calls for an increased contribution to the achievement of national security objectives. Traditionally, many customs agencies relied on information from import declarations at the time of importation to conduct preventive controls when goods arrived at ports, airports, and border crossings. Today, to ensure the necessary level of security, governments will increasingly rely on information and risk assessments conducted before goods arrive in the importing country. International conventions that apply to the carriage of goods by air and sea also provide mechanisms for enhancing security as well as ways to conduct transport. Some governments, notably the United States, have introduced regulations and incentives for public-private sector cooperation to enhance security based on information submitted and pre-confirmation of compliance with security standards in certain companies. These regulations should be gradually finalized and implemented. Therefore, the ability of customs to process information through analysis, resource allocation, information exchange and decision making is becoming more important than ever before. Protecting society involves protecting the entire international trade supply chain from the moment it leaves the exporting country to the moment it arrives in the importing country. The changing environment requires a “whole of government” approach. In this way, governments can use customs as a key resource for border security, leveraging customs’ experience in risk management and knowledge of international trade as an important component of national security. Customs can therefore effectively complement other functional agencies such as immigration authorities, intelligence agencies and those controlling maritime, air and land activities. Therefore, Customs needs to reform administrative procedures within the sector to meet the urgent requirements in the context of economic globalization.
International economic integration
While ensuring security is of great importance to the government and businesses, the responsibility of customs authorities to facilitate trade for legitimate trade is equally important. If applied correctly, security will help facilitate trade by building business confidence, increasing predictability and thereby facilitating investment. International economic integration is an indispensable requirement for economic development, which will help the trade circulation of goods, promote domestic production and bring in significant revenue for businesses participating in import and export. Therefore, reforming administrative procedures will be a catalyst for this process to take place most smoothly, especially when administrative procedures are currently considered one of the barriers for any business wanting to participate in the global supply chain.
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Chapter 2
CURRENT STATE OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE REFORM IN THE CUSTOMS SECTOR
2.1. State's viewpoint on administrative procedure reform in the Customs sector
The reform of the state administrative system was recorded in the documents of the 7th National Congress of the Party in 1991. In the years 1992, 1993, 1994, implementing the Party's policy, the Government proposed and organized, researched, developed programs and directed a number of tasks on reforming the state administrative system. The reform of the state administrative system in our country, in the first stage, was directed towards three major tasks: Reforming the institutions of the administrative system; Adjusting the organization and relationships in the administrative apparatus; Building a team of civil servants and the civil service regime. In directing the reform of the state administrative system, reforming administrative procedures is a breakthrough. The goal here is to quickly overcome the weaknesses and shortcomings of the management process in agencies that directly affect the lives and activities of the people and businesses, including the import and export procedures of the Customs sector.
The development of the program and plan for customs administrative reform is identified as an important step to synchronously and comprehensively implement the Central Resolution 5 and the program for modernization of the Customs sector approved by the Politburo and the Prime Minister. Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance has promptly developed and issued programs and plans with objectives and implementation solutions associated with the tasks of developing legal documents; clearly defining the implementation schedule focusing on perfecting institutions, perfecting the apparatus organization, reforming the civil service regime, reforming public finance, modernizing the Customs sector, and reforming administrative procedures. At the same time,
Time to strengthen direction and supervision of the unit's activities. Specifically as follows:
The General Department of Customs has actively implemented Resolution No. 17/NQ/TW dated August 1, 2007/NQ-CP of the Party Central Committee (10th tenure) on promoting administrative procedure reform, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of state apparatus management, Resolution No. 53/2007/NQ-CP of the Government promulgating the Government's Action Program to implement Resolution No. 5 of the Central Committee, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Finance promptly issued Resolution No. 23/NQ-BCSĐ dated December 31, 2007 on the Action Program of the Finance sector to implement the Resolution of the 5th Conference of the Party Central Committee (10th tenure); the Overall Program of State administrative reform for the period 2001-2010 (issued together with Decision No. 136/2001/QD-TTg); Project on simplifying administrative procedures in state management fields in the period 2007-2010 (issued with Decision No. 30/QD-TTg) and Decision No. 07/QD-TTg dated January 4, 2008 approving the Plan to implement this Project.
