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