Construction Law (amended): Exempting from construction permits is not just about renaming procedures

Photo caption — Hanoi National Assembly delegate Do Duc Hong Ha speaks. Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

However, for substantive reform, delegates proposed connecting the process from investment policy to construction commencement, clearly separating "permit exemption" and "construction commencement notice", while perfecting the post-inspection mechanism and defining management responsibilities to ensure both transparency and strictness in implementation.

Commenting on the draft Law on Construction (amended), delegate Nguyen Phi Thuong (Hanoi Delegation) said that the policy of exempting construction permits is a correct step and in line with the current direction of administrative procedure reform. The draft Law on Construction (amended) has specifically stipulated cases of permit exemption and the responsibilities of investors for projects in this category.

However, reality shows that the problem does not lie in legal regulations, but mainly in two groups of causes. The subjective cause is that a part of the staff handling administrative procedures still causes difficulties, prolonging the time to process documents. The objective cause is that the legal system related to planning, land, investment, religion, dykes, etc. still has many overlapping points and lacks consistency, causing the issuance of construction permits to often be delayed.

Therefore, expanding the scope of license exemptions and shortening the licensing time is reasonable. However, according to delegates, to solve the problem at its root, it is necessary to connect the process from approving investment policies to starting construction.

Specifically, delegate Nguyen Phi Thuong suggested that when the investor has been assigned by the competent People's Committee to implement the project and has met the conditions to start construction, it is only necessary to notify the commencement of construction instead of having to ask for permission again. Adding regulations on basic design in the investment project proposal (according to Article 33 of the Investment Law) for the construction professional agency to appraise right in the approval phase of the project, helping to shorten the time and reduce duplication of procedures.

From the reality in Hanoi, delegate Nguyen Phi Thuong pointed out that the lack of clear regulations on the authority to inspect and supervise exempted constructions has led to the situation where investors arbitrarily adjust the scale and function, changing the landscape and urban infrastructure. Therefore, the delegate recommended assigning the authority to manage, inspect and handle violations of exempted constructions to the commune-level authorities; assigning the Government to provide detailed instructions on the post-inspection process and procedures, ensuring both transparency and strictness.

Regarding the regulations on exemption from construction permits and procedures for notification of construction commencement, delegate Do Duc Hong Ha (Hanoi Delegation) assessed that many cases are exempted and this is a step forward of the draft law, demonstrating the spirit of simplification and reduction of administrative procedures. However, the regulation that constructions are exempt from permits, except for some cases where there is a responsibility to send a notice of the time of construction commencement, along with documents corresponding to the application for construction permit to the management agency, this regulation only reforms the form, not the content.

Delegate Do Duc Hong Ha analyzed that although exempted from the license, the investor still has to prepare a complete set of documents like the application for the license. Moreover, this regulation is not clear about the procedures, not reducing the burden on businesses.

Delegate Do Duc Hong Ha also proposed two options. Option 1 is to remove the requirement to attach documents corresponding to the application for a construction permit. Option 2 is that if documents are still required, a simple set of documents should be prescribed, for example, an approved design drawing, without requiring a complete set of documents as when applying for a construction permit.

Delegate Hoang Van Cuong (Hanoi Delegation) said that it is necessary to boldly expand the subjects exempted from construction permits. However, the project must have a design by a design consultancy unit and be responsible for technical safety, compliance with planning and construction standards. State agencies only conduct post-inspection on these issues.

Delegate Nguyen Ngoc Son ( Hai Phong ) highly appreciated the draft for expanding the scope of works exempted from construction permits and allowing the implementation of the notification mechanism for construction commencement. This is an important reform, contributing to reducing pre-inspection. However, to ensure the quality of works, it is recommended that the Government provide more detailed regulations on documents, processing time and the integration of procedures into the Public Service Portal.

Commenting on the regulation that the State agency participates in assessing the feasibility of private projects, delegate Do Duc Hong Ha said that this is an unnecessary intervention. The State should only perform the role of post-inspection - that is, checking compliance with planning, technical standards, safety, and environment through design assessment or construction permit issuance, and should not assess feasibility on behalf of investors. Moreover, if this regulation is maintained, enterprises will have to undergo two assessments, which will prolong the time, increase compliance costs, and reduce the competitiveness of the investment environment.

Accordingly, the construction authority only focuses on appraising projects using state capital and public-private investment (PPP) capital to ensure the safety and efficiency of state capital use. For business investment projects, investors are responsible for their own decisions. The state management role is still ensured through steps such as technical design appraisal and construction licensing.