During a working session with key leaders of the General Departments of Taxation and the General Department of Customs, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung instructed to drastically resolve the difficulties and obstacles related to the taxation and customs mechanism and policy with the aim of creating favourable conditions for businesses to further promote trade and production development.
For the taxation sector, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung pointed to a number of problems that the sector must pay attention to and take specific and effective measures to solve. He urged the sector to further reform to meet the requirement for integration and national socio-economic development, increase the competitiveness of the country’s economy, create better conditions for businesses and people to do business in line with the laws, improve the trade environment and promote investment.
He asked the taxation sector to focus on reducing troublesome procedures in tax payments, carry out administrative reforms and improve staff capacity and continue revising tax regulations for all people and businesses to pay their taxes in the quickest and most convenient way while eliminating legal loopholes to prevent tax losses. He stressed that the sector must reduce the amount of time to prepare and pay taxes, participate in the work of fighting against the price changes of businesses and tax evasion, build the sector into a powerful and transparent one, be responsible before the people and the nation; be determined to impose strict punishments on or terminate officers who harass the people and businesses. The sector should promote the application of information technology to management and widely carry out online tax reports and payments to shorten the amount of time for paying tax.
He asked the taxation sector to focus on reducing troublesome procedures in tax payments, carry out administrative reforms and improve staff capacity and continue revising tax regulations for all people and businesses to pay their taxes in the quickest and most convenient way while eliminating legal loopholes to prevent tax losses. He stressed that the sector must reduce the amount of time to prepare and pay taxes, participate in the work of fighting against the price changes of businesses and tax evasion, build the sector into a powerful and transparent one, be responsible before the people and the nation; be determined to impose strict punishments on or terminate officers who harass the people and businesses. The sector should promote the application of information technology to management and widely carry out online tax reports and payments to shorten the amount of time for paying tax.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has a working meeting with leaders of the General Department of Taxation. Photo: Duc Tam/VNA
The Prime Minister with leaders and cadres of the General Department of Taxation. Photo: Duc Tam/VNA
At the Hanoi Tax Department. Photo: Hoang Hung/VNA
Working with the leading officials of the Vietnam General Department of Customs, the Prime Minister emphasised: “It is unacceptable that export procedures take four days, while the average time in the region is just two, and import procedures take four days when the regional average is three.”
The Prime Minister asked the customs sector to modernise import-export procedures to regional standards; apply information technology to facilitate export/import procedures; and reduce contact time between enterprises and customs officers.
The Prime Minister agreed that the sector should equip itself with modern equipment, including scanners, to better control smuggling and suggested the sector implement the one-door mechanism of ASEAN and the one-door customs mechanism of the nation as pledged with ASEAN. He also said that the customs sector should improve its management capacity and reform in ways that made it more effective, transparent and in line with international norms.
The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with other ministries, sectors and branches to review all regulations and legal documents to revise and amend, simplifying processes and procedures related to export and import and cut the time involved.
The customs sector must strictly punish customs staff, which ignore their responsibility and lack a service-minded attitude and stop the cases of harassment, corruption and causing trouble for people and enterprises during the process of making customs procedures for imports and exports as well as in other stages of supervising and checking. The sector must terminate customs staff who collude with enterprises in smuggling and allow wrongful customs clearance to avoid paying due taxes, causing losses to the State budget and affecting the business environment.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung works with leaders of the General Department of Customs. Photo: Duc Tam/VNA
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visits the centre for managing and controlling the customs IT system. Photo: Duc Tam/VNA
Customs staff of the Sai Gon Customs Department instructs on performing customs procedures. Photo: Hoang Hung/VNA
With these drastic instructions of the Prime Minister, it is expected that the taxation and customs sectors will have active and great changes in a modern, effective and transparent direction, minimising administrative procedure and creating favourable conditions for the people and businesses when working with the relevant bodies.
