Under the sponsorship of the Customs Cooperation Fund of Korea, a WCO National Workshop on the Implementation of the HS 2017 was held at the headquarters of the General Department of the Vietnam Customs in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 2 to 6 July 2018. The Workshop was facilitated by a WCO Technical Officer and Ms. Seri KIM, a WCO Accredited Trainer in HS matters, from the Korea Customs Service (KCS).

At the opening of the Workshop, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tai, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department, emphasized the importance of the correct and uniform application of the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) 2017, which was implemented in Vietnam on 1 January 2018. He noted the importance of fair, efficient and effective revenue collection and trade facilitation and encouraged participants to take advantage of this high level Workshop.

During the Workshop, a wide range of HS-related matters were addressed, including the provisions of the HS 2017 amendments, the fundamental principles of the General Rules and various HS classification techniques. The infrastructure and advance ruling system in the KCS was explained as an example of how other countries approached the same issues. Practical cases of HS classification of certain types of commodities, such as food supplements, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, multicomponent goods, as well as around 20 specific tariff classification issues raised by the Vietnam Customs were discussed. Typical examples of the recent developments in the HS Committee with regard to the provisionally adopted HS 2022 amendments were also explained.

In her closing addresses, Ms. Dao Thu Huong, Deputy Director of the Import and Export Department, thanked the WCO and the Korea Customs Service for facilitating the Workshop and also stressed that the knowledge participants acquired during the Workshop would be useful to the Vietnam Customs in ensuring the correct use and application of the Customs Tariff Nomenclature in Vietnam.