VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of great ideas were initiated by watchdog agencies in 2012. However, many of them died prematurely because they faced the strong opposition from the public.

Pork must be sold out within eight hours

In July 2012, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in an effort to “protect consumers,” released a decision that meat and by-products kept at room temperature could be sold within eight hours of the slaughtering time. The decision took effects on September 3, 2012.

However, consumers laughed at the new regulation, saying that they doubted about the enforcement of the regulation. Small merchants violently protested the regulation, saying that it was an impossible mission, while experts believed that it was impossible to control the implementation of the regulation.

Consumers kept doubtful because they could not find out with their naked eyes when the pigs were slaughtered. They also feared that if small merchants had to respect the new regulation, the pork prices would escalate.

Meanwhile, small merchants at traditional markets entreated help, saying that they would have to stop their business, because it was impossible to follow the regulation. If they are forced to do that, they would have to pay higher for business costs, because they would have to go to animal slaughtering centers twice a day, while the centers would have to open both in the morning and afternoon.

In early September, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development released a decision on stopping the enforcement of the new regulation.

Taxing maternity allowances

The General Department of Taxation believed that the maternity allowances paid by social insurance agencies must be seen as a source of income of female workers; therefore, it must be subject to the personal income tax.

The decision by the taxation body made both businessmen and workers angry. They said that when women have children, they generate the next generations of Vietnamese. Therefore, they should be supported and encouraged instead of being taxed, which would put heavier burden on them.

Lawyers also cited legal provisions to prove that maternity allowance is not the salary; therefore, it must not be taxed.

Finally, the provision on the unreasonable taxation was lifted. However, it still made people get furious, because they could not understand why the taxation body could think of such an unreasonable thing.

Imposing fine on people, who drive vehicles which don’t bear their names

The Decree No. 71 stipulates that since November 10, the police would impose the fine of 6-10 million dong on every car and 1 million dong on every motorbike, if the drivers could not show the documents to prove that the vehicles were theirs.

The regulation aimed to force people to follow necessary administrative procedures when they wrap up transfer deals. In many cases, sellers and buyers ignore the ownership transfer procedures in order to avoid paying tax. As a result, the State fails to collect tax from the subjects, while this puts big difficulties for management agencies.

The regulation then made people worried stiff, because they were threatened that the fine would be heavy. Meanwhile, analysts raised doubts about the feasibility of the provision which set overly high fine level, suggesting that it would be better to delay the enforcement of the decree for six months of one year.

The Ministry of Public Security finally decided to give people more time to fulfill necessary procedures, which means that fines would not be imposed on violators for the time being. Especially, the ownership transfer fee has been reduced to one percent.

Bao Han