Prevent commercial fraud in customs declaration

Risk Management Department - General Administration of Customs recently informs that during the analysis and assert process of customs operations, the specialized risk management team of Customs Department has discovered many enterprises (companies) trying to cancel, modify the declaration.

Including many companies that has cancelled, modified the declaration several times to evade the ramification (Green-Yellow-Red), take advance of trade fraud.

Since the end of February 2016 to July 2016, the customs forces discovered 600 businesses destroy their declarations and 800 businesses recorrect declarations each month. After analyzing, the forces discovered over 200 enterprises taking advantage of the cancellation, correction declaration for smuggling, trade fraud purpose.

Customs officers guiding enterprises to improve self-compliance
Customs officers guiding enterprises to improve self-compliance

In particular, companies take advantage of additional declaration forms to fraud about Chinese ceramic tiles import activities. The companies report a smaller numbers than the actual numbers of imported tiles showing in initial declaration according to form A11. 

After the declaration was broken down for goods inspection, the companies changed declaration to increase the amount of tiles by declaring additional new declarations according to type H11 (declared container and bill following the original declaration A11) to avoid any handling of violations related to customs and tax sanction.

According to the representative of the Risk Management Department, any supplementary declaration cases have been clarified in Circular No. 38/2015 / TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance. But the fact is there are many businesses take advantage of the additional declarations to avoid goods examination, facilitate smuggling, trade fraud actions.

Besides, most of the goods which were cancelled or corrected in declaration are usually conditional import business, with high tax rates, large turnover like ceramic tiles, wood, stone powder ... and all are at risk of violations , which focuses on the local flow of goods such as TP. Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Lang Son ...

To prevent this situation, the Risk Management Department issued a warning note to local customs requiring them to make a list of key enterprises to implement risk control measures. On the other hand, the customs also works with inspection forces to protest, collect tax and return them back to State Bank. 

Customs inspects a shipment at the warehouse.
Customs inspects a shipment at the warehouse.

At the same time, with some businesses that have signs of violation, the custom also send the list to specialized force to report about smuggling situations. 

At the same time, the Department of Risk Management also proposes to Ministry of Finance to modify some existing regulations. In particular, they suggested to amend the Circular No. 38 to only allow business complete additional declaration before the flow switching moment. 

General Administration of Customs recommended local Customs Department based on the list of businesses which have cancel declarations to process definite actions with any declarations that miss customs procedures deadlines but has not been canceled under the provisions or release goods which has not been updated on the system.

Simultaneously, province and city Customs Department have to run regularly check the receipt for registration and customs procedures in order to discovery, correct and timely handle any irresponsible officer.

Also, it is required to classify and notify businesses about the effect of  the declarations cancellation; support and guide businesses to improve compliance.

Phan Duc

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