Nguyễn Hồng Trường, Deputy Minister of Transport, speaks to the newspaper Hải Quan (Customs) about his ministry’s challenges in applying the National Single Window to simplify administrative procedures.

What are some of the major achievements that the Ministry of Transport has recorded in implementing the National Single Window?

The National Single Window (NSW) reform launched in 2015 is a major breakthrough in our administrative procedures, especially at the Ministry of Transport.

The use of IT enables major administrative breakthroughs and therefore needs strong support and commitment from the political system.

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has been very active in applying the NSW in all administrative procedures, saving time and money for our clients in completing various procedures. The NSW has also made our administrative work more transparent. For example, by November 2016, the Maritime Service had granted more than 158,700 certificates of technical safety and environmental protection for some 20,260 cargo ships that applied through the NSW system.

What are the challenges that the transport ministry has faced in implementing the NSW?

Despite certain success in the application of the NSW, we are still facing quite a lot of challenges, particularly in transferring paper documents to electronic ones because under the current law, there are no rules governing the legality of paper documents when they are transferred to electronic documents.

Another challenge that we have confronted is that enterprises are still somehow reluctant to use the electronic lines. To help them get familiar with this mode, the MOT has to break down the procedure into three stages: pilot, scale up and then universal application. This is a good lesson for us when we want to introduce a novel idea in our paper work.

What is the MOT’s next step in implementing the NSW?

We have plans to apply the NSW in toll collection nationwide and in recognition of electronic licenses among ASEAN countries.

All electronic certificates, including licenses, certificates and other documents issued by the MOT through the NSW are legally recognized as authentic. The decision will help enterprises reduce quite a lot of paper when they have to carry out other administrative procedures.

What are administrative procedures to be streamlined in 2017?

We have a plan to apply the NSW in all sectors affiliated with the MOT and among the ASEAN member states in the period 2016-2020, which has been approved by the Prime Minister. In 2017, the MOT will also focus on applying the NSW to civil aviation procedures._VNS