Amending the Law on Prices: Ensuring consistency, clear decentralization, avoiding duplication of pricing authority

(Chinhphu.vn) - Discussing the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Prices, National Assembly deputies focused on giving comments to ensure consistency between the Law on Prices and specialized laws, increase decentralization, clarify pricing authority and overcome overlaps and duplications in implementation.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang spoke to clarify the opinions raised by National Assembly deputies.

On the afternoon of November 12, continuing the working program of the 10th session, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Prices.

Giving his opinion on the discussion, delegate Tran Khanh Thu (Hung Yen) expressed his agreement with the need to amend and supplement the Law on Prices, and pointed out a number of shortcomings in current regulations related to economic and technical norms and pricing authority for medical examination and treatment services.

According to delegate Tran Khanh Thu, the current Law on Prices stipulates that prices for medical examination and treatment services are implemented according to legal regulations on medical examination and treatment.

However, Clause 4, Article 21 of the current Law on Prices stipulates the list of goods priced by the State, the form of pricing and the authority and responsibility for pricing as stipulated in Appendix No. 02 and in cases where there are no regulations, ministries, ministerial-level agencies and provincial People's Committees are responsible for promulgating them according to their authority.

Thus, a medical examination and treatment service can have two different economic and technical specifications or the same economic and technical standards must be submitted for approval twice.

The delegate proposed to amend Clause 4, Article 21 in the direction: "Economic and technical norms of goods and services in the list of goods and services priced by the State shall be implemented in accordance with relevant laws. In cases where there are no regulations, ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall be responsible for promulgating them according to their authority and removing the authority of the Provincial People's Committees".

Proposal to specify the principles and basis for State pricing

Delegate Nguyen Truong Giang (Lam Dong) highly agreed with the revised content, saying that this adjustment is mainly to conform to the two-level local government model and update the list of goods and services priced by the State.

However, delegates said that it is necessary to clarify the principles and bases for State pricing stipulated in Article 22 of the current Law on Prices. The current pricing bases are only qualitative and lack quantitative value, making implementation in practice difficult.

"We set the basis for State pricing, the factors that form the price of goods and services at the time of pricing, this is completely correct, but the important issue is the supply-demand relationship of goods and services, market demand and purchasing power of money. I think these things are more qualitative and not quantitative," said delegate Nguyen Truong Giang.

At the same time, it is proposed to amend Clause 2 of Article 22 to be more specific, as a basis for state management agencies to submit to competent authorities or to issue their own maximum prices or price frames for goods that are specified in Appendix 2 of the draft law.

Amending the law in the direction of increasing decentralization and flexibility

Explaining and clarifying the opinions raised by National Assembly deputies, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang respectfully thanked the deputies for their dedicated contributions and clarified some key contents.

Regarding the quantitative nature of the principles and basis for valuation, Minister Nguyen Van Thang pledged to absorb and review the principles and basis for valuation to ensure feasibility. The Ministry of Finance will study to concretize as much as possible the contents that can be included in the draft Law, and arising issues and changes will be studied and specified in the guiding decree.

Regarding the proposal to review and complete the list of price-stabilized goods and services, the Minister of Finance said that in the process of drafting the 2023 Price Law to submit to the National Assembly at the 5th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the Ministry also closely coordinated with National Assembly agencies to review, evaluate, adjust, and remove from the list items that are no longer suitable as well as add a number of essential items to the price stabilization list.

In the process of summarizing the 2023 Price Law, it shows that there is currently no problem in the list to change, so the list of goods and services for price stabilization has not been adjusted.

In particular, the Minister emphasized that this draft law amendment aims to strengthen decentralization and delegation of power in state pricing. Accordingly, ministries and branches will only set prices for centrally managed goods, while the rest will be delegated to the Provincial People's Committees to carry out pricing.

Implementing the policy of continuing to strengthen decentralization and delegation of authority for a number of goods and services in the draft law, it continues to be amended in the direction of transferring pricing authority from 2 levels to 1 level to increase initiative, flexibility and timeliness for localities and units.

Regarding opinions related to medical examination and treatment services, the Minister acknowledged that this is a complex and diverse field with many new services arising. In the coming time, the Ministry of Finance will continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Health to absorb and adjust in order to cover all arising situations related to medical examination and treatment services in the health sector.

Thu Giang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/sua-luat-gia-bao-dam-thong-nhat-phan-cap-ro-tranh-trung-lap-tham-quyen-dinh-gia-102251112191108198.htm