Exciting News: Rice Exports, Accounting Services, and 23 Other Industries Proposed by the Government to Operate Without Business Licenses

On the morning of November 11th, authorized by the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang presented the draft amended Investment Law to the National Assembly. The revision aims to remove obstacles, simplify investment and business procedures, and create a more favorable environment for businesses and citizens.

The core of the draft is the proposal to cut 25 conditional business sectors. Consequently, enterprises operating in these fields will no longer need business licenses. This list includes notable sectors such as accounting services, tax procedures, rice exports, temporary import-re-export of frozen food, and labor leasing services.

Explaining the proposal, Minister Nguyen Van Thang stated that the 2020 Investment Law requires licenses for 234 sectors. However, upon review, the government found that many of these sectors can be effectively managed through output standards and technical regulations. Therefore, shifting 25 sectors to a post-inspection mechanism is expected to reduce market entry barriers and free up resources for businesses.

In addition to reducing business conditions, the draft law proposes other significant changes. Notably, it plans to eliminate the approval procedure for overseas investment projects under 20 billion VND; such projects may only need to register foreign exchange transactions with the State Bank. Projects over 20 billion VND or in conditional sectors will still require investment registration certificates.

The government also aims to narrow the scope of domestic investment projects requiring approval. According to the proposal, this regulation will focus on infrastructure projects in critical sectors like seaports, airports, telecommunications, or projects with significant environmental, defense, or security impacts. Proposed exemptions include projects for industrial park infrastructure, mineral exploitation (except offshore), and housing construction.

Reviewing the draft, the Economic and Financial Committee, represented by Chairman Phan Van Mai, urged the government to further review and substantially reduce investment and business conditions. The committee emphasized retaining only conditions essential for national defense, security, public order, morality, and health.

Regarding the elimination of overseas investment approval procedures, the committee agreed but advised the government to add notification or registration mechanisms, avoiding approval requirements, to facilitate reconciliation and post-inspection. Additionally, foreign exchange management regulations should be improved to ensure interconnected databases for monitoring capital transfers abroad.

According to the schedule, the amended Investment Law will be discussed in the National Assembly on November 27th and is expected to be voted on December 11th.

List of 25 conditional business sectors proposed for license reduction: