Proposal to amend regulations on price stabilization, pricing, and price declaration

(Chinhphu.vn) - The Ministry of Finance is drafting a Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 85/2024/ND-CP dated July 10, 2024 of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Law on Prices.

Ministry of Finance proposes to amend regulations on price stabilization, pricing, and price declaration

The Ministry of Finance said that the 2023 Law on Prices and documents guiding the implementation of the Law, including Decree No. 85/2024/ND-CP dated July 10, 2024 detailing a number of articles of the Law on Prices, after implementation, have achieved positive results in creating a complete legal framework for price management and operation to be carried out consistently according to the market mechanism, encouraging price competition, respecting the right to self-determination of prices of production and business organizations and individuals, respecting objective economic laws governing the formation and movement of market prices; at the same time, ensuring State regulation of prices mainly by indirect macro measures in accordance with international commitments.

Implementing the Party and State's policy of perfecting the institution to promote decentralization and delegation of power in accordance with the model of streamlining the State apparatus at the central and local levels, creating a legal corridor, promptly handling practical issues, removing institutional "bottlenecks", contributing to the implementation of socio-economic development goals, to perfect the legal corridor on prices to meet the requirements of socio-economic development in the new situation, the Ministry of Finance has reviewed and proposed to amend and supplement a number of articles of the 2023 Law on Prices, in which a number of amended contents related to price stabilization activities, State valuation, price declaration, and names of agencies affected by the apparatus arrangement also need to be amended at the same time in the document detailing the Law. Accordingly, the draft Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 85/2024/ND-CP dated July 10, 2024 detailing a number of articles of the Law on Prices was developed to guide the implementation of the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Prices 2023, and at the same time overcome a number of limitations in current regulations in Decree No. 85/2024/ND-CP related to the content of State pricing.

About price stabilization

Regarding the State's price stabilization activities, the 2023 Price Law clearly defines the authority of the Government , ministries, branches and provincial People's Committees in organizing the implementation of price stabilization, in which, for price stabilization when competent authorities declare a state of emergency, incident, disaster, natural disaster, epidemic and the market price level of goods and services fluctuates abnormally in the locality, the departments managing the sectors and fields for price-stabilized goods and services will take the lead in advising and sending the Department of Finance to synthesize and submit to the Provincial People's Committee for decision. On that basis, the responsibility for implementation is carried out by departments, branches, branches and district-level People's Committees based on the assignment of the Provincial People's Committee.

Implementing the 2-level local government model, ending the operation of district-level administrative units nationwide from July 1, 2025, the Ministry of Finance has proposed to submit to the Government an amendment in Article 32 of Decree No. 125/2025/ND-CP dated June 11, 2025, transferring the responsibility for organizing and implementing price stabilization from the District People's Committee as prescribed in Point a, Clause 2, Article 6 to the Commune People's Committee. Accordingly, to unify the legal system and ensure that there is no legal gap when Decree No. 125/2025/ND-CP expires after February 28, 2027, the Ministry of Finance proposes to amend Point a, Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 85/2024/ND-CP according to the current provisions of Decree No. 125/2025/ND-CP. Specifically, the Ministry proposes to amend and supplement Point a, Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 85/2024/ND-CP as follows: "a) Departments managing sectors and fields shall assess the actual developments and market price levels of goods and services in the area to prepare a price stabilization report (including the contents as prescribed in Point b, Clause 1, Article 5 of this Decree), together with a written request for price stabilization (including the contents prescribed in Point b of this Clause) to the Department of Finance for synthesis, submission to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration, decision on appropriate policies, measures, and time limits for price stabilization, and assignment of implementation. If necessary, the Department of Finance shall request relevant agencies and organizations to report other information to serve the synthesis of reports to the Provincial People's Committee. Departments, branches, sectors, and Commune People's Committees shall be responsible for organizing implementation according to the assignment of the Provincial People's Committee. The Provincial People's Committee shall report to the Government on the price stabilization results, and send them to the Ministry of Finance for synthesis according to regulations.".

At the same time, Clause 2, Article 3 of the draft Decree stipulates the abolition of Article 32 of Decree No. 125/2025/ND-CP because (i) Clause 1, Article 1 of the draft Decree has amended Point a, Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 85/2024/ND-CP (ii) Clause 7, Article 1 of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Prices also stipulates the amendment of Point b, Clause 2, Article 20 of the Law on Prices and is expected to take effect from January 1, 2026.

