Ministry of Finance performs administrative reform contributing to socio-economic development

VCN - In an interview with Customs News, Lawyer Ha Huy Phong, Executive Director of Inteco Law Firm, Hanoi Bar Association, said the Ministry of Finance has the ability to pioneer, lead the flag and spread the light for other ministries and sectors to work together in administrative reform and support businesses.
Lawyer Ha Huu Phong
Lawyer Ha Huu Phong

The Ministry of Finance has been in the top three of ministries and ministerial-level agencies leading the PAR Index and leading the ranking of readiness for Information and Communication Technology (Vietnam ICT Index) for many years. Could you please tell us your assessment of this achievement of the finance sector?

Being in the top three of the Public Administration Reform Index is an indicator that fully demonstrates the efforts and achievements of the difficult reform process and obstacles of the Ministry of Finance. As a business, who has also accompanied with thousands of firms for nearly 20 years, I can clearly feel the daily changes when interacting with authorities of the Ministry of Finance, especially in administrative reforms related to tax administration. For example, the simplest picture is that I had to personally go to the tax branches and wait all morning to submit a declaration on reporting the situation of using invoices or register to print invoices 10 years ago. Now, my staff can process it in the office in minutes. The sense of confidence and security when working with State agencies is very important and those are the values ​​that the reform of the Ministry of Finance brings out. At the same time, feelings of inhibition and suppression gradually decrease over time, which means the confidence and boldness of firms in production and business activities are increased.

It is necessary to imagine most of the activities of the Ministry of Finance have a direct and great influence on the national economy and the business community at the macro and micro level, and also touching on the interests of many different groups of people. Administrative reform is not only an activity that touches negative interest groups but also touches on the stagnation and fear of change of some officers in the sector. Furthermore, administrative reform is not just about changing dossiers, paper forms or changing the process of receiving documents, but it is also about changing the working methods, working habits and interests of most officers performing duties in the sector. The application of information technology and digital transformation is an opportunity and a solution to implement administrative reform that must be taken by the Ministry of Finance.

Could you please tell us how the administrative reform efforts of the Ministry of Finance have contributed to promoting socio-economic development in general and supporting businesses and people in particular in production, business and implement financial obligations to the State?

The well-planned and methodical efforts of the ministry are the reason for the increase in revenue collection because it helps reduce budget loss and creates conditions and opportunities for firms to improve business performance, revenue and profit. Administrative reform also increases transparency, limits negativity and reduces waste of business time, helping firms to focus resources on their production and business activities.

Imaging that the life cycle of an enterprise including the stage of market entry, survival and development, and exit from the market, the Ministry of Finance is managing and playing a very important role in procedures and issues in the middle stage. This means that the stage of survival and development, so it can be said it’s a very important stage. The simplicity and efficiency of these procedures are of great significance to the viability and development of the business in particular and the economy in general and the investor community sentiment into the State. In any economy, investors who have confidence and peace of mind about the institutions and the economy will certainly invest much more boldly.

In other words, the biggest result from the achievements of the Ministry of Finance in administrative reform activities is not only increasing revenue collection but also creating attractiveness and clearer corridors for business activities, contributing to the economic growth and development of the country.

I believe that if the Ministry of Finance is determined and boldly promotes administrative procedure reform activities more evenly and drastically in all its subordinate units, the results will be much greater.

Do you have any comments on the administrative reform of the Ministry of Finance in the past time and your recommendations for the future?

The results that the Ministry of Finance has achieved are undeniable, but to meet the aspirations and demands of the business community and the economy, the Ministry of Finance and agencies as well as other sectors need to change more.

First of all, the Ministry of Finance should implement more drastic, uniform and consistent reforms in all subordinate units. The fact that some parts are actively reforming, but others have the inertia and a lack of closeness so will lead to a concave path of institutions and policies that businesses have to go through, so the economy will still face difficulties.

Secondly, it is necessary to digitise the entire management activities and the reform needs to target the business community management system, not the people who manage the business. The application of big data technology, machine learning and artificial intelligence as well as blockchain technology to the management of the economy is an undeniable trend, so instead of avoiding it, we should accelerate and push forward to made use of its advantages, helping the economy develop faster, stronger and more firmly.

The last point I want to recommend is that the Ministry of Finance should not only reform itself within its own agency but also take measures to support firms to apply the achievements of the ministry, for example, creating channels, portals for firms to directly integrate their software into the Ministry's system, minimising intermediary stages; becoming a pioneer, leading and spreading the flag for other ministries and sector to accompany in administrative reform and business support.

Thank you!

By Thu Hiền/Thanh Thuy

Related News

Businesses can choose a suitable electronic invoice model generated from the cash register

Businesses can choose a suitable electronic invoice model generated from the cash register

VCN - The Ministry of Finance said that individual business households can choose a suitable model to apply electronic invoice solutions from cash registers, depending on the number of invoices used in the year, in the month and the current status of software solutions and technical infrastructure.
Rush to finalize draft decree on public asset restructuring

Rush to finalize draft decree on public asset restructuring

VCN - According to the Ministry of Finance, the draft Decree regulating the rearrangement and handling of public assets is being urgently completed by the Ministry of Finance to submit to the Government for promulgation.
Ministry of Finance proposes to choose the option of reducing land rent by 30% in 2024

Ministry of Finance proposes to choose the option of reducing land rent by 30% in 2024

VCN - The Ministry of Finance has just completed the draft Decree of the Government regulating the reduction of land rent in 2024. Accordingly, in the latest Draft, the Ministry of Finance directly proposed to choose the reduction level according to option 2 of 30%.
HCM City Customs experiences a marked upturn in state revenue collections

HCM City Customs experiences a marked upturn in state revenue collections

VCN - The state revenue of HCM City Customs Department in the third quarter of 2024 has clearly improved when the collection results have increased compared to the same period last year.

