Dong said that if the problem is not solved soon, it will erode achieved reform results and reduce business confidence.

The Government has defined improving the business environment and increasing the national competitiveness as key economic policies.

Illustrative photo.

According to the latest preliminary review of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), the quality of business condition reform in some areas has improved. Specifically, business conditions in some fields are systematically designed, making them clear, easy to understand, and easy to follow. Business conditions were removed as they were too general, and vague. Conditions relating to personnel and facilities are also clearly defined.

The list of conditional business lines has been reduced from 267 in 2014 to 243 in 2016, and to 227 at present under the Investment Law 2020.

Nguyen Minh Thao, Head of the Research Department on Business Environment and Competitiveness of CIEM, said that the list of conditional business lines has decreased just in number but their content is broader.

In other words, the number of specific industries with regulations on business conditions in specialised laws is much larger than 227 lines under the Investment Law 2020.

Thao said that the results from a survey of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) with over 10,000 businesses showed that up to 60.1% of businesses had difficulties relating to administrative procedures when applying for business licenses to conditional business lines.

Over 61% of the businesses said that they paid informal fees to get business licences. Difficulties in granting conditional business licenses are the reason why 21.7% of businesses have to delay or cancel their business plans.

According to CIEM's preliminary assessment when reviewing and evaluating reforms in terms of business conditions and reform efforts, the results have not changed compared to 2019.

Ly Thi Kim Chi, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Food Association, said that she knows some inadequacies in administrative procedures have existed for five years and caused difficulties and losses for businesses.

Nguyen Thi Dieu Hong, Head of the Law Building Section at the VCCI’s Legal Affairs Department, said that it is necessary to have a consensus among ministries and agencies when approaching the term “business conditions”.

Different understanding causes inaccuracy in determining a business condition and management mechanism.

“Notably, the quality of business environment reform will also be improved if ministries and sectors strengthen the control over the issuance of business conditions and conditional business lines,” Hong said.

In a relevant development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is finalising a draft resolution on improving the business environment and the national competitiveness, which is expectedly submitted to the Government in September 2023.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said that the ministry also plans to propose the establishment of a working group to promote the implementation of the resolution.

Ministries and sectors were urged to engage the business community in formulating policies to ensure their feasibility in practice, which helps create breakthroughs for the business environment in 2023 and the coming years.

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Source: VNA