Proposal to amend the Law on Public Debt Management: Increase decentralization, shorten procedures

According to the working program of the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly, on the morning of November 3, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang, authorized by the Prime Minister, will present the Report on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management.

According to the working program of the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang, authorized by the Prime Minister, will present the Proposal on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management. This is a draft law to perfect the public debt management institution, ensure national financial safety and contribute to promoting economic growth. The draft law amends and supplements the content of 24/63 articles; of which 17 articles are amended and supplemented and new provisions are added in 5 articles.

Panorama of the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly . (Photo: Quochoi.vn)

The draft Law is designed to further promote decentralization, delegation of power, shorten procedures and improve the efficiency of public debt management. Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong said the draft will amend and supplement a number of contents related to the decentralization of authority of the President , the Government and the Prime Minister. This decentralization focuses on negotiating, signing, approving and ratifying international treaties on behalf of the State and on behalf of the Government on ODA loans and foreign preferential loans.

The Prime Minister is authorized to decide on the annual lending limit and the Government guarantee limit. This is linked to the approval of the Public Debt Loan and Repayment Plan, contributing to shortening the approval procedure for the limit. The draft law also adds the tasks of the Ministry of Finance to ensure flexibility in implementation and reduce administrative procedures.

Regarding local debt management, the draft law removes the requirement that localities must consult the Ministry of Finance before issuing bonds. Instead, the provincial People's Council will approve issuance plans within the borrowing limit allowed by the National Assembly. The law also proposes a time limit for the Prime Minister to approve annual public debt borrowing and repayment plans. This is to synchronize with the budget estimate and public investment plan, and at the same time simplify the procedures for proposing ODA loans.

A notable point is the expansion of the subjects that can access ODA loans and foreign preferential loans. The subjects include public service units that "Self-guarantee regular expenses and part of investment expenses; self-responsible for the efficiency of loan use and debt repayment according to the provisions of law". The Government proposes to add regulations, according to which the governing body reports on cases that are not eligible for re-borrowing so that the Government can consider allowing implementation according to the allocation mechanism.

In particular, in order to be consistent with the incentive policy in Resolution No. 57 of the Politburo, the draft proposes not to require collateral. This provision applies to scientific and technological organizations and public higher education institutions when borrowing ODA capital. The draft also omits some contents that are no longer relevant, such as the 3-year public debt management program and the "inspection" task, because they have been focused on the Government Inspectorate.

According to the Ministry of Finance’s assessment, simplifying procedures and shortening approval processes will help save significant time and compliance costs. At the same time, this will increase the ability of localities and public service units to access foreign capital. The Ministry of Finance affirmed that the draft Law does not create new administrative procedures, nor does it increase the need for human resources or finance for implementation.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/de-xuat-sua-luat-quan-ly-no-cong-tang-phan-cap-rut-gon-thu-tuc-217371.html