27 February 2025
The Coordination Meeting of the Leading Committee for Combating Illegal Trade (1/2025) was held this afternoon at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Commerce in Nay Pyi Taw.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Leading Committee for Combating Illegal Trade Vice Chairman of the State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win, who delivered an opening speech.
The meeting was also attended by Union Ministers U Win Shein, Lt-Gen Tun Tun Naung, U Tun Ohn, Deputy Ministers, the Chairman of the Tax Appeals Tribunal, members of the Nay Pyi Taw Council, Permanent Secretaries, Directors-General, and representatives from various organizations. Additionally, the Chairpersons of the Special Task Forces for Combating Illegal Trade from regions and states participated via video conferencing.
In his opening remarks, the Vice-Senior General stated that the Leading Committee for Combating Illegal Trade has been established to effectively combat illegal trade, and coordination meetings have been held 18 times so far. During the previous 17 meetings, 589 decisions were made and implemented.
From January 2022 to January 2025, over 19,000 cases were seized, with an estimated value exceeding Ks-458 billion.
However, when comparing the trade discrepancies with neighboring countries, the amount seized is still significantly low, indicating the need for more effective enforcement.
He emphasized that the Special Task Forces for Combating Illegal Trade in regions and states must be fully aware of the specific routes within their jurisdictions and conduct regular inspections and seizures day and night. Collaboration with security forces will further enhance the effectiveness of these operations.
Furthermore, during the opening ceremony of the Unionlevel MSMEs Product Exhibition and Competition held on February 12, 2025, the Prime Minister instructed the Chief Ministers of regions and states to strictly enforce the identification and prosecution of unlicensed vehicles, including those involved in administrative and security roles. He also emphasized the need to crack down on illegal motorcycles and the import and export of illegal goods, which significantly harm the nation. The Special Task Forces for Combating Illegal Trade in regions and states must prioritize and implement these directives.
During the period of December 2024 and January 2025, the Customs Department recorded the highest number of seizures, with the Sagaing Region leading, followed by the Mandalay Region and the Yangon Region. In terms of product categories, unlicensed vehicles and illegal goods transport vehicles accounted for the majority of seizures, followed by industrial raw materials and investment-related goods.In 2024, the highest value of seizures occurred in December, amounting to Ks- 44.183 billion.
Comparing annual seizure values, Ks-65 billion were seized in 2022, over Ks- 135 billion in 2023, and Ks- 223 billion in 2024. This progress is attributed to the efforts of all responsible officials. However, when compared to the trade discrepancies with neighboring countries, there is still a significant need for more effective enforcement.
Officials must intensify their efforts to ensure that the value of seizures matches the import and export discrepancies. Regarding global data on illegal trade, the World Bank reported that in 2024, the estimated global GDP was US$-105 trillion, with illegal trade and money laundering causing a loss of up to US$-2.6 trillion.
Cross-border crimes accounted for US$-2.2 trillion, bribery for US$-1 trillion, drug trafficking for over US$-500 billion, counter- feiting and smuggling for US$-500 billion, environmental crimes for US$-258 billion, and human trafficking for US$-150 billion.
Illegal trade contributes to corruption, violence, criminal activities, and the financing of terrorism, leading to instability and undermining peace and security. For example, the current issues of online fraud (Telecom Fraud) in border areas, along with gambling, human trafficking, armed attacks, and other crimes, threaten security and stability. This highlights the need for more decisive action against illegal trade. Additionally, the negative impacts of illegal economies include undermining democracy, weakening the rule of law, and significantly affecting the nation’s longterm stability and economic development. These issues also lead to human rights violations and loss of employment opportunities.
Therefore, it is imperative to intensify efforts to combat illegal trade. It is difficult to control illegal entry and exit points along the country’s long border due to its geographical location. Similarly, illegal smuggling routes are also used to enter the country.
It is very difficult to control them. However, there are key routes and points along the long border that can control entry points. If the staff on duty at these points are loyal, honest, compassionate and have a spirit of contributing to the country’s economy, no matter what the illegal route, more illegal goods can be detected.
