Decision No. 04/2003/NQ-CP of the Government's regular meeting in February 2003

RESOLUTION

Regarding the regular government meeting in February 2003

On February 27 and 28, 2003, the Government convened its regular meeting for February 2003 to discuss and adopt the following issues:

1. The Government heard the Minister, Head of the Government Office's report on the situation regarding the drafting of Decrees stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and governmental agencies for the term 2002-2007.

The progress in drafting Decrees stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and governmental agencies has been slower than planned. To ensure the effective operation of the governmental machinery according to the requirements of reform, based on clearly defining functions with each agency solely responsible for its own function, thereby resolving the overlapping functions issue, the Government requests the Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Heads of governmental agencies to focus on directing the drafting of Decrees concerning their agencies' functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is tasked with leading, coordinating with the Government Office and the Ministry of Justice to compile issues that still have differing opinions, submitting them to the Prime Minister for consideration and providing comments for prompt issuance of the Decrees in March 2003.

2. The Government heard the Ministry of Public Security's presentation of the draft Decree detailing the application of the measure of placing individuals in educational facilities as prescribed by the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations; and the Minister, Head of the Government Office's report summarizing the opinions of Government members on the draft Decree.

In response to the urgent need to maintain political security and social order and safety, the issuance of the Decree detailing the application of the measure of placing individuals in educational facilities is very necessary. The Ministry of Public Security is tasked with leading, coordinating with the Government Office and the Ministry of Justice, incorporating the opinions of Government members, revising the draft, clarifying the subjects to be placed in educational facilities, ensuring the content of the Decree is consistent with the spirit of the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations, and submitting it to the Government for consideration and approval. If necessary, propose to the Government to submit to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for review and amendment of this Ordinance.

3. The Government heard the Minister of Finance's presentation of the draft Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Value Added Tax Law, the draft Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Special Consumption Tax Law, and the draft Enterprise Income Tax Law (Amended); and the Minister, Head of the Government Office's report summarizing the opinions of Government members on these draft Laws.

From 1999 to now, within the program implementing tax reform phase 2, the State has promulgated and amended the Value Added Tax Law, the Enterprise Income Tax Law, and the Special Consumption Tax Law. These new Tax Laws and tax policies have contributed to increasing state budget revenues, encouraging investment, promoting exports, reasonably protecting domestic production; eliminating outdated taxes and revenue sources, narrowing the disparity in tax obligations between different economic sectors and domestic enterprises versus foreign-invested enterprises; reducing tax rates to allow organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities to accumulate capital more quickly for expanded reproduction. These new Tax Laws and tax policies have contributed to shifting the economic structure in accordance with the Party and State's policy, alleviating difficulties, and gradually improving the living standards of workers. Alongside the achievements made, there are still shortcomings and limitations in tax policies and tax administration that need to be further studied and revised to suit the new situation.

The Government approved the draft amendments and supplements to the above-mentioned Tax Laws, assigning the Ministry of Finance to lead, coordinate with the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and relevant agencies, incorporate the opinions of Government members, perfect the draft Laws; and assign the Minister of Finance, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, to sign the Memorandum to submit these draft Laws to the National Assembly.

4. The Government heard the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam's presentation of the draft Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the State Bank of Vietnam Law; and the Minister, Head of the Government Office's report summarizing the opinions of Government members on the draft Law.

The State Bank of Vietnam is tasked with leading, coordinating with relevant agencies, incorporating the opinions of Government members, perfecting the draft Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the State Bank of Vietnam Law; and assigning the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, to sign the Memorandum to submit this draft Law to the National Assembly.

5. The Government reviewed the draft Decree on hospital fees presented by the Ministry of Health.

The policy of collecting partial hospital fees over eight years of implementation has yielded good results, mobilizing community contributions to create conditions for the health sector to invest in modernization, upgrade equipment, diversify healthcare services, implement social policies set forth by the Party and State, and initially ensure fairness in people's health care. However, this policy still has many limitations that need to be promptly supplemented and revised. In the long term, the healthcare sector must undergo comprehensive and synchronized reforms in line with the policy of socialization, salary policy, health insurance policy, and education to improve the ethics of cadres and staff in the sector. In the short term, reasonable measures should be taken for hospital fee collection to ensure transparency and suitability for different groups; mechanisms for distribution, regulation, and binding conditions should be established to enhance the quality of healthcare services for the people.

The Ministry of Health is tasked with leading, coordinating with the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and relevant agencies, incorporating the opinions of Government members and delegates attending the meeting, perfecting the draft, seeking opinions from Government members, submitting it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

6. The Government heard the Minister of Planning and Investment's report on the socio-economic situation in February and the first two months of 2003.

Following the January 2003 meeting of the Government with leaders of ministries, sectors, and localities to discuss solutions for implementing the socio-economic development plan for 2003, ministries, sectors, and localities promptly guided plans for production, business operations, import and export, and basic construction investment for various entities. The socio-economic situation continued to show positive changes: industrial production achieved high growth rates, especially in the non-state sector; agriculture developed steadily; services continued to grow, with the domestic market becoming more active; import and export activities flourished; financial and monetary activities made progress, with price increases within the control range; social areas showed good changes; people welcomed the Year of the Goat happily, enthusiastically, safely, and thriftily. Implementing Resolution No. 13/2002/NQ-CP dated November 19, 2002, of the Government on measures to curb the increase and gradually reduce traffic accidents and congestion, ministries, sectors, and localities simultaneously implemented these measures with many concrete and resolute actions, achieving initial results. Traffic accidents and urban traffic congestion decreased, streets became more unobstructed, and public compliance with traffic laws improved...

However, exporting some agricultural products and processed agricultural products still faced difficulties, particularly in the U.S. market; prices of certain goods such as fertilizers, gasoline, and construction steel on the world market tended to rise sharply, affecting domestic production; weather conditions were complex and unpredictable, with a high risk of forest fires in some localities; the number of HIV-infected individuals increased rapidly; traffic order and safety remained complicated, requiring continued focused guidance...

Given the current complex and volatile global situation with many potential risks, the Government requests ministries, sectors, and localities to concentrate on implementing Resolution No. 02/2003/NQ-CP dated January 17, 2003, concerning major policies and solutions to focus on guiding the implementation of socio-economic development tasks for 2003, particularly emphasizing the following tasks:

- Seeking and expanding export markets, stimulating domestic consumption, developing various service forms, paying attention to rural, remote, and far-flung markets;

- Stimulating investment, including issuing government bonds to increase sources of capital for basic construction investment;

- Implementing measures to minimize potential adverse effects as much as possible, ensuring balance between supply and demand for key goods, closely monitoring price trends to timely manage macroeconomic operations, promoting production, and stabilizing people's lives;

- Continuing to address social issues effectively, particularly reducing traffic accidents and congestion, decreasing crime, preventing and combating drug abuse, prostitution, and HIV/AIDS transmission;

- Strengthening management of construction investment and environmental sanitation in cities, continuing inspections and checks on construction investment and land management and use according to Decision No. 273/QĐ-TTg dated April 12, 2002, of the Prime Minister;

- Preparing well both material and spiritual conditions to organize the 22nd Southeast Asian Games successfully;

- Implementing measures to create clear improvements in handling citizens' complaints and denunciations, rectifying discipline and order within state agencies.