- The government plans to remove licenses for at least fifty business sectors.
- Revised law promotes post-inspection management and standards-based regulation.
- Deputies urge clear oversight, especially for specialized and high-value industries.
The Government intends to eliminate at least 50 sectors from the list of conditional business areas needing licenses to operate, which is double the amount proposed in the latest submission to the National Assembly (NA), stated Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang during the NA's deliberation on the draft revised Law on Investment.
According to the existing regulations, 234 types of businesses need licenses before starting operations, many of which could be governed by standards and technical specifications instead of prerequisites, Thang stated.
In the latest draft, the Government suggested eliminating 25 conditional business lines, such as accounting services, rice export, and the temporary import and re-export of frozen food. Nevertheless, following evaluations, the Government now aims to eliminate license mandates for at least 50 industries, he remarked.
Thang mentioned that once the revised Law on Investment is enacted, additional changes will be made to business requirements to encourage a transition to the post-inspection mechanism and standards-based management.
Also Read: Chinese, Vietnamese Firms Plan Java Shift, 120k Jobs Seen
Deputy Dao Chi Nghia from Can Tho city advocated for the elimination of conditional business lines while emphasizing the need for clear post-inspection processes to guarantee quality, particularly in specialized services related to financial obligations and market transparency.
Deputy Le Hoang Anh from Gia Lai province stated that several business sectors should not be regulated not entirely by the Law on Investment, but rather by decrees and standards. In particular, food enterprises, online commerce, agricultural inputs, and ecological services could be efficiently regulated through specific laws instead of investment requirements.
Dong indicated that specialized mechanisms ought to be restricted to initiatives in key sectors such as semiconductors, AI, data centers, and renewable energy, requiring a minimum investment of 50 million USD. He stated that clarifying accountability is necessary to avoid processing delays.