Customs Authorities Nationwide Crack Down on Smuggling and Commercial Fraud
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Vigorously implementing the directives of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, on May 18, 2025, the Customs Department issued Document 5214 to enhance the fight against smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods in the new situation. Accordingly, the Customs Department directed the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, the Customs Departments in regions, and the Customs at the border gates/outside border gates to concentrate resources and effectively deploy measures during the peak month of attacking and suppressing crimes of smuggling and transporting fake goods, counterfeit goods, substandard goods, and goods of unknown origin that affect consumers’ health and the community.
Functional units strengthen information collection, risk assessment, and analysis for goods with potential risks and inherent risks in terms of price, origin, and import conditions, standards, norms, and quality, especially for goods with large volume, value, and tax rates. and import-export conditional items, and goods affecting the health of consumers and the community, to timely detect, prevent, and handle acts of smuggling and commercial fraud or transfer to competent units for handling according to regulations.
Strengthen coordination with competent forces to verify the origin of goods in customs dossiers, grasp and exchange information about fraud schemes for export and import goods with signs of smuggling and illegal transport across borders, tax evasion, and VAT fraud. and verify suspicious transactions (smuggling, money laundering, illegal cross-border currency transportation…) to take timely handling measures.
Earlier, at the meeting of the Prime Minister on anti-smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods at the beginning of 2025 and the direction and tasks for the coming time held on May 14, 2025, at the Government Office, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested to launch a peak attack to prevent and repel crimes of smuggling, commercial fraud, counterfeit goods, infringement of copyrights, and intellectual property rights nationwide, from May 15, 2025, to June 15, 2025.
Immediately after the meeting, on May 15, 2025, the Prime Minister signed and issued Dispatch No. 65 on launching a peak attack to prevent and repel crimes of smuggling, commercial fraud, counterfeit goods, copyright infringement, and intellectual property rights nationwide. On May 17, 2025, Directive No. 13 was issued on enhancing the fight against smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods in the new situation.
On May 15, 2025, the Ministry of Finance issued Plan No. 01 on the implementation of the peak month of attacking and suppressing crimes of smuggling and transporting fake goods, counterfeit goods, substandard goods, and goods of unknown origin that affect consumers’ health and the community.
– 21:12 19/05/2025
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