(TBTCO) - Deputy Director of the Customs Department Tran Duc Hung said that up to this point, the Customs sector has carried out the arrangement, streamlining the apparatus, operating according to the new model effectively, ensuring customs clearance of goods for businesses.
Customs officers inspect and clear goods for enterprises. Photo: CTV CHQ
Arrange the apparatus so as not to affect the operation of the business
Talking to reporters, Deputy Director of the Customs Department Tran Duc Hung said that up to now, the unit has effectively implemented the policy of the Party and Government on the organizational arrangement of the political system.
Over the past time, the Customs Department has closely followed the orientations, guidelines and directions of the Government and the Ministry of Finance, urgently implemented with high determination, reported to the Ministry of Finance to consider and approve the organizational model of the Customs sector in the direction of ending the model of the General Department, reorganized into the Customs Department and streamlined the internal focal point.
On February 26, 2025, the Ministry of Finance issued Decision No. 382/QD-BTC regulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance. According to its competence, the Director of the Customs Department has issued 22 decisions regulating the functions, tasks and powers of units under the Customs Department.
Although, the process of implementing the organizational arrangement of the apparatus is difficult to avoid the impact on the psychology and ideology of cadres and civil servants, especially those who are holding leadership positions; however, the Customs Department has done a good job of propagating and thoroughly understanding cadres, civil servants and employees of units who understand and share and support the Party's and State's policies on restructuring and streamlining the organizational apparatus.
Vietnam Customs follows a 3-level model
According to Mr. Tran Duc Hung - Deputy Director of the Customs Department, from March 1, 2025, the Customs Department operates under a new model smoothly, including 12 units under the Department and 20 regional customs sub-departments, down 485 focal points out of the total of 902 units previously, equivalent to 53.77%. The customs system is reorganized into 3 levels: Customs Department, regional customs sub-departments and border-gate/non-border-gate customs.
With the determination, consensus and urgency of the whole sector, after only 15 days of Decision No. 382/QD-BTC taking effect (from March 1, 2025 to March 15, 2025), the entire arrangement and organization of the apparatus and personnel of units within the Customs Department have completed the transformation to a new organizational model.
Clarifying the efforts of the customs authority, Mr. Le Duc Thanh - Head of the Customs Information Technology and Statistics Department, Customs Department said that in order not to be interrupted in the work and disrupt the customs clearance process for enterprises, the customs authority will quickly transform the information technology system according to the new organizational structure from March 15, 2025.
Although the time to arrange the organization and apparatus is very urgent, with high determination, the state management of customs in many units ensures the set criteria, namely: the new apparatus must be better than the old one and put into operation immediately; do not interrupt work, do not leave gaps in time, do not leave areas and fields vacant; not to affect the normal activities of society, people and businesses.
According to statistics, as of May 31, 2025, customs authorities ensure customs clearance for enterprises with export and import turnover growing by 2 digits. Specifically, the export and import turnover of goods reached 355.79 billion USD, up 15.7% (equivalent to an increase of 48.22 billion USD) over the same period in 2024. In which, export turnover reached 180.23 billion USD, up 14% over the same period last year (equivalent to an increase of 22.1 billion USD).
Modernize operations to meet the new situation
Mr. Tran Duc Hung added that in order to continue to promote the results and overcome difficulties in implementing the assigned tasks, the Customs sector will come up with solutions to evaluate work efficiency, rearrange personnel, strengthen training, etc fostering customs officers.
Specifically, the customs authority will focus on evaluating substantive officials, on the basis of quantifying specific work products, so as to streamline the payroll for cases that do not meet the requirements of the task and lack a sense of responsibility. At the same time, continue to review and update professional manuals to help civil servants after rearranging and restructuring professional procedures to master and comply with regulations, improve work efficiency; organize the assessment of the capacity of civil servants according to their job positions, create a learning movement, and improve the capacity of civil servants.
Along with that, the Customs sector continues to fully and promptly implement regimes and policies for civil servants, public employees and employees affected by the reorganization of the organization and apparatus. Arrange and rearrange cadres with quality and capacity, suitable to working positions, ensure the right people, the right jobs, reduce the number, improve quality and rationalize the structure. In particular, attention is paid to arranging and using cadres with outstanding capacity, responsibility, enthusiasm for work, meeting the requirements of tasks in the new situation.
In addition, the Customs Department will innovate training content and methods, focusing on in-depth training in customs operations, post-customs clearance inspection, and anti-trade fraud; at the same time, strengthen training courses on digital technology, application of artificial intelligence in customs management.
In order to improve operational capacity, Mr. Tran Duc Hung added, following the direction of the Government, the Ministry of Finance, and the Customs sector continue to implement reform and modernization solutions, simplify administrative procedures to facilitate trade, and at the same time ensure strict control, in accordance with the law, contributing to improving Vietnam's investment and business environment.
Accordingly, customs authorities reform institutions, build and complete a unified, synchronous, feasible, public, and transparent customs legal system, associated with improving the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement; reviewing, studying, amending and supplementing mechanisms, policies and legal regulations to create a full and strict legal corridor, contributing to improving the efficiency of customs control. At the same time, improve the operational efficiency of the National Single Window Mechanism...
At the same time, the customs office actively researches and proposes the implementation of the following schemes: Smart border gate model project in Lang Son; Scheme on digital border gate model for road border gates; Pilot model of connecting and sharing information on Vietnam-US seaport pairs; Long Thanh International Airport Project...\
Abolition and simplification of customs administrative procedures
In order to facilitate import and export activities of enterprises, according to the results of the initial preliminary review, the customs office plans to abolish 32 administrative procedures, simplify 92 procedures (reaching a rate of 55.1%), exceeding the required target.
Obtaining this result, the Customs Department has urgently and actively directed units to review the list of administrative procedures under its management in the direction of: in case of determining that administrative procedures are no longer necessary, proposing abolition or may be included in other administrative procedures, replaced by other state management measures; At the same time, replacing the method of carrying out administrative procedures from manual to electronic; simplifying unnecessary dossier components...
In the coming time, customs authorities will continue to implement new requirements on reform of administrative procedures according to the policy of the Politburo, Resolution 66/NQ-CP dated March 26, 2025 of the Government and the direction of the Ministry of Finance on reducing and simplifying administrative procedures related to production activities, business in 2025 and 2026. In particular, Resolution 66/NQ-CP sets out requirements for ministries and sectors in 2025 to achieve the target of reducing at least 30% of the time to handle administrative procedures, reducing at least 30% of the cost of carrying out administrative procedures, and abolishing at least 30% of unnecessary business conditions.
