Economic laws to be revised for more liberal environment

Laws - A project to amend 16 economic laws and related legal guidelines has been kicked off to improve Vietnam’s business environment, and special seminars will take place from next week to look into current impediments.

The project is carried out by the Government Office, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the U.S.’s Star Project from now to November, 2011. Thoi bao Kinh te Sai Gon under Saigon Times Group serves as the media sponsor.

Lawyer Tran Huu Huynh of VCCI said each of the laws and instructions will be reassessed by three expert groups from VCCI, Star Project and ministerial agencies invited by the Government Office. These groups will analyze the pros and cons of each law as well as gather petitions from business associations to compile 16 reports in total.

These reports will be then merged into a comprehensive report to submit to the Prime Minister, the National Assembly and related ministries, suggesting specific changes in law making and practice to provide a more liberal business environment for Vietnam’s enterprises.

Dinh Dung Sy, deputy head of the Law Division under the Government Office, said “now is the critical moment to reconsider the law system to create a corridor leading the economy to the next development stage.”

During the progress of the reports being prepared, many seminars will be held by related parties in Hanoi and HCMC to collect enterprise public opinions. The first seminar is estimated to take place on August 16 in Hanoi to cover the ideas on the Enterprise Law.

The first seminar will have the participation of prominent experts Nguyen Dinh Cung and Cao Ba Khoat, who had contributed greatly to the compilation of the Enterprise Law more than a decade ago. Later on, similar seminars on other economic laws will be held in August and September.

The 16 laws and guidelines proposed to be revised include the Enterprise Law, the Investment Law, the Trade Law, the Intellectual Property Law, the Civil Code, the Land Law, the Value-Added Tax Law, the Corporate Income Tax Law, the Tax Management Law, the Custom Office Law, the Audit Law, the Marine Law, the Construction Law, the Real Estate Law, and the Environment Protection Law.