On the morning of August 3, during the first extraordinary session of the National Assembly's new term, Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan presented a draft law amending Article 6 and Appendix IV of the Law on Investment, which governs the list of conditional business sectors.

Presenting the proposal, the finance minister said that although the 2025 Law on Investment significantly reduced the number of conditional business sectors and helped improve the investment climate, practical implementation and feedback from the business community have revealed persistent challenges.

W-Ngô Văn Tuấn 2.jpg
Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan presents the government's proposal.

Business conditions for several sectors remain fragmented across different legal documents, overlap with one another and lack clarity, increasing compliance costs for enterprises. At the same time, some conditional business activities are no longer considered necessary or could be managed through post-inspection rather than pre-approval mechanisms.

The government therefore believes it is necessary to continue reviewing, reducing and simplifying conditional business sectors in order to ease the regulatory burden on businesses, improve transparency and strengthen the effectiveness of state management.

Regarding the proposal to expand the list of prohibited business activities, Ngo Van Tuan said the recreational misuse of nitrous oxide has caused serious health consequences, particularly affecting the nervous system, blood and reproductive health. It may also increase the risk of dependency and drug use.

The buying and selling of nitrous oxide, commonly known in Vietnam as "laughing gas," has become increasingly complex and is often associated with the illegal use of narcotics, negatively affecting public health as well as public order and safety.

Although current regulations already control the production, sale and use of nitrous oxide in sectors such as healthcare, industry and food processing, the minister said existing measures have not been sufficient to prevent recreational abuse.

Based on these developments, the government considers it necessary to prohibit the commercial sale of nitrous oxide intended for human inhalation outside medical purposes.

Committee backs tighter controls

W-Phan Văn Mãi_1816.jpg
Chairman of the Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs Phan Van Mai presents the committee's review report.

Presenting the review report on the draft law, Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs, expressed support for stronger measures to prevent the recreational misuse of nitrous oxide in order to protect public health and maintain public order and safety.

However, the committee recommended further clarification of exemptions to ensure consistency with terminology used in sector-specific legislation and to avoid disrupting legitimate manufacturing, business and other lawful uses of the gas.

Regarding the broader proposal to reduce the number of conditional business sectors, the committee agreed with the government's direction of shifting regulatory oversight from pre-approval to stronger post-inspection, aiming to create a more transparent and business-friendly investment environment.

Nevertheless, Phan Van Mai noted that some lawmakers have called for a more thorough assessment before removing business conditions in sectors directly linked to national defense, security, public order, public safety and public health.

These include the supply of clean water for domestic use, gas trading, unmanned aircraft operations, mineral exploitation, port operations and businesses involving priority vehicle signaling equipment.

According to the committee, these sectors carry significant risks, and violations could result in severe or irreversible consequences.

Any shift in the regulatory approach, it said, should only proceed after the feasibility and effectiveness of alternative oversight mechanisms have been fully demonstrated, with implementation following an appropriate roadmap to avoid regulatory gaps.

Tran Thuong