HANOI: A business association in Vietnam is calling for simplified regulations as its new survey has found that 28 percent of companies paid bribes this year to speed up customs procedures.
Dau Anh Tuan, who is in charge of legal issues at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the rate dropped from 49 percent in 2013.
Many companies said they suffered “discrimination” for not paying unofficial fees, including being treated impolitely and being asked for documents that are not required.
The companies said the government should making stronger efforts to reform customs procedures.
More than half of the 3,000 surveyed companies said they had trouble with customs clearance procedures as there are too many forms and changes.
“Businesses want customs officials to be more friendly and treat them as clients that need legal support,” Tuan said, as cited by Tuoi Tre.
According to the survey, 39 percent of companies said they did not face any problems even without paying bribes.
But news website VnEconomy noted that 35 percent of the surveyed companies refused to answer if they had paid bribes.
