Amending 7 laws on finance and investment: Unblocking resources for...

According to the National Assembly Electronic Information Portal, presenting the Government's report, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang said that, in the face of changes in the socio-economic situation, legal documents on investment, finance and budget have also encountered some difficulties and problems in the implementation process, so they need to be reviewed and studied for amendment and supplementation.

Accordingly, the Government has urgently reviewed, summarized and assessed the implementation of Laws in the fields of investment, finance and budget and identified 07 Laws that need to be amended and supplemented appropriately to implement the arrangement and organization of the local government apparatus, creating momentum to contribute to promoting the development of science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, promoting economic growth...

The purpose of developing this law is to fully institutionalize the policies and orientations of the Party and State on the development of science , technology, innovation, and digital transformation; reorganize the state apparatus; promote support, decentralization, delegation of power and reform of administrative procedures on investment, finance and budget; promptly remove difficulties and obstacles, clear and effectively use resources for economic development, science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation; ensure the unity and synchronization of the legal system; improve the investment and business environment; promote economic growth.

This Law amends and supplements a number of articles of 07 current Laws, including: Law on Bidding; Law on Investment under the public-private partnership method; Law on Customs; Law on Export Tax and Import Tax; Law on Investment; Law on Public Investment; Law on Management and Use of Public Assets.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang presents the Government's proposal (quochoi.vn)

According to the Minister of Finance, the amendments and supplements in the draft Law do not create new administrative procedures, therefore, there are no requirements for the allocation of human resources for implementation. When the Law is passed and promulgated, the agencies and organizations subject to the above policies are responsible for implementation, there is no additional apparatus or staff in the organization of Law implementation, and there is no impact related to the opportunities, conditions, capacity to implement and enjoy the rights and benefits of each gender.

Funding sources arising to implement the law will be balanced from the central budget, local budgets and other legal funding sources according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

Presenting the report on the review of the Draft Law, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai said that the Economic and Financial Committee agreed with the necessity of amending and supplementing the Laws with the political basis, legal basis and practical basis stated in the Government's Submission.

The Economic and Financial Committee recommends that the Government direct relevant agencies to continue to carefully review, closely follow the goal of amending the law, focus on amending and supplementing urgent contents to remove difficulties and obstacles in practice, especially in the field of scientific and technological activities; to ensure creating favorable and transparent conditions and procedures for businesses, organizations and individuals, at the same time, ensuring strict management requirements, having a transparent and effective post-inspection mechanism, avoiding creating loopholes and taking advantage of policies.

Regarding amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Bidding, the Draft Law supplements regulations in the direction of allowing investors and competent persons to base on the scale, nature and actual conditions of the bidding package and project to choose to apply forms of contractor and investor selection.

The Economic and Financial Committee believes that this provision may shorten the time for budget-using units, but it can easily lead to the emergence of a mechanism of asking and giving, taking advantage of policies, assigning contracts, and designating contracts within a narrow scope for a number of enterprises or for friendly enterprises. This also makes it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to access public procurement and participate in public investment projects. Therefore, it is recommended that the Government carefully assess the policy impact and clearly report on the political and practical bases for the National Assembly to consider and decide.

Regarding amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Investment under the public-private partnership model, the Government proposes to remove the prohibition on the application of direct toll collection contracts from users for PPP projects and not to require ensuring the right of service users to choose in cases of renovation, upgrading, expansion, modernization, and operation of existing expressway infrastructure systems or roads in operation that are renovated or upgraded into expressways. The Economic and Financial Committee recommends that this proposal be carefully considered, supplemented with a full impact assessment and provisions in the draft Law to ensure harmony of interests between the State, enterprises, and people.

Regarding the amendment and supplementation of a number of articles of the Law on Public Investment, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee said that the majority of opinions of the Economic and Financial Committee agreed to add two new contents, namely "policy for special public investment projects" and "tasks of preparing for site clearance", in order to promptly meet practical requirements. In addition, it is recommended that the Government issue specific regulations for implementation, ensuring the consistency of the legal system; review regulations to ensure strictness and ensure the allocation of capital sources for project implementation in accordance with the balancing capacity of the State budget.

Regarding amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the following Laws: Customs Law, Law on Export Tax, Import Tax, Investment Law and Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, the Economic and Financial Committee agrees with the proposed amendments and supplements to these Laws, focusing on preferential treatment for science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, etc.

At the same time, the Government is requested to direct the review of specific regulations to ensure strictness; strengthen the monitoring, post-auditing and risk handling mechanisms to ensure transparency and avoid policy abuse; continue to review regulations on decentralization and delegation of powers to amend and supplement them in accordance with the Party's new policies and consistent with relevant laws.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/sua-7-luat-ve-tai-chinh-dau-tu-khoi-thong-nguon-luc-cho-phat-tien-kinh-te-khoa-hoc-cong-nghe-252844.html