Energy labeling: The Ministry of Industry and Trade “promises” to change

Energy labeling procedures are causing difficulties for the businesses. Photo: Quang Tấn

Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade confirmed this statement, while sending congratulations to the business community regarding the 12-year anniversary of Vietnam Entrepreneurs Day.

According to Mr. Khanh, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has listened carefully to feedback from the business community about the procedures and policies in order to reform the whole industry. The Ministry also organised direct dialogue to resolve these procedures, and remove barriers that are being considered as "tied" business. This work will continue in its units and follow strictly the law.

Mr Khanh said: "Reflection like that is incorrect when the enterprise complain about the Mininstry has the most specialized testing procedures ".

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is not the unit that has too many specialized documents checked. In comparision to other Ministries, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is only ranked 6th in the number of administrative procedures. Even the administrative procedures done by the Ministry of Industry and Trade are also carried out at the request of International Conventions when Vietnam joins the global playing field. Such as control of diamond processing, drug precursor control and drug precursors, etc.

Normally, a license has to pass 4 procedures that are: grant, re-grant, amendment, revocation. Currently, the Ministry is managing 447 administrative procedures, however, this is not the license because some of the procedures are only part of the license.

“Furthermore, The Ministry of Industry and Trade aims to review annually its own administrative procedures so the necessary procedures will be retained and unnecessary procedures will be abolished immediately or switched to automatic anonymous procedures. Therefore we can facilitate for enterprises, " Mr.Khanh said.

Recently, there has been public disagreement on a number of administrative procedures that the Ministry is undertaking, such as energy labeling, declaration or test chemicals, and aromatic amine content formaldahyde at the border. Leaders of Ministry of Industry and Trade have actively listened and used their authority to eliminate checks and aromatic amines formaldahyde for textiles at the border. As a result, enterprises currently do not perform this procedure at the border gate.

For the regulations on energy labeling, they must go through two steps which are from the laboratory and then returned to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to get a certificate. This was stipulated in the Law on energy efficiency savings.

Consequently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade should have time to propose amendments to Decree Law and proposed Amendments. However, once again, Mr. Khanh insists on a change of thinking removing barriers to business: "Leaders of the Ministry of Trade hope that policies and regulations will change as soon as possible in order to facilitate maximum benefit to enterprises ".