Similarly, in addition to exporting illegal goods through border gates, they are also stored and distributed in ware houses near border gates. It is necessary for the relevant officials to identify, arrest and take action against such activities.
Illegal goods pose a special threat to the country’s health, economy and the future development of the youth. Illegal exporters are stealing the country’s resources, Importing and exporting of goods and services is causing ecological damage, especially the MSMEs that support our country’s economy on one hand, and local entrepreneurs are working hard to support them. If illegal goods, illegally imported raw materials, and poor-quality products are imported and compete in the market, all our local entrepreneurs will not be able to compete. Therefore, by strictly combating illegal trade, we will not only help the country’s economy but also help ethnic MSME entrepreneurs, and we want officials to understand and increase the fight against illegal trade.
We want officials in the regions and states to understand that combating illegal trade is broader than just preventing smuggled goods, and to lead and organize their employees to do so. Since tax collection plays a key role in national development, business owners need to pay their taxes in full and conduct regular trade in order to play their part in national development. The public should also be more widely educated and organized to report illegal trade responsibly and correctly when they become aware of it. The effective work of combating illegal trade, including prevention and inspection in trade routes, is aimed at protecting entrepreneurs who are engaged in regular trade and MSMEs in the country. Business owners need to be widely educated and organized to cooperate.
In combating illegal trade, accurate information, information security, and safety for informants are important. Only by building the information obtained and organizing for security and working together in unity can the goal be achieved.
The financial benefits of reporting illegal exports have been shared between the informant and the person who made the arrest. It is necessary to conduct awareness-raising activities through state-owned newspapers, TV and radio stations, and private news outlets to inform the public about the increase in the number of correct reports. In addition, it is requested that the relevant organizations in the regions and states be aware of the safety of informants and provide support.
The special teams for combating illegal trade should be instructed to take necessary measures in advance to avoid unnecessary delays and traffic jams at the trade posts, inspection posts, and security gates opened in the relevant regions and states.
The Illegal Trade Eradication Steering Committee needs to take measures to seize illegal goods in order to increase the country’s exports and ensure the sustainability of MSMEs.
Similarly, the import of illegal goods, such as substandard consumer goods, medicines, and food products, poses a risk to consumers, so we must protect the safety of consumers. In addition, we must effectively combat illegal trade to prevent loss of state revenue.
In doing so, he urged the members of the Steering Committee, as well as the special members of the Illegal Trade Eradication Committee in the regions and states, employees and the public to participate in the activities. They need to cooperate for the sustainability of MSMEs’ manufacturing activities, the safety of consumers and the prevention of loss of state funds. In doing so, the Steering Committee and its members to work together with the special teams in the regions and states to make further progress in arresting and combating illegal trade that does not benefit the state and the people, and to work together to eliminate it completely.
Then, U Min Min, Secretary of the Illegal Trade Eradication Steering Committee and Deputy Minister of Commerce, presented the progress made on the decisions of the Steering Committee Meeting (5/2024) and the activities of the Steering Committee.
Then, Director General U Aung Thwin Oo, Head of the Steering Committee Office Task Force, U Han Win Aung, Director General of the Central Equipment Statistics and Inspection Department, U Myint Thura, Director General of the Department of Trade, and Professor Dr Ye Myint, Director General of the Food and Drug Administration, read out the orders submitted to the Steering Committee’s Work Coordination Meeting (1/2025) on Combating Illicit Trade.
Next, the members of the Steering Committee, Union Ministers U Win Shein, Lt. Gen,Tun Tun Naung, U Tun Ohn, Chairman of the Revenue Appellate Tribunal, members of the Nay Pyi Taw Council, Chairmen of the Region and State Special Committees on Eradicating Illicit Trade, and officials, discussed and presented the findings of the analysis on illegal trade, the seizure of illegal controlled chemicals, drugs, timber, vehicles, fuel, food, medicine, and cosmetics, the actions being taken in accordance with the law on these seizures, prevention and control issues, the comparison of exports and imports, the flow of goods at the trade posts, and the trade situation with neighboring countries.
Then, the Vice- Senior General coordinated the discussions and made concluding remarks, and the meeting was adjourned.
