VietNamNet Bridge – Beer manufacturers believe the requirement that they need to stamp their products will increase their production costs and weaken competitiveness.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) plans ask beer manufacturers to stamp their products to help state management agencies prevent tax evasion and trade fraud. However, enterprises have opposed the plan.

Tran Dinh Thanh, deputy general director of Habeco, said breweries will have to buy more machines for the stamping, which will be a technical problem for enterprises because of the limited number of stamping machine suppliers.

“There are very few companies in the world making stamping machines, because the stamping policy is now being applied in only three to four countries in the world,” Thanh said.

Nguyen Thanh Ha from S&B Law Firm noted that the current laws require manufacturers to give detailed information on products’ labels, and there is no need to request manufacturers to stamp their products as well.

According to Ha, the stamping is now required for helmets and tobacco products as well, but it is still unclear about the efficiency of the policy.

Therefore, Ha said MOIT would “make an unnecessary requirement” when forcing manufacturers to stamp their beer products.

Even the Ministry of Finance, which is believed to benefit from the stamping policy, is cautious about the proposed policy.

Huynh Vuong Nam from the Tax Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance said though the ministry advocates MOIT’s suggested policy, it still has requested MOIT to give more details about the technical issues for implementation.

It is still unclear who will have to bear the costs of the stamping, the manufacturers or the state. However, it is clear that the stamping will cost a lot of money, estimated at VND1.5-2 trillion a year.

According to Thanh of Habeco, the stamping would add VND600-700 more to make a bottle of beer.

“The competition in the market is getting fierce. Manufacturers need to reduce  production costs to boost sales. Meanwhile, the stamping will force them to raise the selling price, or they will take a loss,” Thanh said.

Phan Dang Tuat, chair of Sabeco, one of the biggest breweries in Vietnam, said Sabeco would have to spend VND920 billion more every year, or every liter of beer would be VND696 more expensive.

“This (the policy – reporter) will put a heavier burden on businesses and lead to the higher consumer price index,” he said.

However, MOIT seems to have a strong determination to lay down the policy on stamping beer products.

Bui Truong Thang from MOIT, a member of the government decree compilation team, said the policy was necessary to fulfill the government’s instruction on increasing the state management capability over beer production and trade.

NLD