Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and Viet Nam Work Together to Implement Modern Customs Bond System

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation is joining forces with the General Department of Viet Nam Customs and two Vietnamese business associations to provide support to Viet Nam’s Customs Department with the implementation of a modern customs bond system.

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation supports the Prime Minister’s drive for reform of complicated import-export administrative procedures, and the country’s implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation announced the launch of a new and innovative project to provide WTO-supported technical assistance for Viet Nam’s General Department of Customs, the Ministry of Finance Insurance Supervision Authority, and all line Ministries and state agencies regulating trade in Vietnam. The project involves legal and regulatory changes, operational and IT support for the VNACCS/VCIS e-Customs system and other assistance for study and implementation of a modern customs bond system. The goal is to provide a mechanism to allow line Ministries and state agencies involved with specialized inspection to introduce modern risk management methods and international best practices that are coordinated with the procedures developed and implemented by the General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Finance.

The proposal for the project originated from the business associations of the Viet Nam Trade Facilitation Alliance in Ho Chi Minh City in 2016 and has been taken up by the newly-strengthened Advisory Council to the Prime Minister for Administrative Procedures Reform. On 18 August, the Office of Government announced that the Prime Minister had approved its proposal to proceed with the first phase of the project.

The Global Alliance signed an MOU with the Vietnam Private Sector Forum and Young Entrepreneurs Association of Vietnam on July 31, 2017 at its the Second Annual Conference presided over by the Prime Minister on the goals and tasks of Resolution No. 5 of the Fifth Plenum of the Central Committee to support accelerated development of the private sector of Vietnam and increase its role in the national economy to 60% as a sector. The project will be coordinated through the Advisory Council to the Prime Minister by the Office of Government.