Ministry plans to tax shipping surcharges Lan Nhi By Lan Nhi - The Saigon Times Daily HANOI - The Ministry of Finance is working on a plan to classify and tax surcharges of shipping firms with annual tax revenue amounting to thousands of billions of Vietnam dong. The ministry might soon issue guidelines for local tax departments to review and tax surcharges imposed by shipping firms, having collected comments from relevant agencies on this matter in early April. Over the years, shipping firms have registered freight charges that are subject to a value-added tax exemption and a corporate income tax (CIT) of only 2% but have imposed dozens of surcharges on import-export companies to offset the low freight charges. Meanwhile, these surcharges should have been declared under the category of other services that are subject to a CIT of 10% and a VAT of 5%. This practice of shipping companies has caused huge tax losses for the State. According to a draft document of the ministry, … [Read more...] about Ministry plans to tax shipping surcharges
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Tan Cang-Hiep Phuoc to handle large ships in mid-Dec
Le Anh A representative of Saigon Newport Corporation, the investor of the port, said the port has started to receive barges transporting goods and will handle the first large vessel on December 15. Saigon Newport has completed construction of a 12-hectare yard for containers, a 300-meter-long pier, a 250-meter-long dock for barges and installation of modern equipment of Phase 1 in preparation for 50,000-DWT vessels to arrive. The corporation will lengthen the main pier of Tan Cang-Hiep Phuoc Port to 420 meters to handle 50,000-DWT vessels, widen the area for containers and internal roads to nearly 150,000 square meters, and develop 8,580 square meters for goods storage and 6,010 square meters for auxiliary works. The entire port is scheduled for completion in June next year. Tan Cang-Hiep Phuoc Port lies near the Soai Rap Estuary, a convenient place for a transshipment port as it is near the sea and able to handle big vessels. The port is expected to serve as a major hub … [Read more...] about Tan Cang-Hiep Phuoc to handle large ships in mid-Dec
Domestic shipping lines struggle amid fewer orders, intensive competition
The government should prevent foreign shipping lines from imposing unreasonable surcharges on Vietnamese traders, according to Khuat Van Lieu of the Vietnam Shippers' Council. Foreign lines have capitalized on the country's under-developed transportation industry by imposing a slew of irrational surcharges (e.g. "container lid repairs"). These surcharges should be calculated in transportation fees, Lieu told a recent online meeting between leaders at the Ministry of Transport, shipping firms and port authorities. Countries like Sri Lanka have successfully implemented such rules on foreign shipping operators, he noted. A report issued last year by the Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade alleged that foreign shipping companies may have artificially lowered their international shipping rates to crush local competition. Some of these companies, the report noted, offered international rates that were dwarfed by domestic ones. Foreign shipping firms … [Read more...] about Domestic shipping lines struggle amid fewer orders, intensive competition
Shipping analyst raises growth forecast to 6%
HA NOI — Based on its analysis of the shipping industry, Business Monitor International has boosted its economic growth forecast for Viet Nam this year from 4.4 per cent to 6 per cent and is predicting an annual average growth of 6.2 per cent over the next five years. In its Viet Nam Shipping Report for the fourth quarter, Business Monitor International (BMI) is projecting port volume at HCM City to increase by 6.2 per cent, following the 5.2-per-cent contraction during last year's slump. Container shipping was expected to rise by 3.5 per cent. At Da Nang Port, the report predicted overall volume would rise by 2.3 per cent but that container shipping would increase by a more substantial 6.2 per cent. Viet Nam's total import-export activity would see a recovery this year, BMI said, with 5.4 per cent growth, followed by a slightly stronger pick-up in 2011. Over the next five years, total foreign trade would expand at an annual average rate of 6.5 per cent, BMI calculated, while … [Read more...] about Shipping analyst raises growth forecast to 6%
China extends graft probe into shipping industry
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI - China's campaign to root out corruption has now extended into the shipping industry, after the country's largest bulk shipper, China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd, said the government was probing one of its top executives. The shipper's vice president Xu Minjie was "under investigation by the relevant authorities", COSCO said in a brief statement to the Shanghai stock exchange on Thursday, shorthand that is used in China to describe corruption probes. A former COSCO Group chairman, Wei Jiafu, has also been prevented from leaving China, the Beijing Times said in a report citing unidentified company sources that was reposted by the official Xinhua news agency. The reports of Wei having been banned from leaving China were baseless, COSCO Group said in a statement on Friday, vowing to firmly implement the country's anti-graft procedures. It declined further comment on the matter. COSCO shares fell by as much as 6.9 percent in Hong Kong on Friday to 9-week lows, and were … [Read more...] about China extends graft probe into shipping industry