Officials of Đồng Đăng Railway Station Border Gate Customs Branch (Lạng Sơn) check product codes. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The General Department of Customs (GDC) recently warned of multiple tax evasion schemes and instructed local customs units to strengthen inspections.

On November 18, the department issued directives to provincial and municipal customs departments, highlighting specific issues related to steel imports.

The department identified several risk indicators, including false declarations of product names, types and codes to evade import taxes.

Other tactics include exploiting differences in preferential import tax rates for non-alloy steel between hot-rolled and cold-rolled types, as well as between uncoated and coated products.

There are also cases of taking advantage of discrepancies in preferential import tax rates between non-alloy steel, stainless steel and other alloyed steel.

To strengthen management, the department has directed provincial and municipal customs departments to enhance the inspection and review of steel import shipments based on risk management principles.

It also instructed them to prioritise high-risk shipments and declarations for thorough checks and monitoring, following applicable regulations.

During the process of inspecting and reviewing steel shipments, if local customs departments encounter difficulties or uncover additional risk information, they are required to report to the GDC and propose solutions to ensure consistent oversight. — VNS