The implementation of the Government’s Resolution 02/NQ-CP issued early this year has brought about improvements in the business environment, heard a working session on the impacts of the document held on June 12 under the chair of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam addresses the working session
(Photo: baochinhphu.vn)

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Thanh Thong said the ministry and the Government Office had coordinated with World Bank experts to update the indexes on Vietnam’s business environment for the bank’s Doing Business report, slated to be announced in October this year. 

Accordingly, the procedures and time for starting a business reduced from 8 and 17 days to 5 and 8 days, respectively; the procedures and time for getting a construction permit decreased from 10 and 166 days to 10 and 62 days. The payments of tax per year dropped to only one time a year from the previous 5 times, and the time taken to file value added tax was cut from 219 hours to 129 hours a year. 

The WB also noted that recently-issued documents had helped speed up the settlement of contract disputes and insolvency. 

However, the deputy minister said that some ministries have not fulfilled the requirements set by the resolution. Few ministries have issued full guidance documents on implementing tasks under the resolution in the first quarter as required, resulting in confusions and difficulties in building and carrying out action plans. 

Many ministries have drafted decrees on adjusting business conditions but are slow to submit them to the Government for approval. Most ministries have not issued documents guiding subsidiaries, enterprises and localities regarding the reform in business conditions. 

Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Son said enterprises and people still complain when doing administrative procedures, particularly the attitude of civil servants who do not give full explanations on procedures, forcing enterprises and people to return many times. 

Concluding the working session, Deputy PM Dam urged ministries and agencies to tighten public discipline and order in implementing Resolution 02 in order to create substantial changes. 

Ministries and agencies should hold inspections to check the pace of reform, and dialogues with business associations to learn about existing problems, he said.

The Deputy PM requested that ministries and sectors submit reports on the pace of cutting business conditions within next week and propose solutions to problems raised by the business community. 

He suggested the Ministry of Planning and Investment consider the ranking of ministries, sectors and localities in implementing Resolution 02.