Proposed new regulations on cooperatives

(Chinhphu.vn) - The Ministry of Finance is drafting a Decree on cooperatives to replace Decree No. 77/2019/ND-CP.

The Ministry of Finance proposes new regulations on cooperatives.

The draft Decree on Cooperative Organizations (THT) is built on the principle of inheriting the still-relevant provisions of Decree No. 77/2019/ND-CP, while amending, supplementing, and replacing content to suit the current context. Specifically, the groups of regulations that have been amended, supplemented, and replaced are as follows:

Content revised, supplemented and improved

Amend, supplement, and improve regulations to ensure consistency and uniformity with the Law on Cooperatives and its implementing guidelines:

A cooperative is an organization without legal personality, formed on the basis of a cooperation contract voluntarily established by at least two individuals or legal entities who jointly contribute capital and labor to carry out specific tasks, share benefits, and bear joint responsibility.

To address the overlap with Decree No. 113/2024/ND-CP, the Ministry of Finance proposes removing the scope of the Asset Management Unit (AMB) from Decree No. 113/2024/ND-CP and consolidating its provisions in a single decree. Accordingly, the specific provisions of the AMB will be transferred from Decree No. 113/2024/ND-CP to this decree; general provisions (such as support policies, asset handling from support sources, etc.) will be referenced according to the regulations in Decree No. 113/2024/ND-CP.

Standardizing general regulations: The draft proposes amending, supplementing, and perfecting regulations on the definition, concept, member contributions of cooperatives, principles of organization, management and operation, rights and obligations of cooperatives, prohibited acts related to cooperatives, etc., based on the concretization of the provisions of the Law on Cooperatives. Details are specified in Chapter I of the draft Decree.

Distinguishing between two types of cooperatives: Supplementing regulations to clearly differentiate between cooperatives that are required to register and those that do not; amending, supplementing, and perfecting regulations on the procedures for establishment, operation, temporary suspension, and termination of operations for each type of cooperative.

Improving the policy to support cooperatives: Supplementing and refining one chapter regulating the State's policy on the development of cooperatives, including regulations on the principles of policy implementation, criteria for policy benefits, policy content, and policies to support cooperatives in developing into cooperatives; supplementing Clause 2 of Article 109 of the Law on Cooperatives as requested by the National Assembly's Ethnic Council and Committees in Report No. 266/BC-UBDNGS dated May 9, 2025, and the National Assembly's Committee on Citizen Petitions and Supervision in Report No. 459/BC-UBDNGS dated May 9, 2025.

Amend, supplement, and improve regulations to align with the operational and development trends of cooperatives in the current context.

Establishing membership status and defining the establishment date of the Cooperative: The draft proposes supplementing and refining regulations to clarify the process of admitting members, terminating membership status, and the timing of establishing and terminating membership status in Cooperatives; clarifying the establishment date of Cooperatives to avoid disputes during operation.

Amend, supplement, and improve regulations to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement:

Regulations on reporting and information updating should be aligned with the capacity and development conditions of cooperatives: Strengthening the application of information technology and modernizing the reporting system. To promote digital transformation in state management, the draft Decree proposes fundamental revisions to the reporting system for cooperatives and state management agencies at all levels, aiming for simplification and technological advancement. Specifically, the draft Decree abolishes the requirement for cooperatives to submit written reports to the People's Committee at the commune level; instead, it adds a mechanism for online information updating through the National Information System on Cooperatives.

Regulations on monitoring and reporting should be aligned with the current capacity of business registration agencies at all levels: Local business registration agencies should report through the current National Information System on Cooperatives of the state administrative agency, based on data updated online from the Cooperatives Association. This helps reduce administrative pressure on local authorities in collecting and processing data manually; ensuring the timeliness, accuracy, and consistency of management data from the central to local levels.

Furthermore, the draft proposes adding regulations to fulfill international obligations regarding transparency and information exchange for tax purposes: To implement the National Action Plan and international commitments, the draft Decree adds a regulation on collecting, updating, and storing identifying information of THT members with a capital contribution ratio of 25% or more (those with significant controlling power) for a minimum period of 5 years from the date of cessation of operations. This regulation ensures consistency with Law No. 14/2022/QH15 on Anti-Money Laundering and the proposed National Action Plan to fulfill the Vietnamese Government's obligation to exchange information upon request for tax purposes to meet international recommendations. Institutionalizing these provisions not only affirms the Government's determination to implement international standards on tax transparency but also helps enhance national prestige, prevent legal risks, and create a healthy business environment in international economic relations.

Furthermore, the draft proposes amending and refining legal terminology to ensure that it fully and accurately reflects the intended content, while also ensuring clarity, consistency, and ease of application in practice; standardizing the presentation of legal terms in accordance with current regulations on drafting legal documents; such as the way of citing legal documents; the way of presenting numbers and mathematical symbols (%)...; and using the term "provisions of the cooperation contract" instead of "content" recorded in the cooperation contract to ensure greater accuracy and legal validity.

Add "identification number" and "legal document number" to the regulations regarding the content of the cooperation agreement to ensure clearer identification of THT members.

The draft is currently open for public comment on the Ministry of Finance's electronic portal.

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/de-xuat-quy-dinh-moi-ve-to-hop-tac-102260512181648389.htm