The General Department of Vietnam Customs has issued a direction on implementing measures to facilitate trade, improve State management, and prevent losses in State budget collections in 2023.

The decision was issued in the wake of a sharp decline in State budget collections from trade activities managed by the customs sector, which reached only VND24.8 trillion ($1 billion) in January, down 42 per cent year-on-year.

The sector targets collections of VND425 trillion ($18 billion) this year.

To reach the target, the department asked relevant agencies to continue with work on reform, improving management efficiency, carrying out the customs development strategy by 2030, implementing the national single-door customs policy and the ASEAN one-door customs policy, applying modern information technology, and preventing losses in budget collections by increasing inspection and supervision efforts.