VietNamNet Bridge – Eight of 13 laws that took effect since the beginning of 2013 still have no decrees or circulars with instructions on how to implement them. This means that many promulgated laws will be implemented later than planned.

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The opinion was voiced by deputy Bui Manh Hung from southern Binh Phuoc Province at a National Assembly discussion yesterday, June 5.

Hung also suggested that rather than creating huge law codes, the NA should use many smaller laws to regulate big and complicated problems.

Hung cited land law issues as an example, which he said should be regulated by laws on land programming, withdrawal of land use rights and public land management.

Lawmakers also appraised efforts of the NA, the Government, ministries and relevant agencies and institutions to improve laws' quality and progress.

Law and decree building has basically met the demand of state administration and contributed to the country's socio-economic development, national defense and security, many agreed.

Deputies said that some law projects submitted to the NA Standing Committee for discussion had not yet met the proposed progress, while others needed detailed regulations for implementation.

The involvement of the Government, especially the Prime Minister and relevant ministries, would be critical, they agreed.

Some legislators suggested that priority be given to laws that served the country's economic restructuring process and the revised 1992 Constitution.

Deputies also heard the Government's statement on the revised law on waste prevention. They agreed that some contents of the law should be revised, as it had been in place for seven years and some sections were outdated.

The law should see new regulations on property, capital and natural resources, they said, especially when it came to the use and management of state property and finance.

Lawmakers agreed that the law should regulate in detail the responsibility of leaders of organisations, ministries and institutions to prevent waste, and should include specific sanctions for violators.

Revising enterprise laws

National Assembly deputies yesterday agreed on the need to amend Clause 2 under Article 170 of the Enterprise Law 2005, aimed at generating incentives for foreign-invested firms to expand operation.

The amendment is also aimed at creating equal legal grounds between FDI enterprises in Viet Nam.

The appraisal report of the National Assembly Economic Committee said Clause 2 under Article 170 of Enterprise Law 2005 prescribes that FDI firms operating under the Foreign Investment Law in Viet Nam can re-register for operations in accordance with the Enterprise Law within two years as of July 1, 2006.

Those who decided not to re-register will have their business operations limited to the activities specified in their investment licences.

July 1, 2011 was the deadline for re-registration. Among 6,000 FDI enterprises, 2,916 had re-registered while 3,000 firms were yet to re-register under Clause 2. These latter companies have a total registered capital of US$18.5 billion and employed 446,000 people.

To date, licences for business operation of a number of enterprises have expired and they want to re-register to continue with operations. Therefore, the NA Economic Commission said an amendment to Clause 2 under Article 170 was needed.

Deputy Nguyen Thanh Hai said he agreed with the need for the amendment but he was concerned that agencies responsible for re-registrations be made responsible for their shortcomings, specifically the 2,916 businesses that were yet to re-register, which was causing many problems.

Deputy Hoang Thanh Tung said he agreed with the proposal to extend the re-registration period for five years, but he proposed to add a regulation that re-registration has to be made before the expiration of the business operation specified in their investment licences.

Tung wanted the NA to make clear the problem related to businesses who did not re-register but had asked to extend their business licences to operate under the Enterprise Law 2005, noting that legal loopholes could be exploited by these enterprises to operate under the existing law without adjusting their business operation.

Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said local authorities and their agencies were responsible for granting business licences and managing FDI firms.

Vinh said HCM City had reflected on the problem of FDI firms which wanted to re-register but were yet to do so, but the ministry had not yet receive comments on the issue from other cities and provinces.

Source: VNS