The Ministry of Planning and Investment has just issued Official Dispatch No. 3478/BKHDT-PC clearly explaining the concept of economic investment conditions business, ending the confusion in reviewing regulations on business conditions of ministries and branches.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment clearly explains that business investment conditions are conditions applicable to organizations and individuals when carrying out investment and business activities.
Meanwhile, standards and technical regulations are regulations on technical characteristics, limits of technical characteristics and management requirements for products, goods and services.
To put it more simply, according to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management Research, Head of the Secretariat of the Working Group for the Implementation of the Law on Enterprises and the Law on Investment, business conditions are regulations that prevent and limit businesses and individuals from entering the market.
According to the Investment Law, business investment conditions are expressed in one or several forms including licenses; certificate of eligibility; practicing certificate; professional liability insurance certificate; written confirmation; other forms of documents as prescribed by law.
The official dispatch was sent to 14 ministries and branches, including the ministries of Public Security, National Defense, Justice, Finance, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development; Build; Natural Resources and Environment; Traffic – Transportation; Information and Communications; Science and Technology; Medical; Education and Training and the State Bank of Vietnam.
These are ministries and branches that are having to draft decrees on business investment conditions for a number of industries and professions that do not have documents regulating business investment conditions, and must amend regulations on business investment conditions promulgated without the authority of the Investment Law. In the report on the implementation of the Investment Law and the Enterprise Law of the Working Group for the Implementation of the Enterprise Law and the Investment Law sent to the Government Standing Meeting on April 25, many of these ministries and branches were confused in determining regulations on business conditions and technical standards, leading to concerns that they may not be able to complete the review and upgrade of investment and business conditions in accordance with the requirements of the Investment Law before July 1, 2016.
Official Dispatch 3478/BKHDT-PC also requests that Decrees on investment and business conditions for industries and professions that have not specified conditions but have been appraised by the Ministry of Justice or submitted to the Government, request to complete procedures to submit to the Government before May 30, 2016 in accordance with the Prime Minister's direction.
Decrees in the drafting process are sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for synthesis at hieu@mpi.gov.vn and Tranhaohung.mpi@gmail.com.
For decrees replacing documents stipulating business investment conditions that were issued without proper authority according to the provisions of the Investment Law, the review and upgrade to a decree must be submitted to the Government for promulgation before May 30, 2016.
This is also the time when the Ministry of Planning and Investment requests ministries and branches to send a set of business investment conditions under their management to update on the National Information Portal on business registration.
Source: Clause 7, Article 2, Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Investment Law.
Concept of standards and technical regulations:
Standards are regulations on technical characteristics and management requirements used as standards to classify and evaluate products, goods, services, processes, environment and other objects in socio-economic activities in order to improve the quality and efficiency of these objects. Standards published by an organization in written form for voluntary application.
Technical regulations are regulations on the limits of technical characteristics and management requirements that products, goods, services, processes, the environment and other subjects in socio-economic activities must comply with to ensure safety, hygiene and human health; protect animals, plants, and the environment; protect national interests and security, consumer rights and other essential requirements.
Technical regulations are issued by competent state agencies in written form for mandatory application.
Source: Clauses 1 and 2, Article 3 of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations.
Procedures