Latest News

Continue to handle cross-ownership in banks

Continue to handle cross-ownership in banks

VCN - The situation of excess share ownership, cross-ownership between credit institutions (CIs), CIs and enterprises, although has decreased significantly compared to previous periods, is still complicated and requires continued inspection and control.
Striving for average CPI not to exceed 4%

Striving for average CPI not to exceed 4%

VCN - According to the report of the Ministry of Finance, there are still some factors that put pressure on price levels in the remaining months of 2024, so the Ministry has updated 2 scenarios of average inflation in 2024 increasing in the range of 3.7-3.92%.
Delegating the power to the government to waive, lower, or manage late tax penalties is suitable

Delegating the power to the government to waive, lower, or manage late tax penalties is suitable

VCN - Discussing in groups about the project "1 law amending 7 laws" in the financial sector according to the program of the 8th Session on October 29, 2024, National Assembly delegates proposed that the Government should be assigned to make specific regulations on decentralization, granting the right to exempt and reduce taxes, and handling penalties for late payment of taxes...
Removing difficulties in public investment disbursement

Removing difficulties in public investment disbursement

VCN - According to the report of the Investment Department (Ministry of Finance), the estimated disbursement from the beginning of the year to October 31, 2024 is VND 355,616.1 billion, reaching 47.43% of the 2024 plan, reaching 52.29% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister.

More News

State-owned commercial banking sector performs optimistic growth, but more capital in need

State-owned commercial banking sector performs optimistic growth, but more capital in need

VCN - According to the report sent to the National Assembly before the 8th Session of the Government on investment, management and use of state capital in enterprises nationwide in 2023, the business performance of the state-owned commercial banking sector achieved positive growth.
Stipulate implementation of centralized bilateral payments of the State Treasury at banks

Stipulate implementation of centralized bilateral payments of the State Treasury at banks

VCN - The Ministry of Finance (MOF) gathers feedback on the draft Circular regulating the management and use of accounts of the State Treasury opened at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and commercial banks.
Inspection report on gold trading activities being complied: SBV

Inspection report on gold trading activities being complied: SBV

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has announced that inspections on compliance with legal policies in gold trading activities of credit institutions and gold trading businesses have been completed and an inspection report is being compiled.
Budget revenue in 2024 is estimated to exceed the estimate by 10.1%

Budget revenue in 2024 is estimated to exceed the estimate by 10.1%

VCN -The Government estimates that state budget revenue in 2024 will exceed VND 172.3 trillion, up 10.1% over the estimate, of which tax and fee revenue will reach 13.1% of GDP.
Ensure timely and effective management and use of public asset

Ensure timely and effective management and use of public asset

VCN – In order to promptly and effectively implement public asset management and use, ensuring compliance with legal regulations, the Ministry of Finance has just issued an official dispatch requesting ministries, branches and localities to comply with regulations in the Government’s Decree No. 114/2024/ND-CP dated September 15, 2024.
Accelerating decentralization in public asset management

Accelerating decentralization in public asset management

VCN - Amending the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets aims to improve regulations on accelerating decentralization and improving efficiency in management and use of public assets, and promoting financial resources, ensuring that the unified application the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets and other legal documents.
Difficulty in finding banks eligible to receive compulsory transfers

Difficulty in finding banks eligible to receive compulsory transfers

VCN - Reporting to the National Assembly, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said that one of the difficulties in restructuring the credit institution system is the long process of finding and negotiating banks eligible to receive compulsory transfers.
State budget revenue estimate 2025 assessed as positive level despite potential challenges

State budget revenue estimate 2025 assessed as positive level despite potential challenges

VCN – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc said that the state budget revenue for 2025 is estimated at VND 1,966.8 trillion, an increase of 15.6% compared to the estimate for 2024.
Banks show positive results during third quarter

Banks show positive results during third quarter

Several banks have recently announced startling business performance results in the third quarter of 2024 and the first nine months of 2024.
Read More

Your care

Latest Most read
Continue to handle cross-ownership in banks

Continue to handle cross-ownership in banks

VCN - The situation of excess share ownership, cross-ownership between credit institutions (CIs), CIs and enterprises, although has decreased significantly compared to previous periods, is still complicated and requires continued inspection and control.
Striving for average CPI not to exceed 4%

Striving for average CPI not to exceed 4%

VCN - According to the report of the Ministry of Finance, there are still some factors that put pressure on price levels in the remaining months of 2024, so the Ministry has updated 2 scenarios of average inflation in 2024 increasing in the range of 3.7-3
Delegating the power to the government to waive, lower, or manage late tax penalties is suitable

Delegating the power to the government to waive, lower, or manage late tax penalties is suitable

National Assembly delegates proposed that the Government should be assigned to make specific regulations on decentralization, granting the right to exempt and reduce taxes, and handling penalties for late payment of taxes...
Removing difficulties in public investment disbursement

Removing difficulties in public investment disbursement

VCN - According to the report of the Investment Department (Ministry of Finance), the estimated disbursement from the beginning of the year to October 31, 2024 is VND 355,616.1 billion, reaching 47.43% of the 2024 plan, reaching 52.29% of the plan assigne
State-owned commercial banking sector performs optimistic growth, but more capital in need

State-owned commercial banking sector performs optimistic growth, but more capital in need

According to the report of the Government on investment, management and use of state capital in enterprises nationwide in 2023, the business performance of the state-owned commercial banking sector achieved positive growth.
Mobile Version