In the first nine months of this year some 229 batches of goods declared in the green and yellow lanes of Vietnam’s online customs clearance system were found to be fraudulent, with over VND100 billion ($4.1 million) in tax arrears collected as a result.

Under the declaration forms used by Vietnam Customs, the online customs clearance system consists of three lanes: green, yellow and red. Goods declared in the green lane enjoy customs clearance without being checked; those in the yellow lane have their relevant documents checked but not the goods; while those in the red lane have all goods and relevant documents checked.

Only those exporters who are recognized for their strict compliance with laws and other legal regulations relating to export activities are allowed to have customs declaration forms processed in the green lane.

However, this policy has at times been taken advantage of for commercial fraud, such as smuggling for tax evasion purposes.

Figures from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that in 2022 there were 9,48 million declaration forms processed in the green lane, accounting for 65.14 per cent of the total and down 1 per cent against 2021. Meanwhile, 4.45 million forms were in the yellow lane, accounting for 30.58 per cent of the total and up 0.79 per cent year-on-year. The number in the red lane stood at 623,600, accounting for 4.28 per cent of the total and an increase of 0.21 per cent against 2021.  

In the first nine months of this year the total number of forms processed in the green, yellow, and red lanes stood at 6.8 million, 3.03 million, and 351,600, respectively, accounting for 66.6, 29.6, and 3.43 per cent of the total.