In addition, to ensure scientific state management of customs, to meet the requirements of international integration and administrative reform, the Customs sector needs to change its activities in the new situation. Implementing the direction of the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs has developed a Plan for customs reform, development and modernization from 2004-2006 in Decision No. 810/QD-BTC dated March 16, 2004 and a Plan for customs reform, development and modernization from 2008-2010 in Decision No. 456/QD-BTC dated March 14, 2008; Decision No. 448/QD-TTg dated March 25, 2011 of the Prime Minister on approving the Customs Development Strategy to 2020. The Customs sector also received and implemented bidding packages within the framework of the Customs Modernization Project approved in Decision No. 938/QD-TTg dated September 14, 2005 of the Prime Minister in the period 2005-2010; Resolution No. 68/ND-CP dated December 27, 2010 of the Government on simplifying administrative procedures; Decree No. 63/2010/ND-CP dated June 8, 2010 of the Government on controlling administrative procedures.
In addition, the Customs sector also implements administrative procedure reform according to the guiding documents of the Ministry of Finance such as: Directive No. 04/2008/CT-BTC dated December 15, 2008 of the Minister of Finance on promoting reform, modernization, preventing troubles, harassment, and negativity in the Customs sector; Directive No. 02/CT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance dated August 4, 2009 on accelerating the progress of administrative reform and modernization of the Customs sector in the period 2009-2010.
These are the fundamental legal bases for the Customs sector to reform administrative procedures in import and export activities.
2.2. Current status of administrative procedure reform in the Customs sector
2.2.1. Current status of customs procedures law with reform trends
The history of the development of the Customs sector, customs procedures as well as the law on Vietnam Customs is closely linked to the formation and development of our country's revolutionary government. In each period of development of the country, there are special requirements for the need for state management of customs to meet the goals of socio-economic development as well as national defense.
In our country, after the complete liberation of the North in 1954, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam issued the Customs Regulations by Decree No. 03/CP dated February 27, 1960, which contained regulations on customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision regimes for import and export goods. On February 20, 1990, the State Council issued the Customs Ordinance replacing Decree No. 03/CP. The Customs Ordinance institutionalized the Party and State's guidelines in the field of state management of customs, dedicating 2 chapters and 33 articles (from Article 12 to Article 45 out of a total of 51 articles) to regulate customs procedures and customs inspection and supervision regimes for import and export goods. To implement the above Ordinance, the Council of Ministers issued Decree No. 171/HDBT dated May 27, 1991, together with regulations on customs procedures and customs fees. After a period of implementation, Decree 171 is no longer suitable to reality. In that context, the
The innovation and improvement of customs laws are becoming increasingly urgent to serve the development requirements of the new period, as the 8th National Party Congress has identified that the period from now to the year 2000 is a very important step in the new development period - promoting the industrialization and modernization of the country. The task of our people is to concentrate all forces, seize all opportunities, overcome all challenges, promote the renovation process in a comprehensive and synchronous manner, continue to develop a multi-sector economy, operate according to the market mechanism with state management in the direction of socialism, strive for and exceed the goals set out in the strategy for stabilizing and developing the socio-economy until 2000: rapid and effective economic growth, solving pressing social problems, national security and defense, improving people's lives.... On March 27, 1999, the Government issued Decree No. 16/1999/ND-CP regulating customs administrative procedures replacing Decree 171/HDBT.
