National Assembly Standing Committee: Reducing investment and insurance business conditions

According to the Government's Proposal, the purpose of promulgating the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business is to reduce investment and business conditions for insurance business activities...

Continuing the 50th Session, on the morning of October 13, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business and the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Citizen Reception, the Law on Complaints, and the Law on Denunciation.

Strengthening the application of science and technology and digital transformation

According to the Government 's Proposal, the purpose of promulgating the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business is to reduce investment and business conditions for insurance business activities; simplify administrative procedures; and remove a number of urgent difficulties and obstacles that need to be amended.

Compared to the current Law, the draft Law amends 24 Articles. In particular, the draft Law cuts, reduces, and simplifies business conditions in 7 Articles; cuts, reduces, and simplifies administrative procedures in 2 Articles; removes a number of other difficulties and obstacles for enterprises in 7 Articles; amends 5 Articles to ensure consistency with the provisions of the Law on Inspection and the Law on Enterprises. At the same time, the draft Law completes the provisions on risk-based capital in 1 Article; adds 1 Article on the principles of organizations and individuals contributing capital, establishing, managing, and controlling enterprises in the fields of insurance business, agency activities, and providing insurance auxiliary services; adds the investment principles of insurance brokerage enterprises in 1 Article to ensure safe and effective investment activities.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee agreed on the necessity of promulgating the Law; requested the drafting agency to continue reviewing and revising the Law project in the direction of generalizing the contents of state management of insurance business activities to create a legal basis for effective decentralization in this field; reviewing to ensure the consistency and synchronization of the legal system, especially the Enterprise Law and the Inspection Law.

Regarding the conditions for capital contributing members to establish insurance enterprises and reinsurance enterprises in the form of limited liability companies; and regarding the conditions for granting licenses to establish and operate insurance brokerage enterprises, the appraisal agency believes that it is necessary to study the abolition of conditions that are barriers to market access and ensure a transparent business environment.

However, the drafting agency should consider removing the above condition because this is one of the important provisions to screen the legal status, ensure the reputation, capacity and compliance with the law of foreign organizations when participating in contributing capital to establish insurance enterprises.

In case it is necessary to abolish this condition, the drafting agency needs to study alternative solutions and have appropriate alternative "post-audit" monitoring and control measures to ensure market safety.

Through discussion, the National Assembly Standing Committee agreed on the necessity of amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business; requested the drafting agency to coordinate with the appraisal agency and relevant agencies to study, supplement and clarify the political basis, legal basis and practical basis, continue to evaluate and summarize the implementation of regulations, investment and business conditions, administrative procedures and difficulties and problems arising since the Law on Insurance Business 2022 took effect.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Vu Hong Thanh noted the need to strengthen the application of science and technology and digital transformation to continue cutting and simplifying administrative procedures; comprehensively assess the overall impact and legal consequences of cutting and simplifying investment and business conditions, focusing on the rights and legitimate interests of relevant parties, ensuring appropriate inspection, examination and supervision mechanisms, and not allowing legal gaps to arise in state management of the insurance business sector...

Proposal to supplement regulations on online citizen reception

The draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Citizen Reception, the Law on Complaints, and the Law on Denunciations focuses on amending and supplementing regulations to institutionalize the policy on reorganizing the apparatus of the political system, implementing the model of organizing a two-level local government; and arranging a system of inspection agencies to be streamlined, strong, efficient, effective, and efficient.

The draft Law institutionalizes the Party's policy on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation: adds regulations on online citizen reception; stipulates that citizens can use their citizen identification number or electronic identification code instead of presenting their current identification documents when coming to citizen reception places.

Regarding promoting decentralization and reducing administrative procedures, the draft Law supplements the provisions that the Prime Minister authorizes the Government Inspector General to handle complaints; supplements the mechanism for determining the authority to handle complaints in cases where the authority to handle complaints cannot be determined according to current law; and assigns the Government to prescribe the form of online citizen reception.

Along with that, the draft overcomes shortcomings, difficulties, and obstacles, and improves the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in receiving citizens and handling complaints and denunciations.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for People's Aspirations and Supervision Duong Thanh Binh speaks. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Citizenship and Supervision Duong Thanh Binh said that the majority of opinions in the Standing Committee of the Committee agreed with the provisions of the draft Law on online citizen reception to promote digital transformation in citizen reception activities, handling petitions and letters, and resolving complaints and denunciations; contributing to creating convenience for citizens when exercising their right to complain and denounce, while reducing pressure at citizen reception offices.

However, it is recommended that the Government further evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the Online Citizen Reception Model in the past time, the technical infrastructure conditions to ensure connection between the Provincial Citizen Reception Headquarters and the Central Citizen Reception Headquarters, between the Provincial Citizen Reception Headquarters and the provincial and commune-level citizen reception points...

Agreeing with the addition of online citizen reception to suit current practices and the application of science, technology, and digital transformation in all fields, saving time and costs for people, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh said that to ensure consistency, it is necessary to study the concept of citizen reception.

Accordingly, the draft Law stipulates that citizen reception is the act of an agency, organization, unit or individual receiving and listening to complaints, denunciations, recommendations and reflections from citizens. This concept is only suitable for the current form of citizen reception, which is direct. Therefore, the drafting agency needs to study and adjust this concept to suit the addition of online forms.

Concerned about decentralization and authorization in handling complaints, denunciations, and receiving citizens, the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly stated that receiving citizens and handling complaints and denunciations are directly related to human rights and citizen rights.

In fact, in the past, the shortcomings and limitations in the implementation of complaint and denunciation settlement were mainly due to the fact that the person who is assigned responsibility did not directly carry out the authorization but delegated it to his/her deputy, or even delegated the authorization. This led to the petitions and cases being prolonged.

The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly suggested considering and clearly regulating this issue; implementing it in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Government Organization and the Law on Organization of Local Government, ensuring effective handling of complaints and denunciations./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/uy-ban-thuong-vu-quoc-hoi-cat-giam-dieu-kien-dau-tu-kinh-doanh-bao-hiem-post1069972.vnp