General Department of Customs asked to stop carrying out sand export procedures nationwide?
Directive of the Prime Minister on strengthening the state management over sand mining and export activities?
According to Section 5 of Directive 38/CT-TTg 2020 of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance directs the tasks of the Ministry of Finance as follows:
“5. Ministry of Finance: Reviewing the overall financial policy on minerals (resource tax, export tax, fees and charges, mineral mining rights grant), especially for small and medium-sized enterprises , propose to adjust financial policies in line with reality, promote development, encourage the use of other materials to replace sand and gravel in river beds; strengthen the inspection, examination and handling of violations in the observance of the invoice and accounting voucher regime for the business of sand and gravel in the riverbed; handle the legalization and legalization of input documents for the use of river bed sand and gravel in works and projects; coordinate with the state management agency in charge of minerals to strictly control the revenue from minerals through the actual exploitation output of organizations and individuals exploiting minerals. Direct the Customs force to strengthen the channeling, inspect and strictly control the export and import of minerals according to regulations."
Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance needs to direct the General Department of Customs to perform the task of separating and inspecting and strictly controlling import and export activities of minerals, including activities related to sand export.
General Department of Customs asked to stop carrying out sand export procedures nationwide?
Deputy Prime Minister requested to strictly implement Directive 38/CT-TTg in 2020 of the Prime Minister?
In the face of the press situation, there were articles with the content of mining hundreds of millions of tons of sand in the Mekong Delta, causing nearly 500km of riverbank and coastal erosion, causing tens of thousands of households to relocate. Besides, the situation of landslides and subsidence is increasing in the southwestern provinces, causing thousands of families to fall into difficult situations.
Faced with that situation, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh made requests according to Official Letter 3152/VPCP-CN dated May 21, 2022 of the Government Office as follows:
“Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, Industry and Trade, Construction, Transport, Finance, National Defense, Public Security, Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development, People's Committee provinces and centrally-run cities continue to strictly implement Directive No. 38/CT-TTg dated September 29, 2020 on continuing to strengthen the state management over exploration, exploitation, and exploitation activities. processing, using and exporting minerals. At the same time, strictly follow the direction of the Prime Minister on the policy of not exporting sand."
General Department of Customs asked to stop all sand export activities nationwide?
On June 3, 2022, the General Department of Customs issued Official Letter 2079/TCHQ-GSQL guiding the export of sand with the following contents:
"On May 21, 2022, in Official Dispatch No. 3152/VPCP-CN, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh directed the export of sand as follows: "continue to strictly implement Directive No. 38/CT-TTg September 29, 2020 on continuing to strengthen the state management of mineral exploration, mining, processing, use and export activities. At the same time, strictly follow the direction of the Prime Minister on the policy of not exporting sand.
Following the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh in Official Dispatch No. 3152/VPCP-CN above, the General Department of Customs requested the Customs Departments of provinces and cities to stop carrying out sand export procedures. In the course of implementation, if any problems arise beyond their competence, they shall summarize and report them to the General Department of Customs (via the Customs Supervision and Administration Department) for timely handling./.”
Thus, in Official Letter 2079/TCHQ-GSQL dated June 3, 2022 guiding the export of sand, issued by the General Department of Customs on June 3, 2022, requested all Customs Departments in provinces and cities. Centrally-affiliated cities must immediately stop carrying out sand export procedures. This is a very reasonable request at the present time to strictly implement Directive 38/CT-TTg 2020 of the Prime Minister and partly limit the situation of landslides and subsidence in riverside areas in Vietnam. provinces in the Mekong Delta.
LawNet