In order to facilitate commercial activities and streamline the flow of import and export goods, one of the key tasks of the Customs sector is to ensure the operation of information technology (IT) systems that serve the customs declaration of businesses and the customs clearance tasks of the Customs agency. Therefore, the General Department of Customs has been making efforts, focusing resources on deploying the construction of IT systems to implement digital customs, meeting the business requirements in customs clearance.

Ensuring Smooth Customs Clearance

The Vietnam Customs and Cargo Information System (VNACCS/VCIS), supported by the Japanese Government and handed over to the General Department of Customs for use since 2014, is the core system of Vietnam Customs, playing a crucial role in customs clearance activities, import and export (I&E) of goods, and Vietnam’s economy.

The implementation of the VNACCS/VCIS system at that time was a breakthrough in the process of customs reform and modernization, creating favorable conditions for the business community to carry out customs procedures.

The greatest significance of VNACCS/VCIS is its contribution to helping Vietnam Customs achieve the goal of building a centralized IT system, providing a platform for the implementation of all future modernization programs.

The significant benefits of the VNACCS/VCIS system over the past years cannot be denied and have been highly acknowledged and appreciated by leaders at all levels and the business community.

However, after nearly 10 years of operation, the system is overloaded. At the time of its operation, the number of declarations was only a few million sets per year, but now this number has increased to over 15 million sets per year. The scale of import and export turnover in 2014 was just over USD 298 billion, but by 2022, it had increased to over USD 730 billion (almost 2.5 times that of 2014).

On the other hand, the accompanying data is also substantial. While the warranty service for most hardware devices has expired…

To address these limitations, meet the requirements of building digital customs, digital transformation, and applying Industry 4.0 technology according to the Customs development strategy until 2030, based on the report of the General Department of Customs, on September 15, 2023, the Ministry of Finance issued Decision No. 1957/QD-BTC approving the investment policy for the project “Building an IT system for implementing digital customs to meet business requirements in customs clearance.”

Possibility of Integration and Expansion

The project aims to build and deploy an IT system serving customs business operations in the customs clearance phase, replacing the VNACCS/VCIS system.

The system has the capability to expand and integrate with existing IT systems based on the application of new technological achievements, conforming to international standards, meeting smart management requirements. It focuses on managing businesses, I&E goods, comprehensive transit management from the beginning to the end.

Simultaneously, it has the ability to integrate, connect, and share information with ministries, sectors, businesses through the National Single Window mechanism and is ready to exchange customs data with countries in the region and the world, making Vietnam Customs a digital customs. The IT system for digital customs implementation includes software, hardware, technical support services, and user training to meet the requirements of customs clearance tasks and other related business problems, ensuring system security, and compliance with the overall architecture towards Digital Finance and Digital Customs.

The project will meet the requirements of processing 22 business problems in customs operations, in areas such as customs management supervision, import-export tax, risk management, modernization reform, customs inspection, with an expected number of system functions around 2,500 functions.

After being approved by the Ministry of Finance, the leaders of the General Department of Customs directed resolutely and the entire sector focused on allocating resources to urgently implement related work content to strive to put the system into operation soon.

At the 2023 Tax and Customs Forum with the theme “Digital transformation of the Tax and Customs sectors for the convenience of citizens and businesses,” held on November 8, 2023, in Hanoi, the leaders of the IT and Statistics Customs Department (General Department of Customs) stated that according to the Customs sector’s digital transformation plan until 2025, aiming towards 2030, by 2025, the Customs sector will basically complete the Digital Customs. The focus is on completing the overall redesign of the IT system to meet the requirements of customs operations towards Digital Customs and meeting the requirements of information system security.

Specific targets for 2025 include: 100% of customs procedures being digitized and implemented electronically; 95% of documents in the customs file being transferred to digital data (by 2030, striving to achieve 100%); 100% of records related to organizations, individuals involved in import and export activities; people, vehicles for export, import, and transit; export, import, and transit goods being managed in digital data format…

Source: haiquanonline.com.vn