The Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) and Hanoi's Department of Customs jointly launched on September 29 the Vietnam Automatic System for Customs Management (VASCM) at Noi Bai International Airport.

Overview of the launching ceremony. Source: GDVC.

At the launching ceremony, Director of Hanoi Customs Department Duong Phu Dong said the system proved successful after two years of pilot implementation by processing 99.5% of the consignments.

According to Mr. Dong, the VASCM processes an average of 5,300 shipments per day at Noi Bai Airport and helps reduce the average clearance time from up to six hours to less than 10 minutes.

The launch of the system, along with the National Single Window, would significantly change the operation of customs authorities from paper-based to relying on modern technologies in all processes of clearance.

Notably, as the VASCM would be able to process information of shipments before the flight arrives, the system could identify high risk shipments that would require a more thorough check.

This would help the customs to timely prevent acts of smuggling and trade frauds.

Moreover, these two systems are expected to help airlines, logistics companies and trading firms to save time and costs during the clearance process, a key step to enhance businesses’ competitiveness an efficiency.

Vice Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai requested the GDVC to ensure efficiency in operating the system and minimize any inconvenience that it may causes to businesses’ activities, while planning to launch the system at other airports, including Tan Son Nhat International Airport this year.