The 1990 Customs Ordinance is an important legal basis for state management of customs in general and import-export activities in particular through a system of regulations on customs administrative procedures. However, due to the increasingly diverse and rich development of economic relations in the field of import and export, the customs administrative procedures in the Ordinance have not been fully and strictly regulated to create a stable legal environment when implementing import-export procedures. On the other hand, the requirements for implementing legal obligations in international treaties that Vietnam has signed or participated in on simplifying customs procedures such as the Kyoto Convention... require innovation and improvement of the legal system on customs procedures. In response to that requirement, the 10th National Assembly, 9th session, passed the 2001 Customs Law, effective from January 1, 2002. This is the most important legal document in the field of customs activities, built on the basis of experiences gained after 10 years of implementing the 1990 Customs Ordinance, internalizing some of the most important standards of the Kyoto Convention on simplification and unification of customs procedures, and at the same time, there are some provisions stipulating principles for modernizing customs activities, so in terms of
Basically, the Law has met the requirements of professional activities as well as industry modernization.
After four years of implementation, the Customs Law has revealed a number of limitations and some regulations are no longer suitable to reality. On May 19, 2005, the 11th National Assembly, at its 7th session, passed the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Customs Law. This Law amended and supplemented 24 articles of the current Customs Law. On that basis, the Government issued Decree No. 154/2005/ND-CP dated December 15, 2005 detailing a number of articles of the Customs Law on customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision. The Customs Law and Decree 154 have become an important legal tool containing regulations on administrative procedures that play a positive role in import and export activities. In addition, there is a system of circulars and decisions regulating administrative procedures on import and export such as: Circular 194/2010/TT-BTC dated December 6, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance guiding on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; export tax, import tax and tax management for exported and imported goods; Decision 1171/QD-TCHQ dated June 15, 2009 of the General Department of Customs on promulgating customs procedures for commercial export and import goods; Circular No. 116/2008/TT-BTC dated December 4, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance guiding customs procedures for goods processed with foreign traders...
In addition, TTHQ is also related to a number of administrative procedures in other Ministries and Sectors and is therefore subject to the Law on Tax Administration; Law on Export Tax, Import Tax; Law on E-Commerce; Law on Information Technology; Law on Intellectual Property, Law on Commerce, etc. These legal documents, on the one hand, help legal regulations on TTHQ to be implemented effectively, on the other hand, they also cause overlaps and inadequacies in the implementation process because in reality, the exchange and unification of views between state agencies is very limited. This is explained by the conflict of interests of the governing agencies in the sectors and fields they manage.
Customs procedures for import and export activities, in addition to being regulated by domestic laws, are also regulated in international treaties to which Vietnam is a member: Kyoto Convention on the simplification and harmonization of customs procedures; International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS Convention); GATT Valuation Agreement; Agreement and Protocol on the establishment and implementation of the ASEAN Single Window mechanism... The main content of the above agreements is the commitment to simplify and harmonize customs procedures to clear goods quickly, facilitating trade.
It can be said that the current legal system on customs has "contributed to ensuring the implementation of State policies on economy, culture, society, science and technology; international cooperation and exchange; protecting national sovereignty and security, State interests, and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals" [9]. The Customs Law and its guiding documents are a step to perfect the Customs legal system with the aim of institutionalizing the Party's guidelines and policies, concretizing the provisions of the 1992 Constitution on socio-economic development and construction in the customs field, internalizing the provisions of international treaties that Vietnam has signed or participated in to create a unified and synchronous legal framework to regulate socio-economic relations related to customs activities in accordance with the new economic management mechanism, promoting the administrative reform process, contributing to maintaining political stability for socio-economic development, facilitating international integration and participating in protecting national interests, sovereignty and security.
The 2001 Customs Law and the 2005 amended and supplemented Customs Law are highly flexible because they provide for the necessary powers of the Customs leadership in issuing modern procedures and operations and allow for amendments through guiding documents, rather than direct amendments to the law. This is a common approach in developing countries: the primary, primary laws defining the roles and responsibilities of Customs are provided for in the Customs Law while secondary laws do the same.