Eighty-two percent of more than 3,000 businesses, when surveyed, said they expected customs administrative procedures to be further simplified and service quality to be improved, according to a report released on November 12.
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| VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc presents the report at a ceremony held on November 12 in Hanoi__Photo: bizlive.vn |
The 2015 survey report on business satisfaction of customs administrative procedures revealed that around 94 percent of businesses viewed changes in customs policies and regulations as positive, but a significant 58 percent said they encountered difficulties in conducting customs procedures.
Notably, 28 percent of respondent businesses said they had to pay unofficial charges to complete customs procedures, a significant drop from 57 percent in 2012 and 49 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, 37 percent said they did not pay any unstipulated fees, and 35 percent said they were unaware of these amounts.
The report also found that a majority of businesses rated the level of compliance of customs officers with regulations as “normal”.
Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the result of customs administrative procedures remained far below expectations of businesses, and called for enhanced cooperation among relevant agencies to hasten the process.
According to Deputy Finance Minister Do Hoang Anh Tuan, several measures would be taken to reduce customs procedures such as further upgrading the e-customs system and modifying regulations on inspection of quality and food hygiene and safety of imports and exports, which currently accounted for more than 72 percent of the time required for customs clearance.
The survey was conducted from April to June this year by VCCI, the General Department of Customs and the Vietnam Governance for Inclusive Growth (GIG) Program, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).- (VNS/VLLF)
