Removing difficulties and promoting trade activities through the Kheo secondary border gate pair

There is great potential to develop trade with Laos and the Prime Minister has approved the upgrading plan, but up to now, trade activities through the Kheo Sub-border Gate, Bat Mot Commune (Thuong Xuan) still face many difficulties.

Removing difficulties and promoting trade activities through the secondary border gate pair of Kheo - Tha Lau Border Guard officers at Kheo Border Gate control people and vehicles entering and exiting across the border.

According to the report of the Kheo Sub-border Gate Border Station, Bat Mot Border Post, National Highway 47 extended to the Kheo Sub-border Gate has created favorable conditions for people from Thanh Hoa and Hua Phan provinces (Laos) to visit relatives, receive medical treatment, and exchange goods. In 2022, there were more than 4,000 people and over 2,000 vehicles entering and exiting the country at this border gate. In 2023, this number increased, reaching nearly 8,000 people and nearly 5,000 vehicles entering and exiting the country (mainly motorbikes of border residents). However, commercial activities are still very difficult.

According to Decision No. 3370/QD-UBND dated October 7, 2022 of the Provincial People's Committee Chairman, the Kheo Sub-border Gate is allowed to trade and exchange goods across the border of traders. And in fact, many businesses in the province have a need to export goods through this border gate. However, up to now, commercial activities here have only stopped at the level of goods exchanged and traded by border residents, which are tax-exempt. Meanwhile, the traffic distance from this border gate to Ho Chi Minh road or Thanh Hoa city is shorter and more convenient than the other two border gates in the province, which are Na Meo International Border Gate (Quan Son) and Ten Tan Main Border Gate (Muong Lat).

Explaining this, according to Article 30 of Protocol No. 72/2010/SL-LPQT, dated December 17, 2010 (Protocol to implement the Agreement on facilitating road motor vehicles crossing the border between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, signed in Hanoi on September 15, 2010, effective from December 15, 2010), the pair of secondary border gates at Kheo - Tha Lau is not on the list of pairs of border gates permitted for intermodal operations. The movement of people and vehicles through the pairs of secondary border gates is agreed upon by the two provinces sharing the border.

Mr. Ngo Van Thanh, Head of the Thanh Hoa Port Customs Branch, said that although commercial activities are allowed, the lack of permission for intermodal transport is the direct cause of the lack of import and export goods generating customs taxes through the Kheo Sub-Border Gate. This regulation requires vehicles transporting goods from Laos to Vietnam, or vice versa, to turn around before the inter-sectoral control area. Meanwhile, from the control areas of both countries to the border, there is still a distance (about 200m). Therefore, even if the goods are unloaded at the border control area, there is no way to bring the goods across the border.

Removing difficulties and promoting trade activities through the secondary border gate pair of Kheo - Tha Lau Infrastructure at Tha Lau Sub-border Gate, Hua Phan Province, Laos has been invested in, ensuring inter-sectoral forces control the border gate.

Therefore, commercial activities through the Kheo - Tha Lau sub-border gate pair only stop at the need to exchange goods of border residents. According to Decree 134/ND-CP, dated September 1, 2016 of the Government, goods bought and sold and exchanged by border residents are exempt from tax with a customs value of no more than 2 million VND/person/day/trip and no more than 4 trips/month.

It is known that, in order to promote trade activities through the Kheo - Tha Lau sub-border gate pair, the Department of Industry and Trade has proposed to the Provincial People's Committee to assign relevant functional agencies to study, advise, propose agreements, and sign documents between the two provinces of Thanh Hoa - Hua Phan on creating conditions for vehicles of the two provinces to be allowed to pass through this pair of border gates to transport import and export goods, as a basis for the State management agencies at the border gate to implement. At the same time, the content is notified to the Hua Phan provincial government to know and proactively implement the agreements between the two countries. Meanwhile, according to the reporter's records, on the other side of the Kheo sub-border gate, Laos has invested in building an office building for the inter-sectoral force managing the border gate. However, because it has not been allowed to operate inter-transportation, there are no import and export activities generating customs taxes, so many offices in this building are still empty.

Even the Thanh Hoa Port Customs Branch, the unit assigned to manage import and export activities through the Kheo Sub-border Gate, rarely has to appear in this area. The main reason is that there are no import and export activities that generate customs taxes. Branch Director Ngo Van Thanh added that if allowed to operate intermodal transport, and there are import and export activities that generate taxes, the unit will establish a permanent customs working group in the Kheo Sub-border Gate area to handle procedures and quickly clear goods...

In Decision No. 1201/QD-TTg dated October 14, 2023 of the Prime Minister on Approval of the Border Gate Planning on the Vietnam - Laos land border for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, the Kheo Secondary Border Gate is planned to be upgraded to a main border gate in the period 2023 - 2030 and with a vision to 2050 as an international border gate. Currently, the competent authorities of Thanh Hoa province have conducted a survey and assessed the factors to consider and propose the implementation of the Prime Minister's planning. However, according to Mr. Ngo Van Thanh, Head of the Thanh Hoa Port Customs Branch, one of the conditions for upgrading the secondary border gate to a main border gate is to prove the import and export turnover of goods. Therefore, the negotiation and signing of an agreement between Thanh Hoa and Hua Phan provinces to allow inter-provincial transport activities through the Kheo - Tha Lau secondary border gate pair is becoming necessary.

Article and photos: Do Duc

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