Vice Chairman of State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win delivers speech at Work Coordination Meeting (5/2022) of Anti-illegal Trade Steering Committee
NAY PYI TAW November 23
Work Coordination Meeting (5/2022) of the Anti-illegal Trade Steering Committee was held at the meeting hall of the Ministry of Commerce in Nay Pyi Taw this afternoon and Chairman of the steering committee Vice Chair-man of State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win de-livered a speech at the meeting.
Also present at the meeting were Vice Chairman of the steer-ing committee Union Minister Planning and Finance U Win Shein, members of the steering committee Union Minister for Commerce U Aung Naing Oo, deputy ministers for defence and commerce and officials while chairmen of state and region anti-illegal trade special committees joined the meeting via video conferencing.
First, the Vice-Senior General delivered a speech, saying it can be seen that departments that are involved in the Anti-illegal Trade Special Committee and One Stop Service were able to carry out anti-illegal trade activities more effectively during the nine-month period after the steering committee was restructured. It was also found that anti-illegal trade activities were carried out more effectively and quickly thanks to cooperation of organizations and de-partments that are involved in the activities.
Special emphasis must be placed on communication and cooperation of anti-illegal trade teams along illegal trading routes including bypass routes where illegal goods are smuggl-ed into and out through various means in areas adjacent to each other.
During the Prime Minister and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and entre-preneurs for MSMEs in Yangon Region, entrepreneurs reported that it was necessary to take effective action against illegal trade activities to boost domestic production. As products of local MSME entrepreneurs cannot compete with goods smuggled into the country without paying taxes in terms of prices, it was difficult for them to survive long and they reported the issue to the Prime Minister. Therefore, efforts must be made to effectively combat illegal trade that poses threat to the survival of MSME entrepreneurs and hinder the economic development of the country on the other hand.
A total of 3,095 illegal trade cases were exposed and about Ks- 45.6 billion worth of goods were seized during the nine-month period from January to September, 2022. As altogether 1,558 illegal trade cases were busted and goods worth Ks- 6.626 billion were confiscated during the same period last year, authorities were able to expose 1,537 more illegal trade cases and seize more goods worth Ks-38.974 billion than the previous year. In terms of seizures in states and regions, the biggest seizures were made in Mandalay Region in August and October and in Kayin State in September.
It is important for special teams to search for illegal ammonium nitrate effectively from the security perspective while taking measures for allowing transporting agricultural inputs legally imported to the hands of farmers without any hindrance in a timely manner. It was also found that not only smuggled goods but also narcotic drugs, explosives, weapons and accessories in combating illegal trade. Therefore, it is necessary for anti-illegal trade teams and relevant departments to place emphasis on smuggling of illegal arms and ammunition and explosives during search operations.
The government is taking sys-tematic measures for sufficiency of edible oil and price stability in the country but illegal edible oil was smuggled into the country without paying taxes. Therefore, special teams are required to expose smuggling of illegal edible oil effectively during search operations.
Among the many root causes for the boom of illegal trade, some illegal goods escaped because they were hidden and bypass roads were used but some personnel allowed illegal goods to pass through checkpoints by taking bribes. Therefore, personnel are urged to perform duties loyally. It can be seen that the country has been enjoying customs privile-ges which are not available for other countries under regional customs privilege schemes. Such privileges are given only to products from the country. Therefore, it is important to respect international rules and regulations and commitments and not to undermine the trust in the country maintained by other countries.
Although it is impossible to eliminate illegal trade at pre-sent, efforts must be accelerated to prevent and expose illegal trade activities through available means. Measures must be taken to speed up efforts to pay appropriate recognition in the form of cash rewards to personnel who perform their duties responsibly and members of the public who provide infor-mation about illegal trade more quickly in accordance with rules and regulations.
Then, Secretary of the steer-ing committee Deputy Minister U Nyunt Aung reported on im-plementation of decisions made during the meeting (4/2022) and tasks of the steering committee.
Afterwards, leader of the steering committee office working group Deputy Director General U Aung Thwin Oo, Director Ge-neral of the Customs Department U Thein Swe, Director General U Myint Thuya of the Directorate of Trade, Director General Dr Khin Zaw of the Department of Food and Drug Administration, chairmen of anti-illegal trade special committees from Bago Region and Kayin State, Director General U Han Win Aung of the Central Equipment Statistics and Inspection Department and Managing Director U Thura Aung Myo Myint reported on tasks of the Meeting (5/2022) of the steering committee.
Then, Vice Chairman of the steering committee Union Mini-ster for Planning and Finance U Win Shein and members Union Minister for Commerce U Aung Naing Oo, the deputy minister for defence and participants reported on anti-illegal trade activities of the relevant sector.
Afterwards, the leader of the steering committee office working group read out the draft decisions of the meeting.
Then, the Vice-Senior General coordinated the reported tasks and delivered concluding remarks.