DNVN - Article 104 of the Draft Law on Geology and Minerals on auctioning mineral exploitation rights stipulates areas where mineral exploitation rights are not auctioned. VCCI believes that the design gives this provision a lot of space to continue implementing it in the form of "asking-giving".
The Government is currently drafting and plans to submit to the National Assembly for discussion the Draft Law on Geology and Minerals at the National Assembly session in June 2024.
Based on the opinions of businesses, associations, and experts, the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has given its comments on the Draft Law on Geology and Minerals.
Regarding the auction of mineral exploitation rights, Article 104 of the Draft stipulates areas where mineral exploitation rights are not auctioned. VCCI believes that the design gives this provision a lot of space to continue implementing it in the form of “asking-giving”.
Specifically, according to VCCI's analysis, the Draft Regulation stipulates that in addition to the specific cases stipulated in the Law, non-auction areas can also be regulated by the Government (point e) or decided by the Prime Minister (point d). This provision creates a very wide space for the situation of asking for permission when the criteria for defining non-auction areas are too broad, similar to the design of the 2010 Mineral Law.
The Government is drafting and plans to submit to the National Assembly for discussion the Draft Law on Geology and Minerals at the National Assembly session in June 2024.
In fact, according to the 10-year summary report on the implementation of the 2010 Mineral Law by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, only 6 licenses were granted through auction out of a total of 421 mineral exploitation licenses granted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, accounting for 1.4%. Regarding licenses granted by provincial People's Committees, 394 out of a total of 4,279 licenses were granted through auction, accounting for 9.2%. This very low rate shows that the majority of mineral mines are still licensed mainly through the "ask-give" method.
The draft stipulates areas where mineral exploitation rights are not auctioned if the minerals have been planned as raw materials for projects to process industrial products.
"This regulation has a very broad scope, covering many important minerals, especially metal minerals such as bauxite, titanium, iron, etc. These are all minerals with great potential for exploitation and great commercial value. At that time, these mines can all be converted to a non-auction mechanism, continuing to implement the request-grant mechanism," VCCI emphasized.
Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the auction has been recorded in practice. The winning bid price of 6 licenses issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was 76% higher than the starting price (calculated on an unweighted average). Thus, expanding the number of auctions will bring great benefits to the budget, while creating a transparent and healthy business environment for enterprises.
From the above analysis, VCCI recommends that the study consider regulations in the direction that all mineral exploitation rights must be granted through auction (or bidding). The exclusion of non-auction mineral areas can be replaced by adding conditions to participate in the auction, for example, mineral areas at the border, coastal areas, areas affecting national defense and security should limit foreign investors or add procedures to verify security conditions for investors before the auction.
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Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/kinh-te/chinh-sach/lo-ngai-quy-dinh-dau-gia-quyen-khai-thac-khoang-san-them-dat-cho-co-che-xin-cho/20240625104301257
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