Many regulations are causing difficulties for businesses
It is forecasted that in 2024, conveniences and difficulties will continue to intertwine, but difficulties will outweigh conveniences. In January 2024 alone, the number of businesses that withdrew from the market was nearly twice the number of businesses joining the market.
This is the reality revealed by Dr. Tran Thi Hong Minh, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) at the conference “Implementing Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP: Reforming and Creating Focal Points to Promote Business Development” on February 29.
According to Dr. Minh, the current situation shows that businesses are facing many challenges and difficulties. There is an urgent need to speed up and effectively implement the reform of the business environment to strengthen trust and create business motivation for businesses.
Resolution No. 02 is expected to enhance the trust of investors and businesses. Photo: N.L |
Therefore, the Government has revived the reform program and improvement of the business environment by issuing Resolution No. 02 dated January 5, 2024, to create pressure and stimulate the reform spirit of ministries, sectors, and localities.
“The return of the Resolution brings the message that improving the business environment is a priority and demonstrates the Government’s concern and support for the business community,” Dr. Minh said.
Mr. Dau Anh Tuan, Deputy Secretary General, Head of the Legal Division of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that from 2021 to the end of 2023, ministries, sectors, and localities have cut or simplified 2,483 business regulations in 201 legal documents. The Prime Minister has approved a plan to cut or simplify 1,191 business regulations in 221 legal documents.
As a result, the business environment has become more favorable, and business conditions have become simpler. Many cumbersome regulations have been promptly amended.
However, according to Mr. Tuan, some options for cutting and simplifying business conditions are only superficial; the proposed cuts lack breakthrough solutions.
“Many issues that businesses have raised have not been considered. Especially during the review and reduction of existing documents, there is a phenomenon of drafting new barriers,” the VCCI expert said.
Specifically, Mr. Tuan cited regulations such as bus passenger transport companies having to provide the minimum content of their transport contracts to the Department of Transport via email before each trip or requesting the addition of iodine to salt for direct consumption, food processing…
Need for surveillance and accountability mechanisms
Ms. Ly Kim Chi, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Food Association, proposed that in order to further motivate the improvement of the business environment, there should be mechanisms to handle and sanction ministries and cases that are slow or fail to implement the Government’s directives in implementing resolutions.
According to Ms. Chi, it is time to change the method of implementing reforms by adding monitoring and punishment mechanisms for those who carry out institutional and business environment reforms to achieve breakthrough results. The implementation process must closely follow the results of implementing each content of each ministry’s assigned tasks.
“Any regulations that have been instructed must be done immediately, with specific completion time frames. If not completed, the officials who carry out the regulations and the heads of those agencies should be punished or considered whether their files should be sent to the Task Force for Administrative Procedure Reform of the Government for consideration and resolution,” Ms. Chi said.
We need to increase the effectiveness of urging, monitoring, and handling so that each civil servant, ministry takes full responsibility, support, and handle and consider the interests of businesses and people the same as their own interests. Only then can the implementation of the new resolution be effective,” Ms. Chi added.
Nguyen Le
