A project involving 12 laws, more than 20 decrees and circulars

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC), said that his business had to wait for instructions on bidding for a real estate project for many months because the guiding decrees were unclear.

Specifically, the local Department of Planning and Investment (now the Department of Finance) required businesses to ask the Bidding Department and the Legal Department under the Ministry of Finance.

“This process took 5 months but businesses did not receive specific answers because the document only cited the law,” he said. In the end, the procedure was only completed when the unit asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, bringing the total waiting time to 7 months. Thus, businesses had to wait for unclear procedures and documents,” Mr. Hiep emphasized.

An investment project can involve 12 laws and more than 20,000 circulars.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Pham Tan Cong, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that many businesses still face barriers from cumbersome administrative procedures. Currently, there are many business conditions and document processing procedures that are no longer suitable and need to be reduced or simplified.

“There are investment projects using land that must carry out administrative procedures according to at least 12 laws, more than 20 decrees and circulars. These circulars are often changed. Fast is 18-24 months, but normally it takes nearly 3 years to complete the procedures,” Mr. Cong gave an example.

The Chairman of VCCI emphasized that in order for administrative procedure reform to become substantive, it is necessary to perfect institutions, create a favorable business environment and enhance the proactive role of businesses in participating in policy criticism.

From his experience with businesses, Mr. Dau Anh Tuan, Deputy General Secretary, Head of the Legal Department of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), shared that many businesses want to invest and develop, but the biggest obstacle still lies in the project investment process, especially projects that use land.

“For a project to be implemented, businesses must go through a “maze” of procedures, starting with project establishment in accordance with the general planning and zoning planning, from there proposing project establishment and requesting approval of investment policy,” said Mr. Tuan.

After that, according to Mr. Tuan, there is a series of investment procedures related to land use plans at the provincial and district levels. Businesses must go through the steps of selecting investors through auctions or bidding, then land procedures such as site clearance, land allocation, land lease, determining land unit prices, etc. Finally, they are granted land use right certificates.

Once the land is available, the enterprise continues to face an equally complicated construction process, including procedures related to the environment, fire prevention and fighting, national security and many other steps before being granted a construction permit.

The investment process is complicated, leading to a long approval time. Mr. Tuan estimates that there are about 15 major procedures for a project, but each major procedure may include many minor procedures.

For example, a main procedure is chaired by an agency, but to complete the dossier, the enterprise may have to work with 3-6 different departments and branches, thereby creating many additional groups of sub-procedures.

An investment project may involve 12 laws and more than 20 circulars. Although the number of decrees and circulars has decreased recently compared to before, the level of complexity in terms of basic content has not improved significantly.

Mr. Tuan emphasized that this complexity and lack of synchronization are barriers, discouraging investors, wasting resources and missing many development opportunities.

Strong and breakthrough reforms are needed

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep proposed that every 6 months, local authorities should organize dialogues with businesses in each field to listen to comments, thereby adjusting inappropriate administrative procedures.

According to Mr. Hiep, to achieve the goal of cutting 30% of administrative procedures, it is necessary to focus on two stages: First, reducing legal procedures in business investment steps such as investment licensing, planning adjustment, construction licensing, this content was stated in the Prime Minister's Official Dispatch 78 on May 29. Second, for procedures that cannot be eliminated, it is necessary to specify the management method, digitize the implementation method. It is important to determine the completion deadline and have a clear address of responsibility.

In the real estate sector, the Chairman of VACC recommended that there should be a unified agency to issue investment procedures with mandatory and simplified steps, making it easier for businesses to implement.

In reality, administrative reform to create more favorable conditions for businesses, help them easily carry out business activities, and at the same time build a smarter management method, is a great desire of the business community today.

Therefore, according to Mr. Tuan, in addition to the important breakthrough spirit of Resolution 68, the specific actions of the National Assembly and the Government in the coming time need to be stronger. The Government needs to have breakthrough reforms in investment procedures so that capital flows quickly into the economy.

For example, investing in the construction of an industrial park, there should only be one competent agency as the focal point instead of investors having to redo procedures with many different agencies, causing a waste of time.

Even with some procedures such as construction licensing, there are clear regulations, investors can do it themselves and state agencies only need to conduct post-inspection. This will greatly support people and businesses, helping to shorten procedures significantly.

The target of 8% growth this year, double-digit growth in the following years, or the expectation that the private economic sector will grow faster than the overall growth of the economy, all depend on one key factor, which is how to simplify investment procedures, effectively inject capital into the economy.

Therefore, in addition to reviewing and adjusting current regulations, Mr. Tuan said that it is time for the Government to have a completely different approach and mindset. Procedures that are no longer suitable need to be "bravely" abolished to strongly improve the management and investment process.