The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has recently sent an official letter to the Ministry of Science and Technology to provide comments on the policy dossier of the Postal Law. In the document, VCCI presented several analyses related to the proposal to amend concepts regarding postal services and infrastructure.

According to the impact assessment report, the drafting agency proposes to include logistics services for lightweight express delivery, order fulfillment services, cash-on-delivery services, and services for parcels over 31 kg within the scope of postal services to avoid inequality among business models.

However, VCCI stated that this expansion may overlap with logistics services already regulated under the Commercial Law, leading to a situation where enterprises must comply with business conditions under two different laws for the same activity. VCCI also affirmed that postal enterprises currently still have the freedom to conduct these value-added services without restrictions; therefore, adding them to the Postal Law is not truly necessary.

Illustrative photo.

Regarding preferential policies for designated public postal service enterprises, VCCI recommended careful consideration between the objective of ensuring public interests and market competitiveness. The proposed use of the Public Postal Service Fund from the revenues of competing enterprises to support designated enterprises, along with infrastructure incentives in urban areas for commercial operations, could create unequal advantages.

According to VCCI, the e-commerce delivery market is currently purely commercial rather than an essential public service and is experiencing strong growth. Therefore, State intervention through support via the public postal network lacks a clear rationale. The policy is also considered inconsistent with Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private sector development as it involves discrimination among economic sectors.

Regarding regulations on sender and recipient identification to ensure security, VCCI cited data showing that compliance costs would be very high. With a projected volume of 4.2 billion parcels in 2025, if each order requires 2 minutes for two-way identification verification, the entire industry would spend about 17.4 million working days, equivalent to VND 2.4 trillion per year.

Beyond the financial burden, this regulation is also considered impractical for automated postal kiosks, drone deliveries, or corporate clients with distinct operating processes through API infrastructure connectivity. Therefore, VCCI proposed that the drafting agency limit the scope of identification requirements instead of applying them broadly.

In addition, VCCI recommended a clearer distinction between postal transportation activities and freight transport business operations. Currently, postal enterprises are still required to obtain freight transport business licenses and truck badges for road circulation, causing many practical obstacles.

VCCI proposed adding regulations specifying that transportation activities conducted by postal enterprises should not fall under the scope of freight transport business operations in order to simplify procedures and facilitate vehicle circulation on roads.

These comments are expected to help the drafting agency finalize the Postal Law draft in a direction that is transparent and harmonizes the interests of relevant stakeholders.