Though there has been a sharp decline in the flow of contraband goodsfrom Cambodia into the Mekong Delta, cigarette smuggling remainsrampant.
Customs officials in An Giang and Long Anprovinces said smuggling of beer, wine, sugar, petrol and electronicproducts was sharply down because the disparity in prices is small butcigarette smuggling has worsened.
Dong Thap province onthe border is considered the smuggling hub in the delta. Recentlycustoms officials there discovered 12 cases of smuggled goods worth 234million VND (11,700 USD), made up mostly of about 5,000 packs ofcigarettes.
Deputy head of the Customs Department Le VanChien said smuggling was hard to prevent because cigarettes were easilydivided into small portions for many people to carry over the border.
Kien Giang, the province that has been the most successful in fightingsmuggling in the region, reported that this year customs officersdiscovered 38 cases, mostly cigarettes.
Every year hundreds of thousands of packs were destroyed, it said.
The smuggling goes on with impunity because the penalties are notdeterrent enough, with only small fines slapped on anyone caughtsmuggling.
Tran Minh Tien, deputy head of the Kien GiangCustoms Department, said smugglers' tricks were becoming more and moresophisticated.
Tien said smuggled cigarette accounted for 80 percent of supply in the Mekong Delta and HCM City .
According to the Vietnam Tobacco Association, smuggled cigarettesaccounts for 20 percent of the amount consumed in Vietnam . In someplaces it is much higher—70 percent in Can Tho, 46 percent in HCMCity , and 41 percent in the southern provinces.
Cigarettes have been smuggled into the country since the 1980s, withvolumes reaching 300 – 400 million packs a year initially.
But the situation has worsened since. By 2007 it had risen to 630 million, and to 800 million last year.
Officials seized and destroyed 7.3 million packs last year, or lessthan 1 percent of the amount smuggled into the country, according to theassociation.
It is estimated that the country loses atleast 3 trillion VND (150 million USD) in taxes while the foreigncurrency drain is 200 million USD.
Recently the Government said it would take criminal action against anyone caught smuggling more than 1,500 packs.
Those caught with less than 1,500 packs will be fined 100 million VND (5,100 USD)./.
Customs officials in An Giang and Long Anprovinces said smuggling of beer, wine, sugar, petrol and electronicproducts was sharply down because the disparity in prices is small butcigarette smuggling has worsened.
Dong Thap province onthe border is considered the smuggling hub in the delta. Recentlycustoms officials there discovered 12 cases of smuggled goods worth 234million VND (11,700 USD), made up mostly of about 5,000 packs ofcigarettes.
Deputy head of the Customs Department Le VanChien said smuggling was hard to prevent because cigarettes were easilydivided into small portions for many people to carry over the border.
Kien Giang, the province that has been the most successful in fightingsmuggling in the region, reported that this year customs officersdiscovered 38 cases, mostly cigarettes.
Every year hundreds of thousands of packs were destroyed, it said.
The smuggling goes on with impunity because the penalties are notdeterrent enough, with only small fines slapped on anyone caughtsmuggling.
Tran Minh Tien, deputy head of the Kien GiangCustoms Department, said smugglers' tricks were becoming more and moresophisticated.
Tien said smuggled cigarette accounted for 80 percent of supply in the Mekong Delta and HCM City .
According to the Vietnam Tobacco Association, smuggled cigarettesaccounts for 20 percent of the amount consumed in Vietnam . In someplaces it is much higher—70 percent in Can Tho, 46 percent in HCMCity , and 41 percent in the southern provinces.
Cigarettes have been smuggled into the country since the 1980s, withvolumes reaching 300 – 400 million packs a year initially.
But the situation has worsened since. By 2007 it had risen to 630 million, and to 800 million last year.
Officials seized and destroyed 7.3 million packs last year, or lessthan 1 percent of the amount smuggled into the country, according to theassociation.
It is estimated that the country loses atleast 3 trillion VND (150 million USD) in taxes while the foreigncurrency drain is 200 million USD.
Recently the Government said it would take criminal action against anyone caught smuggling more than 1,500 packs.
Those caught with less than 1,500 packs will be fined 100 million VND (5,100 USD)./.
