Procedural reform - 'The benchmark' is practice.

Administrative procedure reform has long been a practical aspiration of the people and the business community, especially when compliance costs and processing time remain a burden. The Ministry of Justice's issuance of Circular No. 1409, implementing the reduction and simplification of procedures according to Government Resolution No. 66/NQ-CP, with the goal of reducing time and costs by 50% and thoroughly addressing unreasonable business conditions, is creating expectations for a substantial transformation in the near future.

Officials at the An Khánh Commune Public Administrative Service Center guide residents in completing online applications. (Photo: Provided)

In recent times, despite numerous reform efforts, administrative procedures in some areas remain cumbersome, lengthy, and generate unofficial costs, directly impacting the operations of citizens and businesses. Therefore, the goal of reducing processing time and compliance costs by 50% serves both as a guiding principle and a concrete commitment to service efficiency.

Furthermore, the task of cutting and simplifying all unnecessary, contradictory, overlapping, or vague and unclear investment and business conditions is seen as a step towards removing bottlenecks in the system.

In reality, many businesses face difficulties in meeting qualitative conditions that lack specific criteria, leading to differing interpretations and applications among agencies. Addressing these shortcomings definitively will contribute to creating a transparent legal environment, reducing risks, and lowering compliance costs.

Notably, the requirement to abolish all investment and business conditions for sectors and professions not included in the list of conditional licenses under the Investment Law demonstrates a determination to tighten legal discipline. This serves as a basis for ensuring the uniformity and consistency of the regulatory system, limiting the emergence of "sub-licenses" in various forms.

However, there is always a gap between the goal and implementation. The biggest challenge lies in the implementation phase. Reducing time and costs only truly becomes meaningful when citizens and businesses clearly feel the change in the process of handling procedures.

Without effective monitoring and oversight mechanisms, reforms can easily become merely superficial, simplifying processes on paper but with little change in actual handling.

One issue that needs to be addressed frankly is the competence and responsibility of the staff and civil servants. Administrative procedure reform does not stop at amending regulations but requires a change in the mindset of implementation. As regulations become more transparent, the demands for accountability also increase. Therefore, it is necessary to link institutional improvement with improving the quality of the implementing staff, considering this as a condition for ensuring the effectiveness of reform.

With specific goals of reducing time and costs and definitively addressing unreasonable business conditions, the Ministry of Justice has set clear requirements for agencies within the administrative system.

If implemented seriously and comprehensively, this will be an important step in building a service-oriented administration, creating more room for socio-economic development in the coming period.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202603/cai-cach-thu-tuc-thuoc-do-la-thuc-tien-3a643f3/