The Hanoitimes - Electronic payments have improved the Government's ability to collect taxes and other duties, said deputy general director of the Customs Department Hoang Viet Cuong.

Cuong said the application has made the customs sector more effective and the tool has reduced the work load at customs offices.

Figures from the Information and Technology Department and Customs Statistics showed that the number of import-export businesses, customs declarations and annual tax revenues have rapidly increased.

There were more than 4.1 trillion customs declarations last year, while there were o­nly 1.94 million in 1994.

The State budget increased from VND53.1 trillion (US$2.47 billion) in 1995 to VND181 trillion ($8.4 billion) last year.

The sector has been co-ordinating with financial institutions and banks with the hopes that the groups will be the foundation for implementing e-payments throughout the industry.

Deputy general director of the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) Nguyen Viet Manh said projects between Vietinbank, Customs Department and the State Treasury have led to progress. More than VND100 trillion in tax revenue has been paid through Vietinbank since 2009.

During the pilot period of implementing the new method, the sector has signed bilateral agreements with three banks including the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Vietinbank and the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank).

Businesses have also responded to the application. A representative from FPT said using the application to pay for taxes could be immediately implemented within their company, which would help enterprises reduce their costs by VND10 million ($465) a month.

However, representatives from BIDV, Vietinbank and Agribank said electronic payments could hinder businesses.

BIDV's representative said transfers with the system could take up to five minutes.

The General Customs Department was expected to officially launch the pilot project for the State budget collection and tax guarantee at the Customs Agency of North Hanoi and Hanoi Customs Department.