Nam Dinh Department of Customs

"On the same boat with enterprises"

During eight years of building and getting mature, Nam Dinh Department of Customs has always ranked the first for accomplishing its assignments and the monetary amount collected from import - export tariff to the State budget. Those achievements have indicated great efforts made by all workers and officials of the department with the will of "staying on the same boat with enterprises".

For a more effective operation
"It took much time, effort, and money to make customs declarations in Hanoi or Hai Phong Department of Customs whenever we exported or imported any goods. Thereof, we felt bored and tired when doing customs procedures," Tran Manh Luu, director of Nam Dinh Import and Export Company reminisced about the time before 1996. At that time, what Mr. Luu has said was the innermost feelings of almost enterprises of the former Nam Ha. Furthermore, such a fact did bad effects on the foreign economic relation affairs of the locality. It has become the cause to establishment of Nam Dinh Department of Customs under the leadership by Thanh Hoa Department of Customs in 1996. By 2003, the department had an official team of 17 professional and dedicated people functioning according to the motto "regulation and uprightness in custom sector".
After eight years of operation, Nam Dinh Department of Customs has successfully displayed its role in management and import-export affairs, making significant contributions to the foreign economic development of the province and neighbouring localities. Apart from its main duties of governing and serving import-export affairs, the department was given more duty of the state management in Hai Thinh national port (in Thinh Long township, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh) in 1998. Despite few exit and entry transportation means (about 31 turns), all the exit and entry procedures are conducted quickly and exactly.
Due to increasing import export activities in the province, the volume of goods registered and favoured custom procedures makes increase of 2%/year. End 1996 commodity value for custom procedures reached USD3.2 million, the number increased to USD136.3 million in 2003. It's likely to say there was a sudden increase on total import-export value in 2000 - 2002 (when happening sudden change for export motorcycle). Accordingly, contribution to the state budget increases. The turnover increases for years, typically the highest year reaches VND200 billion. This result makes Nam Dinh Department of Customs become the leading unit of Thanh Hoa Department of Customs in taxation to the state budget since establishment.
As a matter of fact, the prevention from the smuggle and trade fraud is considered a crucial task of the customs sector. This task has got due concerns and efforts of all employees of Nam Dinh Department of Customs. It requires investigation in commodity, customs clearance as provided in the Law on Customs; having list of enterprises who violating the Law on Customs in order to apply professional methods for trade fraud, tax evasion, wrong import-export declarations and sensitive commodities according to Instruction No.02/TCHQ dated August 19th 2002 and warns by the General Department of Customs. Along with that, the department has cooperated with with responsible agencies to timely tackle violation cases. According to the director of Nam Dinh Department of Customs Vu Van Khanh, this is a quite peaceful area. By 2003, there was no case required penal offence but the department's officials take due concerns to their given tasks. Likely to say Nam Dinh Department of Customs' achievements in against smuggle and trade fraud has created a healthy competition environment for nationwide enterprises and Nam Dinh based ones. This has partly honoured authentic enterprises.
In the year of 2003, one new task given to Nam Dinh Department of Customs was that the department has to conduct customs procedures in Hoa Xa Industrial Zone. Despite only 5 - 6 enterprises making customs declaration, the department has made proper governance over this economic sector.

Convenient, dedicated and exact
This is considered operation motto of Nam Dinh Department of Customs in particular and of the customs branch in general. Since the the Law on Customs gave its effect from January 1st 2002, the department has strictly followed instructions on giving effects to the law. Aiming to minimize the enterprises' time for making customs declarations, the department has posted up a notice professional procedures and legal instruction documents together with conducted customs procedures. Along with that, the department has well done its respondance affairs and consided as a an essential task when implementing the Law on Customs to timely correct mistakes and serve for post clearance check actions.
Performing the overal programme on administrative reform adopted by the General Department of Customs, Nam Dinh Department of Customs has been conducting according to the locality situation with certain activities on customs procedure improvement, management and strengthening import-export actions. According to statistics by the department, there are 90% exports and 50% imports favoured checking exemption.
Using the information technology is measured the branch's strategy "to simplify and unify Vietnam's customs procedures to harmonise with the regional and international customs ones". This strategy brings about higher management quality, convenience and belief in customers when they forward any import-export declarations. Key systems that have been used to undertake customs procedures in Vietnam include data collection and processing; coerced enterprises information system; customs violation information system; tariff debt control; tariff rate control. Despite short time of application causing incomprehensive and backward inforamtion technology network, Nam Dinh Department of Customs makes satisfactory contributions to taking responsibilities in the locality.
With the strong will of enthusiasm, the department's officials and staffs have made up their mind to serve enterprises at their best. As a result, they have timely conducted import-export procedures for enterprises regardless of festivals or working-off-days. More than that, the relationship between the department with enterprises has been progressively enhanced and customs officials have turned into the travelling companion of enterprises. "The relationship between enterprise and customs force is a conflictive in terms of benefits. Therefore, solutions must be based on provisions of the law to perform all customs affairs. That is why all enterprises have to follow. The important thing is the common understanding between customs officers and entrepreneurs," said Mr. Vu Van Khanh, director of Nam Dinh Department of Customs.
For common understandings between the department and enterprises, many meetings are taken place to timely update inform about changes in policies for their proper implementation. It is likely to say enterprises who making customs procedures at Nam Dinh Department of Customs are inclusive of those not only from Nam Dinh but also from Thai Binh and Ha Nam provinces (about 20%). This reveals the success of the motto "Convenient, dedicated and exact" by the department and indicates the confidence of near and far enterprises to the department.
"Nowadays, it is our desire to have the concentrated office and place for import-export checking affairs thus facilitating officials and staffs to work more conveniently and efficiently," said the director of Nam Dinh Department of Customs. It is obviously that only having a look to their achievements recorded over the past years and their present desire we shall fully understand their dedicated heart and efforts to given tasks as well as to the socio-economic development of Nam Dinh province.

In the circumstances of satisfying the foreign economic development demand is needed, Nam Ha Department of Customs under the leadership by Thanh Hoa Department of Customs named "Nam Dinh Department of Customs" was established on March 7th 1996 by the General Department of Customs' Decision No.213/TCHQ in accord to the proposal by the chairperson of former Nam Ha People's Committee. In May 1996, Nam Dinh Department of Customs officially started its operation.