About pricing

The Ministry of Finance proposes to amend the name "Regional State Reserve Department" to "Regional State Reserve Sub-Department" at Point b, c, Clause 2, Article 9 according to the new organizational structure in documents regulating the functions and tasks of the units.

The Ministry of Finance said that the name of the service that the State sets prices for "Official charter and charter aircraft rental services (taking into account the reserve aircraft factor) using the State budget" is stipulated in the Law on Prices, which is a service priced by 2 levels. The State-regulated price applies to all entities that rent charter and charter aircraft, regardless of the form of ordering or bidding. Currently, only central organizations have ordered charter and charter aircraft services using the State budget (Decree No. 96/2021/ND-CP). To ensure coverage of cases (ordering, bidding), it is necessary to clearly specify the name of this service in the group of 2 other pricing levels at Point d, Point 2, Article 9 of Decree 85/2024/ND-CP so as not to confuse it with the pricing process of the case of services using the state budget ordered by central organizations as prescribed at Point a, Clause 2, Article 9. In addition, to ensure adequate legal basis for implementing the pricing process and in accordance with the actual implementation in the recent past (according to the provisions of Decree No. 96/2021/ND-CP dated November 2, 2021 of the Government on ensuring flights of special aircraft and special compartments, the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction) is the agency appraising the pricing plan), agreeing on the amended content at Point d, Clause 2, Article 9 and Point b, Clause 2, Article 11. Specifically, the amended content is as follows:

Point d, Clause 2, Article 9:

"d) For goods and services priced by two other levels (including charter services of official aircraft and private cabins taking into account reserve aircraft and using the state budget) other than the goods and services specified in Points a, b and c of this Clause: The competent authority for specific pricing shall organize the selection and request agencies, units, organizations and individuals trading in goods and services to develop a pricing plan. The selection of organizations and individuals trading in goods and services shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3 of this Article."

Point b, Clause 2, Article 11:

"b) For goods and services priced by two other levels and official charter services (taking into account the reserve aircraft factor) using the state budget: The competent authority for specific pricing shall approve the results of the price plan appraisal and send 01 original copy of the dossier as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article to the competent authority for setting the price framework or maximum price or minimum price".

In addition, the Ministry of Finance proposed to amend Clause 5, Article 9 on adding the responsibility of organizations and individuals preparing price plans for the accuracy and honesty of data in price plan dossiers to enhance the responsibility of organizations and individuals preparing price plans for goods and services priced by the State.

The Ministry also proposed to amend Clause 1, Article 10 on clarifying the role of the price plan appraisal agency to clearly define the contents that need to be done in evaluating the price plan dossier of organizations and individuals to determine and propose prices, and at the same time to be consistent with Clauses 4 and 5 of this Article: "1. Price plan appraisal is the assessment based on the price plan dossier to determine and propose prices according to the principles, bases, and pricing methods issued by competent state agencies in accordance with the form of pricing of goods and services. The assessment content clearly states the opinions, data, explanations of reasons, and appraisal results compared to the proposal of the organization or individual preparing the price plan.".

About price declaration

The Ministry of Finance said that on February 18, 2025, the National Assembly issued Resolution No. 176/2025/QH15 on the organizational structure of the Government for the 15th National Assembly term, which restructured to include 14 Ministries and 03 ministerial-level agencies. On that basis, the Government issued Decrees stipulating the functions and tasks of the Ministries according to Resolution No. 176/2025/QH15. Therefore, after reviewing the names of the Ministries and the contents related to the functions and tasks of a number of Ministries currently prescribed in Decree No. 85/2025/ND-CP, they are no longer consistent with Resolution No. 176/2025/QH15 and the Government's Decrees issued in 2025 on the functions and tasks of the Ministries.

The Ministry of Finance proposes to revise the names of ministries and ministerial-level agencies to match the names of new ministries and ministerial-level agencies after merging administrative units.

At the same time, to unify the process of implementing state management of price declaration at ministries, ministerial-level agencies and localities, the Ministry of Finance proposes to amend in the direction of specifying the form of promulgation of the list of organizations trading in goods and services that carry out price declaration as the form of Notification.

We invite readers to read the full draft and give comments here./.

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/de-xuat-sua-quy-dinh-ve-binh-on-gia-dinh-gia-ke-khai-gia-102250819122758254.htm