Customs Collects Over $2 Billion in Additional Budget Revenue

Budget Revenue Increases by VND 53,000 – 55,000 Billion

The General Department of Vietnam Customs recently held a conference to review its performance in 2024 and outline its key tasks for 2025. According to the department, significant achievements were made in administrative procedure reform, process simplification, trade facilitation, and state budget revenue collection.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs has been working closely with various ministries and sectors to implement the Master Plan for the National Single Window Mechanism, the ASEAN Single Window Mechanism, and trade facilitation initiatives.

As of mid-November, the National Single Window Mechanism has integrated 250 administrative procedures from 13 ministries and sectors, connecting with over 75,400 businesses. The department also maintains official connections for exchanging information on electronic Certificate of Origin Form D with nine ASEAN member countries. Additionally, they are collaborating with Laos on testing in a trial environment and expanding information exchange with trading partners such as Japan, China, South Korea, and the United States.

A task force has been established by the General Department of Vietnam Customs to collaborate with the Nanning Customs in China to develop a pilot plan for a smart border gate model between Lang Son province (Vietnam) and Guangxi province (China).

Regarding trade activities, as of December 14, the total import and export value of Vietnam reached USD 745.3 billion, a 15.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Exports stood at USD 384.4 billion, a 14.4% increase, while imports reached USD 360.9 billion, a 16.3% increase. It is projected that the total import and export value for 2024 will reach approximately USD 782.3 billion, with a trade surplus estimated at USD 23.5 billion.

With this positive trade performance, as of December 15, budget revenue from import and export activities reached VND 402,680 billion, surpassing the target by 7.4% and reflecting a 13.9% increase compared to the same period last year. The estimated budget revenue for the whole year is VND 418,000 – 420,000 billion, representing a 13.4% – 13.9% increase, or an absolute increase of VND 53,000 – 55,000 billion.

Simultaneously, the department’s debt collection and handling efforts have been successful, meeting the set requirements. As of the end of November, the sector’s total debt stood at nearly VND 5,420 billion, a decrease of VND 138.5 billion compared to the end of last year (equivalent to a 2.49% reduction). The amount recovered and handled exceeded VND 730 billion.

Over VND 900 Billion Collected from Handling Violations

In terms of combating smuggling and commercial fraud, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has implemented vigorous and effective solutions. In the past 11 months, the customs force has scanned nearly 114,500 containers (an average of 527 containers per day), identifying nearly 3,000 suspicious containers (accounting for 2.6% of the total scanned containers) and detecting 452 violating containers (15.3% of the suspected containers).

The violations mainly involved the import of prohibited goods, incorrect declaration of quantity and type, import of goods without declaration, counterfeit goods, and goods that did not meet conditions, technical standards, and regulations.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods remain complex issues, affecting various routes, forms, locations, and cyberspace. Notably, there has been an increase in cases of abuse of e-commerce platforms and social networks, as well as the use of postal and express delivery services. Smugglers also employ tactics such as splitting goods into smaller lots and transporting them from border areas to inland for consumption.

So far, the customs sector has detected, handled, and settled 16,390 cases of customs law violations, with an estimated value of nearly VND 29,280 billion. The customs authorities have initiated legal proceedings in 24 cases, transferred 157 cases to other agencies for criminal prosecution, and collected over VND 900 billion in budget revenue.

Notably, in response to the complex situation of illegal buying, selling, and transporting of narcotics and precursors across the border, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has coordinated with the police and border guard forces to detect and handle 275 cases involving 328 individuals, with the customs sector directly handling 105 cases. The seized narcotics weighed over 2.08 tons.

During the deployment of the Mekong Dragon VI Campaign, the focal point under the Vietnam Customs provided updates on 59 cases of drug seizures, with a total weight of 395 kg, and 18 cases of wildlife seizures, with a total weight of 269 kg and 353 individuals or products derived from wildlife.

Looking ahead to 2025, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has outlined key tasks, including implementing a new organizational model upon approval from authorized levels to ensure continuous and effective operations, embracing Industry 4.0 to redesign the sector’s information technology system, and vigorously pursuing administrative procedure reform and simplification, along with decisive and synchronous solutions for budget revenue collection.