Expulsion awaits Vietnam customs officers who squeeze passengers for money Passengers wait to have their luggage scanned at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Tuoi Tre Those customs officers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport who extort money from passengers when they exit the country will be dismissed, an anti-corruption officer from the Ho Chi Minh City-based terminal asserted Wednesday. The Ho Chi Minh City Customs will impose strict sanctions and expel any officer who harasses or demands money from passengers, Nguyen Van Lich, who is in charge of an anti-corruption hotline at the airport, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. The Ho Chi Minh City-based daily reported earlier the same day that some customs officers at Tan Son Nhat tended to wrest money from passengers for the gifts they wanted to take out of Vietnam. “We have asked the Ho Chi Minh City Customs to make a report about this,” Lich said. Many Vietnamese and overseas Vietnamese have complained that they were asked to present receipts for such gifts as karaoke players, fish sauce, or clogs so that the customs officers would tax them 10 percent based on the products’ value. If they refused to do so, or failed to give them some money, their luggage would not be allowed to pass the security scan, the Vietnamese said. “Vietnam encourages export, and buyers are not required to pay or declare tax on exported goods,” Lich said, citing Vietnam Customs regulations. “So the customs officers at the airport have gone against the law by asking to tax the gifts passengers bring out of Vietnam.” The official added that the Vietnam Customs have formed a supervision team, who will run unplanned checks at the airport’s customs. Passengers are encouraged report their complaint about any harassment or money extortion to the hotlines (+84) 988 315 858 (speaking to Nguyen Thanh Binh) and (+84) 925 267 777 (speaking to Nguyen Van Lich). After Tuoi Tre reported on the misconduct of the customs officers at Tan Son Nhat, many readers, including local residents, overseas Vietnamese, and expats, have said they too encountered such problems at least once. Tran Hoa Phuong, deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, said the committee has frequently received similar complaints. Passengers are squeezed for money not only on their leaving the country, but also upon arrival, Phuong said. “Many overseas Vietnamese took wine, medicines, and dietary supplements back home as gifts, but they were not allowed to complete procedures to enter Vietnam,” Phuong said. “They will be able to complete the formalities smoothly if the officers are in good mood.” Passengers even have a ‘tip’ to pass the customs quickly, which is putting money inside their passports. “I saw people sharing the ‘tip’ with each other when I was waiting for a flight from Taiwan to Ho Chi Minh City the other day,” he said. “They said they would ‘face problems’ not doing so, and even asked me to follow suit.” A Tuoi Tre News reader has confirmed that he had the same experience when entering Ho Chi Minh City. “I had a team of customs officers all demanding money from me to bring my own PC components into Vietnam for my own personal use,” he said. TUOI TRE NEWS