Custom watchdog tightens control over origin fraud of Vietnamese rice

The Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has detained three shipments of rice passing through Cat Lai port after detecting signs of fraud relating to their Vietnamese origin.

According to the Saigon port area 1 Customs Branch, the unit moved to seize dozens of containers of rice imported from India due to suspicions that their Vietnamese origin was fraudulent.

The shipments belonged to two import declarations registered by an enterprise based in Hanoi, with import procedures being carried out through Cat Lai port at the end of February and March.

According to information released by the customs declaration, these batches of rice actually originate from India. However, after a thorough examination and inspection was carried out, customs officials successfully discovered that all of the packages and labels on the imported rice stated that they had Vietnamese origin.

Most notably, the package of each bag of rice had the brands and addresses of factories and businesses located in the nation.

After being suspicious of the origin of these goods, the unit moved to seize all shipments for the purpose of investigation and clarification.

Furthermore, there has also been signs of origin fraud in Vietnamese white rice. According to Vietnam's Special Preferential Import Tariff relating to the implementation of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, 5% broken and 100% broken white rice imported from India enjoy a tax rate of 0%.

Moreover, the price of these two types of rice from India is only approximately US$400 per tonne and US$280 per tonne respectively, roughly US$100 per tonne lower than the price of Vietnamese rice.

The price of imported rice from India to Vietnam is therefore much more competitive compared to Vietnamese rice.

The Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has recently devised a plan aimed at strengthen inspection over origin fraud and counterfeiting of labeling of goods, the infringement of intellectual property rights, and the illegal transshipment of Vietnamese white rice.