Vietnam is expected to officially launch its electronic customs declaration procedures on imports and exports nationwide next year, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Friday.

The e-customs system is designed to shorten the time it takes to clear customs, and simplify administrative procedures, the newspaper quoted the Vietnam General Department of Customs as reporting.

E-customs has been piloted in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City and northern Hai Phong city. As of late 2006, e-customs declarations had been carried out on 215 businesses with 90 manifests each day on average.

A total of 21,000 declarations with total export turnovers of 1. 7 billion U.S. dollars have been so far conducted through e- customs.

From May 5 to Dec. 12, 2006, the department processed nearly 400 customs declaration forms with total tax revenues of 3.8 trillion Vietnamese dong (237.5 million dollars).

Source: Xinhua