Ensure feasibility, avoid creating new difficulties and problems

Must clearly define criteria and principles for implementing designated bidding.

Members of the National Assembly Standing Committee highly appreciated the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Bidding; Law on Investment under the public-private partnership model; Law on Customs; Law on Export Tax and Import Tax; Law on Investment; Law on Public Investment; Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, which focused on amending 4 contents. Thereby, contributing to the timely and effective institutionalization of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation. At the same time, handling legal issues arising from the arrangement of the apparatus related to 2-level local governments; strengthening decentralization, delegation of power, simplifying administrative procedures; resolving shortcomings and obstacles to contribute to promoting 8% growth in 2025 and double digits in the coming time.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai chaired the meeting. Photo: Lam Hien

Basically agreeing with the submission of this Law project to the National Assembly for consideration and approval under the shortened procedure at one session, however, Chairman of the Ethnic Council Y Thanh Ha Nie K'dam expressed concern that when amending Article 23 of the current Investment Law, the draft Law only states that "designated bidding is applied to assign a contractor to implement a bidding package belonging to a project or procurement estimate. Cases of designated bidding, conditions for designated bidding and procedures for implementing designated bidding are implemented according to Government regulations".

The Chairman of the Council of Ethnic Minorities believes that this provision in the draft Law is still general, heavily conceptual, and lacks quantitative criteria, while the unclear legal framework will make implementation difficult. Therefore, the Chairman of the Council of Ethnic Minorities suggests that it is necessary to study and supplement the provisions in the draft Law on criteria for classifying fields and groups of fields for direct contracting, on that basis, assign the Government to specify specific fields.

View of the meeting. Photo: Lam Hien

Similarly, regarding competitive bidding, Clause 11, Article 1 of the draft Law has amended the provisions of Article 24 of the current Law on Bidding in the direction of stipulating the principles and assigning the Government to specify the details. However, through monitoring and supervising the implementation of a number of national target programs, the Chairman of the Ethnic Council suggested that it is necessary to clearly stipulate that bidding packages implementing socio-economic development policies to support communities in disadvantaged areas, ethnic minority areas, and mountainous areas should apply a capital calling process that does not require competitive bidding, to suit the conditions of implementation in practice.

Also related to this provision, the draft Law has amended Clause 2, Article 24 of the Bidding Law in the direction that "for bidding packages applying competitive bidding, it is not mandatory to evaluate the capacity and experience of contractors". The Chairman of the Ethnic Council is concerned that not evaluating the capacity of competitive bidding may create a loophole in selecting incompetent contractors. Therefore, the draft Law needs to stipulate that for bidding packages with average value or higher, there must be mandatory criteria on commercial capacity and the Government should specify in detail the level of capacity assessment for these cases.

Chairman of the Ethnic Council Y Thanh Ha Nie K'dam speaks at the meeting. Photo: Lam Hien

Explaining and clarifying opinions related to the amendment and supplementation of a number of provisions of the Law on Bidding, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang said that the provisions in the draft Law aim to create a flexible and proactive mechanism for the Government to regulate cases of designated bidding, thereby contributing to speeding up the implementation progress of large, important and urgent projects. Accepting the opinions of the National Assembly Standing Committee and the agency in charge of the appraisal, the Minister affirmed that he will report to the Government for consideration and completion of regulations on designated bidding in the direction of defining principles and criteria as a basis for the Government to have a basis for specifying in detail the cases and conditions in determining cases eligible for designated bidding.

The Ministry of Finance will also report to the Government for consideration and supplementation of principles allowing investors and competent persons to choose to apply appropriate forms of contractor selection, such as designated bidding, bidding or other forms as prescribed by law, based on ensuring transparency, economic efficiency and accountability, based on the scale, nature and actual conditions of the organization.

Should the scope of exemption from specialized inspection of goods be expanded?

This draft Law will also amend and supplement a number of provisions in the Customs Law on application conditions and preferential regimes for semiconductor industry enterprises and technology enterprises; add a new article regulating customs procedures for on-site export activities and assign the Ministry of Finance to specify this article in detail.

Agreeing with the new additions to the Customs Law, but through the explanation session of the Committee on Law and Justice on "Implementation of administrative procedures in the customs field" and from reality, Vice Chairman of the Committee on Law and Justice Nguyen Truong Giang realized that the current specialized customs inspection is "very problematic".

Meanwhile, in the draft Resolution of the National Assembly replacing Resolution No. 35/2021/QH15 on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Hai Phong City, the Government has proposed to exempt specialized inspections for goods and products certified as conforming to standards, regulations and announced as conforming to standards, regulations, and announced as having applied advanced management systems according to international standards and regional standards under the management scope according to Article 27 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Law and Justice Nguyen Truong Giang speaks at the meeting. Photo: Lam Hien

Given this reality, the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Law and Justice proposed that the Government study and supplement regulations on exemption from specialized inspection for all goods that have been certified as conforming to standards and regulations under the management scope under Article 27 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

Regarding the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax, the draft Law is amended to expand the scope of subjects exempted from import tax. Accordingly, imported goods are machinery, equipment, spare parts, specialized supplies, including those that can be produced domestically; specialized scientific documents, books and newspapers used directly for science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation are exempted from tax.

Approving the addition of imported goods, documents, and specialized scientific books and newspapers directly used for innovation and digital transformation to the tax exemption list to institutionalize Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo. However, the Economic and Financial Committee recommends that it is necessary to carefully consider allowing tax exemption for all imported goods, including domestically produced goods, because it will affect the policy of encouraging the use of domestic goods, reducing the competitiveness of domestic products compared to imported products.

Regarding this issue, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang pointed out the fact that our country has not yet produced goods directly used for innovation and digital transformation, and if there are, the quality is low, not ensuring effective service for scientific and technological research. Therefore, the Minister believes that if we are concerned about the impact on some domestically produced products, it will inadvertently hinder scientific research and promote innovation in general.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang briefly presented the Draft Law. Photo: Lam Hien

“As for the Ministry of Finance, because it involves taxes, we also feel sorry, but it is not true. However, if there are no regulations as in the draft Law, it will not promote the development of science and technology.” Emphasizing this, the Minister affirmed that domestically produced goods can still be supported in other ways.

In the conclusion of this session, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai requested that the relevant agencies continue to review to ensure that the provisions in this draft amended Law must be truly necessary and urgent issues that can be implemented immediately to resolve current difficulties and bottlenecks, create breakthroughs, remove bottlenecks to serve the development of science, technology, and innovation in the spirit of Resolution 57-NQ/TW and promote growth to achieve the set goals.

The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly also noted that amendments to remove existing difficulties and obstacles must ensure stability and longevity, meet practical requirements, and be consistent with economic laws and development principles of a socialist-oriented market economy. In particular, amendments must not create new difficulties, obstacles, and inadequacies, causing loss and waste of state money and assets.

Thanh Hai

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/bao-dam-tinh-kha-thi-tranh-tao-ra-kho-khan-vuong-mac-moi-post411451.html