A lawmaker has called for alcohol trading to remain a conditional business sector, warning that removing licensing requirements without a traceability system could undermine public health protections and efforts to combat methanol poisoning.
On November 2, the National Assembly held a plenary discussion on proposed amendments to the Law on Investment.
Pham Trong Nhan, a deputy representing Ho Chi Minh City, highlighted inconsistencies between two pieces of legislation under consideration at the session: the Law on Investment and the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms.
Regarding nicotine pouches and shisha, Nhan noted that the draft tobacco control law explicitly prohibits the production and trading of both products.
National Assembly deputy Pham Trong Nhan.
However, the draft Law on Investment lists only electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products among prohibited business activities, leaving nicotine pouches and shisha outside the list.
"One law prohibits them, while another remains silent. This creates a loophole that businesses could exploit through legal challenges and leaves enforcement agencies uncertain about how to proceed," he said.
Nhan also expressed concern that other emerging nicotine products were not specifically covered by the proposed restrictions. He urged lawmakers to establish the prohibited categories directly in legislation rather than delegate that authority to the Government.
He explained that the draft tobacco control law authorizes the Government to determine which "other products" qualify as tobacco products, but prohibits only their use, not the trading of finished products.
Meanwhile, the Law on Investment merely requires the Government to review the list of prohibited activities and submit proposed changes to the National Assembly.
This creates a regulatory contradiction, he argued. When a new product is classified as a tobacco product by the Government, its business activities could fall under the category of legally permitted but conditional businesses, requiring lawmakers to wait for another legislative amendment before prohibiting its trade.
To address this problem, Nhan proposed defining prohibited activities by product categories, with clearly specified exemptions, rather than maintaining an ever-expanding list of individual product names.
He suggested amending the law to prohibit the trading of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches, shisha and other tobacco products, while exempting conventional cigarettes, cigars, loose tobacco and traditional Vietnamese pipe tobacco.
Medicines regulated under pharmaceutical legislation, as well as products used for research and testing, would also be excluded from the prohibition.
"That way, the prohibition is established in law, while the Government only identifies specific products according to legally defined criteria, without being authorized to expand the ban," Nhan emphasized.
Turning to alcohol, the lawmaker noted that the Law on Investment adopted in August removed alcohol trading as a separate conditional business activity, meaning it would be regulated solely as a food product from March 1, 2027.
However, the 2019 Law on Prevention and Control of Alcohol and Beer Harms still requires licenses for industrial alcohol production and the trading of alcoholic beverages containing at least 5.5% alcohol.
"I support cutting administrative procedures, but if alcohol does not meet the criteria for a public health concern, what product does? And when methanol poisoning cases continue to occur, how can we trace the origin of a bottle of alcohol?" he asked.
Nhan compared eliminating licensing requirements without establishing a traceability system to "replacing a lock with a promise."
He proposed restoring alcohol trading to the list of conditional business activities while introducing electronic licensing and risk-based post-licensing inspections.
The Ho Chi Minh City deputy stressed that the objective should be to retain necessary safeguards while modernizing regulatory tools and simplifying administrative procedures.
"A law that imposes a ban but leaves the back door open is no different from putting a sign on the front door. We must close both doors during this session if we are to honor our commitments and fulfill our responsibility to protect public health," he said.
Stronger safeguards needed against concealed and illegal investment
Nguyen Trung Kien, a National Assembly deputy representing Dong Nai Province, called for additional mechanisms to prevent, detect and stop investment activities conducted through nominees, unauthorized investment arrangements and the misuse of investment structures for unlawful purposes.
National Assembly deputy Nguyen Trung Kien.
He warned that such activities could threaten national security, public order and social safety.
"Alongside legitimate investors, certain organizations and individuals may exploit investment activities to conceal those who actually control businesses, legitimize illicit financial flows, acquire assets and companies, or gain control over sensitive industries and geographical areas," Kien said.
He explained that such schemes could involve using Vietnamese nationals as nominees to establish companies, contribute capital or purchase shares.
Other methods include creating multiple layers of intermediary companies to conceal beneficial ownership, dividing ownership stakes to avoid regulatory scrutiny, and transferring funds through numerous organizations and individuals to disguise the origins of assets.
According to Kien, the misuse of investment activities extends beyond circumventing investment conditions.
Such arrangements could facilitate money laundering, smuggling, the production and trading of counterfeit goods, fraud, asset appropriation, illegal technology transfers, unauthorized information gathering and activities that threaten national security, public order and social safety.
He argued that the draft legislation primarily addresses investment conditions and measures to deal with activities that pose potential risks, without establishing a sufficiently comprehensive preventive framework.
Such a framework, he said, should operate throughout the investment process, from business registration and capital contributions to ownership transfers and project implementation.
Kien therefore proposed adding an explicit provision requiring investment and business activities to ensure transparency regarding investors, beneficial owners, sources of capital and investment purposes.
The provision would also prohibit using investment activities to conceal the individuals or entities exercising actual control, legitimize assets derived from criminal activities, commit legal violations or undermine national defense, security, public order and social safety.
He further called for oversight mechanisms covering arrangements in which investors use nominees, authorization agreements or multiple layers of intermediary organizations to conceal beneficial ownership and effective control.
Vietnamnet.vn
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