Directive No. 16/1998/CT-TTg on addressing the recommendations of enterprises

DIRECTIVE

On addressing the recommendations of enterprises

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In January, February, and March 1998, the Prime Minister together with Deputy Prime Minister Ngo Xuan Loc and leaders of several sectors met representatives of enterprises from all economic components across the three regions in Hanoi City, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang City. These meetings and dialogues created initial changes in cooperation between state agencies and enterprises to resolve difficulties and obstacles in production and business operations. Many reasonable suggestions made by enterprises during the three meetings were received and resolved by relevant ministries and sectors.

To continue to promote the results of the aforementioned meetings and create favorable conditions for domestic enterprises to fully utilize their internal resources, develop production and business operations effectively, and gradually integrate into regional and international markets, the Prime Minister instructs the sectors and levels to promptly carry out the following tasks:

1. Immediate actions needed.

1.1. Within the scope of responsibilities and authorities delegated, ministries and general departments under the Finance, Customs, Banking, Planning, Trade, Interior (economic police), Inspection, Transportation... sectors shall continue to promptly handle suggestions and complaints of enterprises regarding specific cases, including those directly submitted in writing to the agency due to lack of time to present at the meeting and those sent to the agency later. Heads of these agencies must respond within 15 days from the date of receipt of the enterprise's suggestion or complaint and report the results to the Prime Minister.

Issues exceeding the authority of their own agency must be reported to the Prime Minister. For issues deemed unresolvable, they must explain in a spirit of equality, helping enterprises fully understand and comply with legal regulations; eliminate unilateral imposition and arbitrary behavior towards enterprises. Leaders of functional agencies need to strictly monitor the grassroots level and the direct staff handling enterprise requests.

1.2. State management agencies shall immediately formalize procedures for receiving and responding to enterprise suggestions and publicize them through mass media for enterprises to know (name and phone number of the person handling suggestions, location for submitting suggestion and complaint documents, response time for suggestions and complaints...).

1.3. If enterprises' suggestions to related agencies are not responded to within 15 days, the enterprises have the right to directly report to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will examine and take appropriate measures and announce in newspapers against agencies that have the authority and responsibility to resolve enterprise suggestions but fail to fulfill their duties properly.

Strengthen the permanent office of the Central Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform located at the Government Office to assist the Prime Minister in receiving and processing enterprise suggestions and coordinating research and directing all issues related to enterprises of various economic components.

Enhance the role of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and business associations in collecting opinions from enterprises, identifying emerging issues, and proposing suggestions to the Prime Minister and government agencies.

2. Contents requiring early amendments to the system and implementation of the system for enterprises.

2.1. Ministries and general departments shall review current regulatory documents on mechanisms and policies, administrative procedures within their management functions, identify unreasonable, overlapping, conflicting provisions in existing documents causing difficulties for enterprise activities; study and urgently address clear issues to facilitate enterprise production and business operations while ensuring strict adherence to national laws and regulations.

Ministries and general departments must proactively handle issues within their authority and responsibility. For inter-sectoral issues, heads of related sectors must cooperate to resolve them with a spirit of facilitating enterprises, avoiding narrow interests that fail to meet reasonable demands of enterprises. Disputes or differing opinions among ministries and sectors need to be promptly reflected to the Prime Minister for resolution.

2.2. In 1998, focus on researching and resolving systemic issues (including administrative procedures) and compliance with the system in the following areas:

2.2.1. Issuing business establishment licenses and registering business operations.

Provinces and centrally-administered cities shall delegate the planning and investment departments to be the focal point for receiving applications and processing enterprise requests to submit to the People's Committee Chair for decision. Pending revision of the Company Law, businesses already holding establishment permits who meet conditions and request immediate registration may be granted business registration certificates without requiring additional procedures. District and county economic-planning offices shall be the focal point for receiving applications to submit to the People's Committee Chair of districts and counties for issuing business operation permits to households below the statutory capital limit in accordance with laws and regulations of relevant sectors.

Ministry of Planning and Investment Study and supplement laws and decrees on establishing enterprises and registering business operations for individuals in the direction of clearly defining prohibited industries and those requiring permission. For industries outside this scope, the State shall stipulate necessary conditions for practice (including specific conditions for certain essential industries). Based on these provisions, individuals wishing to engage in business only need to register, not seek permission. The regulation on the agency receiving business registrations must be convenient for individuals and easy to implement post-registration supervision.

