According to the General Department of Customs, in the first half of the year, the total import and export turnover of the country reached nearly $370 billion, a 16% increase compared to the same period last year. This helped the budget revenue from import and export activities reach VND 200,460 billion, up 8.4% over the same period last year.
In the group of 10 customs departments with the largest budget revenue in the country, most of the revenue sources increased significantly. Typically, the budget revenue of the Hai Phong Customs Department reached nearly VND 34,500 billion (up 4.01%), Hanoi Customs Department reached nearly VND 14,800 billion (up 5.11%), Ba Ria-Vung Tau Customs Department reached VND 10,600 billion, up nearly 26%, Dong Nai Customs Department reached nearly VND 10,500 billion (up 13.7%); Thanh Hoa increased by 31.6%; Quang Ninh increased by 21.2%…
Interestingly, the budget revenue of the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department – the unit with the largest proportion in the import and export budget revenue structure of the whole country – has decreased significantly. In the first 6 months, the budget revenue of the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department reached only over VND 58,700 billion, down 7.67% over the same period last year (equivalent to about VND 4,900 billion).
A significant decrease in imported cars at Ho Chi Minh City ports has led to a decline in budget revenue for the city’s customs department.
Explaining this issue, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department said that in the first half of this year, the import and export turnover in the city tended to increase, reaching $55.8 billion, up about 8% over the same period last year. However, some key budget revenue items have declined.
Typically, completely built-up cars of all kinds, which account for about 13% of the budget revenue structure of the Department, saw a turnover decrease of up to 35.4% in the first half of the year. This has led to a nearly 45% decrease in tax revenue to be collected for the budget (about VND 6,000 billion) compared to the same period last year.
Mr. Nguyen Van On – Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department – said that the main reason for the decrease in imported cars is due to market supply and demand and weak buying power, with a large number of cars still in stock at ports. Many imported goods with high tax rates have been reduced, and will be further reduced in the coming years according to the roadmap for tariff reduction committed in free trade agreements (FTAs). Some items are affected by the policy of reducing the value-added tax rate (from 8-10%).
In addition, the logistics system in Ho Chi Minh City is congested, increasing transportation costs for businesses. Meanwhile, neighboring provinces such as Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An, and Dong Nai are promoting the development of ports and facilitating policies, reducing the role of Ho Chi Minh City as a logistics center, potentially shifting goods in the city to neighboring provinces and cities.
Leaders of Ho Chi Minh City Customs said that to nurture revenue sources and promote trade flows, the department has directed to strengthen administrative reform, modernization, and trade facilitation for the business community, and implement measures to prevent budget revenue losses.
According to the General Department of Customs, in the second half of this year, the policy of reducing the value-added tax rate will continue to be implemented, which is expected to reduce revenue by about VND 18,000 billion. In addition, the implementation of the import tax refund period for auto parts will also reduce total revenue by about VND 6,000 billion. These are quite significant challenges.
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