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| Customs officers of Song Than Industrial Park Customs Branch, Binh Duong Customs Department at work. Photo:T.D |
Enterprises restore production
Chairman of Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee Vo Van Minh said after Binh Duong loosened regulations and returned to the “new normal” state from October 1, the number of businesses restoring operations has increased and over 85% of enterprises in industrial parks have restarted production.
According to regulations on the implementation of anti-Covid-19 pandemic measures in the “new normal” state, enterprises in Binh Duong have also been given more autonomy. Accordingly, they are allowed to buy testing kits by themselves, organize testing and issue permits to employees to travel.
In addition, Binh Duong has launched the “three green” model (green factory, green dormitory and green employee) and “flexible three on-spot” model. The province has also prioritized vaccination for workers to give enterprises a sense of relief to restore production. So far, about 98% of people and employees in Binh Duong have been vaccinated with the first dose and are going to get the second dose.
In the context of “living with the pandemic”, to support enterprises, Binh Duong has a policy of establishing medical stations in enterprises and industrial clusters. Two medical stations have been established in Tan Uyen town. These medical stations will help businesses take care of employee’s health and prevent the spread of the pandemic.
A representative of Eastern Bibica Co., Ltd (My Phuoc 1 Industrial Park, Ben Cat town) said the company has made efforts to prevent and control the pandemic and maintain production and business. In the new situation, the company strictly complies with the Ministry of Health’s “5K” message (khau trang (face masks), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distancing), khong tu tap (no gatherings), and khai bao y te (health declarations).
The pandemic has had a severe impact on production, so safety must be prioritized, then operation. In addition, the company has focused on reviewing the supply of input materials to promptly update pricing and delivery schedules.
Chairwoman of Trade Union of Yazaki EDS Vietnam Co., Ltd,. Pham Thi Tuyet Nhung said the company is arranging about 80% of employees to return to work. During the social distancing period, to retain employees, the company paid 70% of total income to employees who are not engaged in production, to support them with minimum living expenses. After the social distancing period, for those who returned to their hometown and are unable to go back to work but contact the company, the company will consider annual leave for them and will have a plan to welcome them to the work.
Customs accompanies enterprises
Director of Binh Duong Customs Department Nguyen Phuoc Viet Dung said the Covid-19 pandemic has been affecting production and business activities of enterprises. Some enterprises faced difficulties in production activities, leading to declines in import and export turnover.
Binh Duong Customs has strengthened guidance on customs procedures through channels such as: phone, email, smart mobile network application and websites to handle problems arising within three working hours after receiving the information.
The unit has focused on promoting administrative reform to provide timely support to businesses that are facing difficulties such as Decree 18/2021/ND-CP; organizing dialogue conferences with enterprises at eight branches to understand the situation of enterprises, thereby taking measures to support them and remove problems related to customs procedures for import and export of goods. In particular, the customs agency implemented the “three on-the-spot” model at the headquarters to both prevent the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure customs procedures for businesses 24 hours per day.
In addition, for customs agents and the customs agency has worked with and proposed Binh Duong Department of Transport to issue QR code cards (green zone) for customs brokers to travel easily to carry out customs procedures quickly, ensuring customs clearance of goods.
Therefore, Binh Duong Customs has minimized the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on import-export activities of enterprises. Import-export turnover as of September 15, 2021 still rose by 27.87% year-on-year. The department’s has reached about 93% of the whole year target. The unit is striving to exceed the target VND16,700 billion in 2021.
From October 1, Binh Duong province has changed measures to prevent and control the pandemic, Binh Duong customs estimates that export and import activities can reach 70-80% compared to the time before the pandemic. Binh Duong Customs has taken the initiative to ensure the clearance of goods when the workload increases again. Most of Binh Duong Customs Department officers have returned to their units.
Binh Duong Customs Department also identified that the key task in the rest of 2021 is to give priority to supporting enterprises to restore production and business, through facilitation of customs procedures, customs clearance of goods, and flexibility in minimizing administrative procedures. Accordingly, the unit has effectively operated the support team to solve problems related to customs procedures for import and export goods; regularly monitored to grasp the operation of enterprises to remove arising problems and help businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in a timely fashion.