HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - Officers tasked with preventing fake goods,trade fraud and smuggling in Ho Chi Minh City and southern borderprovinces have been forced to work hard ahead of Tet (Lunar NewYear), which falls on February 12 this year.

Lastweek, the HCM City customs department discovered 14 steel containers thatconsignee V.V Steel Company described wrongly to evade tax.

Thecompany, in Long An province’s Duc Hoa district, made a declaration that wouldhave allowed it to enjoy 0 percent tax instead of the 10-15 percent it had topay, equivalent to 1 billion VND (43,000 USD).

Now,besides the tax it will also have to pay a penalty of 20 percent of the amount.

Smugglingand trade fraud are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

TruongVan Ba, Director of the HCM City Market Surveillance Department, said last year25,538 violations had been discovered involving loss of tax revenues of 5.8trillion VND. Competent agencies filed charges in 113  cases.

Accordingto Steering Committee 389 of HCM City, inspections had been reduced due to theCovid-19 pandemic but specifically target warehouses, yards and sites wherelarge volumes of smuggled goods are likely to be concealed, improving theefficiency of prevention efforts.

Accordingto the city police, local militia have been urged to look out for dubiousactivities and crack down on the trade in prohibited, smuggled and counterfeitgoods.

Drugs,weapons, illegal firecrackers, unsafe and violent toys, and cigarettes are inthe sights of officials.

Thecity border guard force, the Southern Border Guard Soldiers' Department of Drugand Crime Prevention, naval squadron No 28 under the Vietnam Border DefenceForce, and border forces in Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Tien Giang provinces willlook out for possible violations at estuaries, sea ports and sea borders .

Thecity is also calling on businesses and consumers to join hands in the fightagainst smuggling and trade fraud.

Cross-bordersmuggling

Borderauthorities in the Mekong Delta provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang and Dong Thapare stepping up efforts to keep out smuggled goods, which usually increasesduring the year-end period.

Thecontraband is mostly cigarettes and sugar brought in through the Chau Doc cityborder in An Giang province.

Smugglerstransport the goods from Cambodia in boats, motorbikes and trucks at night toevade officers, but if spotted are not averse to attacking them.

KienGiang province’s Ha Tien city also sees smuggling of goods from across theborder, usually late at night.

Smugglerstravel in groups and transport large quantities of contraband, mainlyforeign-made cigarettes.

Authoritieshave discovered hundreds of cases of smuggling and confiscated tens of thousandsof packs of cigarettes and other goods.

Fishingboats are used to illegally transport and sell oil and petrol at sea.

Hundredsof thousands of litres of oil of unknown origin have been seized by localagencies, who have also collected billions of VND in fines.

AnGiang province’s steering committee for anti-smuggling, trade fraud and fakegoods said troops were patrolling border gates, trails and crossings to preventsmuggling./.