Decree on customs procedures for goods in transit needed: lawmakers
Lawmakers on September 17 agreed on the need to issue a draft decree regulating customs procedures for goods transiting Vietnam via the ASEAN Customs Transit System.
Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung at the 37th session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Lawmakers onSeptember 17 agreed on the need to issue a draft decree regulating customsprocedures for goods transiting Vietnam via the ASEAN Customs Transit System.
The issue was part of the ongoing 37th sessionof the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee in Hanoi.
Submitting the Government’s draft decree,Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said this decree is necessary to create thelegal basis for modernising customs procedures for goods transiting ASEANcountries, including Vietnam. The issuance will also improve Vietnamesebusinesses’ competitiveness and allow the best use of the advantages of thecountry’s geographical location in goods transportation.
Delivering a report verifying the draft,Chairman of the NA’s Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs Nguyen DucHai said his committee supports the decree issuance to regulate customsprocedures for goods transiting via the ASEAN Customs Transit System and toimplement Protocol 7 on the customs transit system under the ASEAN FrameworkAgreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit.
The draft decree features regulations on someaspects that existing law hasn’t covered, along with several stricterregulations. Additionally, no stipulations in the draft run counter to existinglaw and the NA’s resolutions, he noted.
NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong stressed thatthe decree needs to ensure the connectivity of Vietnam’s customs sector withits ASEAN counterparts while guaranteeing the information system’s safety, aswell as national interests and interests of organisations and individuals.
Echoing the view, NA Vice Chairman Phung QuocHien said basing on opinions of the parliament’s finance-budget and lawcommittees, the Government should make sure that its decree will guarantee thecountry’s sovereignty and interests, along with interests of organisations andindividuals.
Parts of the decree should be piloted first togain experience before the whole document is applied, he noted.
Other participants in the meeting also asked theGovernment to continue directing the customs sector to enhance its capacity andintensify examination to prevent the abuse of transit for smuggling or tradefraud./.
The customs sector’s state budget collection exceeded 120 trillion VND (5.18 billion USD) by the end of April, up 25.44 percent from the same period last year.
While specialised customs inspections have been reduced in recent times, the streamlining process has yet to make substantial progress and businesses are still largely unsatisfied with the results so far, heard a meeting in Hanoi on May 13.
Vietnam’s customs sector will help businesses carry out procedures while implementing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), said Deputy General Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs Nguyen Duong Thai.
The General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) has ordered customs agencies in provinces and cities to intensify inspections to fight origin-related frauds, violations of intellectual property (IP) rights and illegal transport of import-export goods.
Party General Secretary To Lam met with members of the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea (VINK) and Vietnamese experts living and working in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Seoul on August 10 as part of his state visit to the RoK.
In an interview with Korean media on the occasion of Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to the RoK, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the visit demonstrates Vietnam’s strong resolve to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the RoK, with the aim of fostering greater political trust, closer strategic coordination, more substantive and comprehensive cooperation, and stronger bonds of friendship between the two countries' people.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also a Politburo member and Secretary of the Government Party Committee, attended the 4th Party Congress of the EVN Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 tenure on August 10, directing EVN to ensure power supply to meet the country’s development demands with double-digit growth set for the coming years.
Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Seongnam Air Base in Seoul on August 10 afternoon (local time), beginning a state visit to the Republic of Korea from August 10-13.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly departed from Hanoi on August 10 morning for a four-day state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is made at an invitation of RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
As part of the ASEAN Day celebrations, the Vietnamese embassy will also host the ASEAN Family Day 2025 in Ottawa to foster solidarity and community spirit among ASEAN members in Canada.
State President Luong Cuong’s trip once again reaffirmed the Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. It also reflected the strong trend of enhanced cooperation among countries of the Global South in shaping a new, more multipolar, fair and equitable world order.
The outcomes of Party General Secretary To Lam's visit will serve as a driving force and source of inspiration for the two countries to inherit, promote, and elevate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to the national construction and development cause in each country, and to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 9 inspected the construction site of the new Phong Chau bridge, and surveyed a planned route for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway section running through the northern province of Phu Tho.
Across print, broadcast, and online platforms, Angolan media portrayed State President Luong Cuong's visit as a warm and historic occasion, strengthening bilateral ties and boosting Vietnam’s presence in Africa through the AU.
The 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen power transmission line has a total investment of over 7.41 trillion VND (282.5 million USD), and a total length of 229.5 km, passing through 31 communes in the two provinces, and comprising 468 transmission tower foundations.
The visits reflected the elevated position of Vietnam’s foreign policy in the new era—aimed at not only advancing ties with key regional partners like Egypt and Angola but also delivering a strategic message about Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with African nations as a whole.
At their talks and meetings, President Cuong and Angola’s top leaders affirmed that the close brotherhood and traditional friendship are a valuable shared asset and a solid foundation for the two nations to advance into a new phase of development.
The ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attaches great importance to the friendship, solidarity, and comradeship with the Communist Party of Vietnam, and voiced her Party’s wish to further deepen and expand relations between the two sides for the benefit of the Vietnamese and Angolan people.
Vietnam pledges to do its utmost to build an ASEAN of solidarity, consensus, and unity in diversity, and to foster a fast and sustainable development path for ASEAN, grounded in science, technology, and innovation, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Party General Secretary To Lam called on the criminal police force to accelerate the application of science, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in criminal investigation tasks such as crime prevention, detection, tracking and verification, ensuring that no area remains out of their reach.
Many Koreans living, studying, and working in Hanoi see the upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Party General Secretary To Lam as an opportunity to generate strong synergy in economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural understanding.
The achievements of the five decades of Vietnam–Angola cooperation provide a strong and enduring foundation, as well as momentum for the two sides to consolidate, expand, and bring their partnership into a new phase of development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the emulation and commendation work is a vital driver, fostering patriotism, dedication, and collective momentum in the run-up to the 11th National Patriotic Emulation Congress, Party congresses at all levels, and the 14th National Party Congress.
Emphasising the need for sustainable, long-term collaboration, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man called on Japanese investors not only to bring in capital but also to share expertise and modern technology, especially in areas such as green transformation, the circular economy, and advanced corporate governance.
Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung at the 37th session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee (Photo: VNA) 
