Vietnam: Shall barcodes be used for customs supervision? What are the benefits of using barcodes in customs supervision?
Shall barcodes be used for customs supervision in Vietnam?
Under Section 2 Chapter 3 of the Scheme promulgated together with Decision 2629/QD-TCHQ in 2014, the use of barcodes in customs supervision can be preliminarily described as follows:
- The enterprise-side customs declaration software system and the V5 electronic customs clearance system (abbreviated as TQDT-V5) need to add the function of allowing direct printing of barcodes on printed customs declarations (According to current regulations, green stream declarations printed by enterprises and yellow or red stream declarations will be printed and given to enterprises by customs authorities);
- The barcode printed directly on the declaration is a one-dimensional barcode representing the declaration number (called a type 1 barcode). This barcode does not have to be replaced but only adds a way to recognize the declaration number automatically by a barcode scanner. This barcode does not incorporate a digital signature. Customs operations can use barcode readers instead of entering declaration numbers;
- Upon receipt of a declaration with a barcode, customs officers will use a barcode reader to provide input information to the TQDT-V5 system. Based on the information transmitted by the barcode reader, the TQDT-V5 system at the monitoring office will automatically:
+ Trace declarations;
+ Check the status and validity of the declaration;
+ Warning in case the declaration has not completed customs procedures;
+ Display the declaration information, and container list (if any) on the picture for the supervisory office staff to check and compare with paper documents (presented by the enterprise) and confirm the goods, the list of containers allowed through the monitoring gate on the machine;
- The declaration number and the list of eligible containers through the monitoring portal will be integrated with the digital signature of the customs authority and encoded into a 02-dimensional barcode (Type 2 barcode).
- The printing of a 02-dimensional barcode on paper to enclose documents can be done in one of the following 03 methods:
+ Printing from customs declaration software on the business side;
+ Printing from TQDT-V5 software;
+ Printing from Customs Website;
- At the port gate area based on the dossier provided by the enterprise, the supervisory officer uses a 2-dimensional barcode reader to read information about the list of container books eligible for customs clearance;
- Based on the information transmitted by the barcode reader, the TQDT-V5 system will automatically check the container number (read via barcode) with the list of containers allowed through the monitoring area.
+ In case the information is suitable, automatically confirm the actual date and time the container has passed through the monitoring area on the TQDT-V5 system and notify the officials;
+ In case of inappropriate information, automatically alert port supervisors to stop customs clearance.
The customs supervision process in the seaport area after the application of barcodes is basically unchanged from the previous process.
What are the benefits of using barcodes in customs supervision in Vietnam?
Under Section 3 Chapter 3 of the scheme promulgated together with Decision 2629/QD-TCHQ in 2014, the benefits of using barcodes in customs supervision in Vietnam are:
- Increase the automation capabilities of the system;
- Reduce the workload to be performed by customs officers in the supervisory department;
- Reduce the time to be implemented by supervisors, thereby contributing to reducing customs clearance time, reducing congestion in the monitoring area;
- Improve the accuracy and completeness of data updated into the system;
- Provide data information for the management and supervision stages of customs authorities such as liquidity manifest, container inventory in and out of the monitoring area, etc.
What will barcodes used in customs supervision in Vietnam show?
Under Section 1, Chapter 3 of the Scheme promulgated together with Decision 2629/QD-TCHQ in 2014, the barcode is the showing of information in visible form on the surfaces of products and goods that machines can read. Initially, barcodes store data according to the width of the bars printed in parallel as well as of the spaces between them. Today, due to technological developments, barcodes are also printed in a pattern of points, in concentric circles or they are hidden in images.
Barcodes can be read by optical scanning devices called barcode readers or scanned from images by specialized software.
- Barcode includes 02 types:
+ One-dimensional barcode: Show 01 information indicator. Usually 01 series of numbers.
+ 02-dimensional barcode: Show many information indicators.
- To be able to apply barcodes in practice, it is necessary to encode the original information (for example number sequences, character strings, ...) into barcodes. This process is usually done through an algorithm on computer software;
- Depending on the barcode structure, barcode readers are divided into 02 types, respectively: 01-dimensional barcode reader and 02-dimensional barcode reader. In addition, due to the physical structure, this device is also divided into 02 groups: wired connection type and wireless connection type (via Bluetooth or Wifi signal);
- To ensure information safety and security, before converting information into barcodes, information encryption algorithms are conducted. One of the most commonly used algorithms in the world with a high level of security is encryption using digital signatures, also known as integrating digital signatures into barcodes (the following figure depicts the process of integrating digital signatures in barcodes).
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