From the beginning of 2025, new regulations require imported motor vehicles to have a Certificate of technical safety and environmental protection quality before circulation.
However, the implementation process encountered many technical problems, causing customs clearance activities to be delayed at Huu Nghi international border gate, the main transit point for imported vehicles from China.
According to records, the software problem in the system of the Vietnam Register has extended the processing time for registration documents from 3 to 7 days. As a result, hundreds of motor vehicles were stuck at the inspection site, causing many costs for businesses.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung, Director of Sao Viet Import-Export Joint Stock Company, said: The slow inspection causes each shipment to be in the hold of a shipment for 4 to 5 days. The arising costs alone can be up to tens of millions of VND".
In addition to the cost of renting the wharf, many businesses also have to pay additional protection fees, extend transportation contracts and face the risk of slow progress in handing over vehicles to domestic customers.
According to Mr. Dung, after the People's Committee of Lang Son province issued a petition, the Department of Registration sent personnel to directly support at the border gate. Thanks to that, part of the difficulties have been resolved, helping businesses save significant costs.
At Huu Nghi International Border Gate Customs Branch, the number of motor vehicles cleared in the middle of April increased by double compared to the beginning of the month. On average, each vehicle is cleared from the parking lot within 72 hours after completing the inspection procedure.
Speaking to reporters on April 23, the leader of the Customs Branch said that the unit has proactively coordinated with the inspection force, prioritized the processing of documents for motor vehicles, shortened the process to reduce storage pressure and support businesses to deliver goods on time.
However, there are still problems in issuing temporary license plates for new vehicles to be able to circulate, continuing to cause delays for businesses.
Informing reporters on the same day, Mr. Doan Thanh Son, Vice Chairman of Lang Son Provincial People's Committee, confirmed: "The registration of newly imported vehicles has had its difficulties resolved after the support of the Vietnam Register. However, according to feedback from businesses, the time for customs clearance for imported motor vehicles is still long because the process of granting Certificates of Technical Safety and Environmental Protection still has many shortcomings".
The national one-stop system, which processes vehicle registration records, often has software errors, but has not been completely fixed. Meanwhile, motor vehicle customs clearance activities at Huu Nghi border gate still take place continuously on holidays and festivals, causing work pressure to increase.
Although the Department of Registration has arranged staff to work at the border gate, the current number of staff is not enough to meet the arising volume of records.
The People's Committee of Lang Son province has continued to issue documents requesting the Department of Registration to continue to increase human resources at Huu Nghi border gate and the landmark area 1088/2-1089 (Tan Thanh). At the same time, it is recommended to thoroughly fix the software errors of the national one-stop system and consider arranging staff to work even during holidays to ensure customs clearance is not interrupted.
According to data from the Provincial People's Committee, in the first quarter of 2025, the total number of motor vehicles imported through border gates in Lang Son province reached 4,166 units, an increase of 23% over the same period last year.