Study and submit to the Prime Minister for issuance of regulations prohibiting government agencies from establishing business organizations providing services related to procedures and contents within areas under their jurisdiction, such as land, construction, investment...

2.2.2. On import and export.

Ministry of Trade study amendments and supplements to the provisions of the Ministry or propose amendments and supplements to the documents issued by the Prime Minister to strongly encourage enterprises engaged in export activities. Except for a few products that require state control, all other products should abolish export permits; simplify export procedures, innovate quota allocation mechanisms, and management mechanisms for processed goods; implement special preferential policies for enterprises producing export goods; reward enterprises that find export markets for products that need encouragement and have a competitive advantage; promptly inspect and handle cases causing inconvenience in issuing import and export permits or negative practices in allocating quotas;

Coordinate with relevant agencies to study and submit to the Government policies to support certain export products where we currently have a comparative disadvantage due to fluctuating exchange rates among countries.

2.3. On finance, customs, and banking.

The Ministry of Finance: study and submit to the Government for submission to the National Assembly to amend and supplement certain Tax Laws. Provide specific guidance on the application of tax rates to avoid arbitrary application and establish invoice and certificate systems suitable for practical conditions, enforceable, and ensuring uniform implementation. Expand the practice of enterprises self-reporting and paying taxes to the State Treasury; the tax authority has the responsibility to check to ensure accurate reporting and prevent revenue loss for the State; abolish the additional income tax on enterprises producing export goods;

Coordinate with the General Department of Customs to review and arrange the import and export tariff schedule and methods for determining taxable values to facilitate quick and accurate tax coding and pricing.

The General Department of Customs: promptly submit to the Government for amendment of Decree No. 171/HĐBT dated May 27, 1991 detailing customs procedures and fees; urgently issue regulations to improve customs procedures to implement the measures presented by the General Department of Customs' Director at meetings and regulations requiring senior officials of the General Department and subordinate customs offices to regularly meet and listen to businesses' feedback to promptly correct and guide customs officers to better serve business operations and ensure businesses understand and comply with regulations. Firmly remove from the customs service any officer engaging in corruption against businesses.

The State Bank: study and address reasonable requests from enterprises regarding medium and long-term loans; repayment schedules should match capital turnover cycles, asset depreciation periods, and enterprises' ability to generate funds for repayment; interest payment terms for loans from financial institutions should be agreed upon between the lender and borrower; assist enterprises in fulfilling foreign debt repayment commitments;

promptly resolve procedural difficulties to facilitate enterprises' access to bank loans.

2.4. Matters related to inspection, supervision, and adjudication.

The Ministry of Home Affairs: strictly enforce professional principles throughout the sector; strengthen preventive work, prioritizing prevention; refrain from abusing power to cause inconvenience to businesses.

Coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, State Audit Office, Supreme People's Procuracy, and Supreme People's Court to study and provide specific guidelines distinguishing economic disputes from criminal relations; clearly define administrative economic violations from criminal violations.

The Ministry of Justice: lead and coordinate with relevant sectors to study measures to implement the policy of preventing the criminalization of civil economic relations.

The State Audit Office: urgently submit to the Government for issuance of a decree on the inspection and supervision system for enterprises, clearly defining the responsibilities and powers of state inspectors, specialized inspectors, economic police... and measures to avoid overlapping inspections and causing inconvenience; clarify that inspection tasks aim to assist and guide in resolving issues, facilitating enterprise operations, while correcting deviations in law enforcement and policies, and curbing negative practices in business.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Transport: amend traffic inspection regulations, eliminate unnecessary inspection points, prevent and severely punish corruption hindering vehicle owners and cargo owners.

3 - Matters related to issuing documents and interacting with business representatives.

3.1. Ministries and sectors when drafting regulatory documents affecting businesses must, in addition to soliciting opinions from state agencies and experts, also seek opinions from businesses through the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and related business associations; when issuing such documents, they must send them to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry for distribution to individual businesses; documents changing mechanisms and policies affecting business operations should include measures to address outstanding issues between old and new policies.

The Office of the Government shall study and recommend the Prime Minister to assign relevant agencies to research fundamental, comprehensive, and integrated issues concerning businesses to gradually form a stable long-term institutional framework;

urge ministries and sectors to submit monthly reports to the Prime Minister on the implementation of this Directive, and coordinate with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to prepare regular meetings between the Prime Minister and business representatives with appropriate content and format.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of central government agencies, Chairpersons of provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government, and related organizations are responsible for implementing this Directive.