Imports up on electronic goods

VietNamNet Bridge – Several firms in HCM City have increased imports of electronic products by 20-30 per cent over previous months as they prepare for the year-end shopping season.
Tran Huu Tai, director of an electronics import company, said most imported items are home appliances not made in Viet Nam currently. These were mostly imported from Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia that offer cheap prices and enjoy low import tariffs.
Lien An Thach, sales and marketing director of the Cho Lon Electronic Supermarket, said prices of both imported and locally produced electronics products have decreased by 10-30 per cent compared to the beginning months of the year.
Local producers concerned
With only two months to go before Viet Nam is bound to fully open its retail market as part of its WTO (World Trade Organisation) commitments, domestic producers are concerned about their ability to hold on to their market shares.
Local electronic firms say they have gradually reduced production of highly competitive products like televisions and music systems while increasing that of refrigerators and other home appliances that can fetch reasonable prices.
Some enterprises note that with the five per cent tax rate levied on completely-built-units and 3-4 per cent on electronic spare-parts, importing the former is more profitable than assembling them here. So they plan to combine imported and locally produced products for the upcoming season.
Nguyen Hoang Chuong, deputy general director of JVC Viet Nam, said his company was still maintaining its normal manufacturing schedule while watching the market closely to make proper adjustments in time.
According to Nguyen Van Dao, deputy general director of Samsung Viet Nam Co.Ltd, his company plans to import products that Samsung does not manufacture in Viet Nam to diversify their range in the local market.
Local electronic companies are concerned that imported products will penetrate deep into the domestic market with cheap prices once Viet Nam reduces import tariffs for all regions under its WTO commitments by 2010.

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HCMC e-customs still not ready despite 3-year trial

VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City Customs Department reported modest initial results after a three year trial period starting in October 2005 for electronic customs (e-customs) clearance procedures.
The new service allows businesses to file applications and track customs clearance progress online. The businesses only need to access a website, fill in forms with the customs offices online instead of on paper and wait for the clearance of their goods.
Much like Hai Phong in the north, the test run of the e-customs declaration and clearance system failed to achieve its planned targets, said Dang Hanh Thu, deputy head of the Viet Nam General Department of Customs.
According to customs statistics, the number of enterprises using this new model in customs procedures is negligible. Only 180 enterprises in HCM City officially participated, accounting for just 1 per cent of the total number of declarations.
The e-customs clearance identified several shortcomings, said Nguyen Hoang Hoa, deputy director of the Sai Gon Industrial Corporation.
One of the project’s biggest shortcomings stemmed from the e-customs website’s limited bandwidth, causing information and valuable work and time to be lost.
Another obstacle is that the current model of e-customs has yet to be connected to trade organisations, state agencies including the State treasury, banks, the Department of Planning and Investment, tax offices or relevant service organisations. This has forced businesses to go back and forth among relevant offices to complete various procedures.
Furthermore, after fulfilling customs declaration online procedures, businesses still have to bring their printed documents to customs agencies for re-inspection, wasting company time and money.
Do Huu Toan, deputy head of the city’s E-Customs Department admitted the software for customs clearance procedures was inadequate and failed to account for all the problems arising during customs clearance.
The E-Customs Department’s operations have yet to be fully computerised, which complicates the application of the e-supervision for goods clearance.
Moreover, the system is not an automatic process as it still requires both customs offices and enterprises’ involvement in manual handling.
The city’s customs department has submitted a new e-customs plan for the next few years that is hoped to boost efficacy to the General Department of Customs.
The plan focuses on improving the declaration software, building a customs information infrastructure, improving dialogue between the customs offices and businesses and providing more assistance for importers and exporters.
Also, officials should expand various electronic customs clearance services, including e-database provisions, warehousing, and e-confirmation between customs offices and businesses.