Stamp of financial law

Financial law covers a wide range

With the inception of the financial law system by the Ministry of Finance and governmental agencies, namely the State Reserve, the Securities Commission, the Government Pricing Committee and the General Department of Customs, the financial law system covers a wide range of State budget, public assets, public debts, national reserves ... for tax, customs, prices, corporate finance, financial markets and financial services.

To meet the requirements of state management by law in the fields under their respective functions and tasks annually, the Ministry of Finance shall study and submit to the Government and the National Assembly two or three law projects. Submit to the Government and the Prime Minister dozens of decrees and decisions of the Prime Minister and promulgate according to its competence hundreds of circulars guiding the implementation.

Most recently, during the tenure of the 13th National Assembly (2011-2016), the National Assembly has approved and passed 16 bills, including seven amendments to the current Law, two Laws which were lifted from the Ordinance of the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, and 7 Laws amending and supplementing the current law. Performing the assigned tasks detailed in the Law, the Ministry of Finance has submitted to the Government to issue more than 20 decrees and issued nearly 100 circulars according to its competence to ensure timely implementation of the Law.

In addition to meeting the requirements of state management, the legally issued documents also aimed at the objectives and requirements of administrative reform. Firstly, the reform of administrative procedures. Secondly, the Ministry of Public Administration Reform (PAR) has for many years significantly contributed to the institutional development of the Ministry of Finance. The results of building and perfecting the above laws form the hallmark of financial law...

Firstly, the basic tax law is completed in line with the Strategy for Reform of the Tax System 2011-2020, for promptly dealing with issues arising from tax administration practice and requirements of administrative reform in the field of tax.

With many amendments and supplements to the Law on Value Added Tax, the Law on Corporate Income Tax, the Law on Special Consumption Tax, the Law on Personal Income Tax; Revision of the Ordinance, or the promulgation of new Laws on Export Taxes, Import Taxes, Natural Resource Taxes, Environmental Taxes, Non-agricultural Land Use Taxes, etc. So far we have had a legal system with 10 major taxes in accordance with international practices and customs in the context of extensive integration. These taxes have been formulated and perfected in a transparent and simple manner, ensuring the implementation of international commitments, contributing to creating a stable, attractive and equitable investment environment among all economic sectors. This will create reasonable mobilization rates for the state budget and increase capital accumulation for enterprises and investors, thus contributing to removing difficulties for production and business and supporting the market. Thus, positive impacts on the distribution and redistribution of resources towards equity and efficiency contribute to securing resources for state budget, ensuring discipline and discipline in financial mobilization.

Together with the Law on Tax Policy, the promulgation of the new Law on Tax Administration in 2006, amended and supplemented in 2012, has facilitated the reform of tax administrative procedures, reducing the tax payment time from 537 hours to 117 hours. Electronic tax declarations have been made, accounting for 99.64% of enterprises registering for electronic tax payment. 97.82% of enterprises are implementing electronic tax refund for some stages and receiving dossiers and returning tax refund results in 63 provinces and cities.

Secondly, perfecting the law on budget management, public debt management, public asset management, national reserve and thrift practice against waste.

State Budget Law 2015 is promulgated as a new step in institutionalizing Article 55 of the Constitution 2013, namely: "State budget, national reserves, state financial funds and other public financial sources united by the State must be used effectively and fairly, publicly, transparently and in accordance with the law. The state budget includes central and local budgets, of which the central budget plays the leading role, ensuring national spending. State budget revenues and expenditures must be estimated”.

Essentially, the State Budget Law (2015) has shown uniform consistency in regulations on state budget revenue and expenditure policies, budget allocation norms, budget balance adjustments, targeted additions and allocation rates of revenues between budgets at all levels. The central level shall promulgate policies, regimes and criteria on budget expenditures and uniformly apply them throughout the country. Collected revenues are centrally managed at the State Treasury. State budget expenditures shall be made only when the estimated budgets are allocated and determined according to the norms and norms promulgated by competent state agencies.

In line with the State Budget Law, there is the Law on Public Debt Management and Use in 2017 (replacing the Law on Management of the Use of State Property) issued in 2009). These Laws, together with the 2012 National Reserve Law, the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat, have coordinated the law on the management of state resources in accordance with the provisions of the 2013 Constitution, which provides important legal assurances that the country's financial resources are allocated, managed and used in accordance with strategic priorities, national financial security and safety, and associated with the implementation process of restructuring the economy, ensuring social security and promoting economic growth.

Thirdly, to perfect the financial law in the specialized management domains, meeting the requirements of the development of the economy and deepening international integration.

In this section of the law, the Law on the Management and Use of State Capital for Investment in Production and Trade was first promulgated in 2014 in order to concretize the provisions of the 2013 Constitution relating to State Owned Enterprises and the dominant role in the economy. The law has created a high legal basis for investment and management of state capital invested in enterprises, concretizing the Party's guidelines for the operation of state-owned enterprises. The law has clarified the functions, powers and duties of the representative office of the owner and the representative office of the owner in the investment and management of state capital invested in State enterprises, clearly defining the powers, responsibilities and autonomy and self-responsibility of the managers of the enterprises. The Law also specifies the organizational model, governance, supervision of corporations and state corporations for perfecting the mechanisms and policies on the establishment, reorganization, reorganization and elimination of SOEs and the mechanism of operation of public-utility enterprises.

The Price Law approved by the National Assembly in 2012 clearly defines the right of price and equal rights of production and business organizations and individuals according to market signals; To create mechanisms for prices to have positive impacts on the economy, such as stimulating production development, technological renewal and application of technical advances. In addition, the law has ensured the role and position of the State in the market economy mechanism through the government's price regulation. Accordingly, the state pricing for some important goods and services; In case of necessity, appropriate measures will be taken such as price stability, price control, etc.

Along with the above laws, the Law on Securities, the Law on Insurance Business was first amended in 2010 after 10 years of implementation, and has overcome the problems with the new legal regulations for creating high growth conditions for the stock market and the insurance market.

The Independent Auditing Law is a new law, promulgated in 2012, which establishes a high legal framework for auditing in place of previous regulations in the Government Decree. The law has contributed to improving the efficiency of state management of independent auditing activities, ensuring that auditing is an important management tool in the economy, contributing to healthy and transparent economic and financial information required for economic reform under the socialist-oriented market mechanism and the integration process.

Vision from reality

It can be seen that the laws on specialized sector management under the Ministry of Finance maintain high stability in the financial law system in general. Achieving stability for the future requires a vision of management practices, modifications without so many rules, mainly stemming from the proven requirements of international integration.

The stamp of financial law customs legislation has an important position. From the Ordinance on Customs issued in 1990 up to now, the customs law has gradually been improved since the Law of 2001, then amended in 2005, and promulgated the Law on Replacement in 2014. Customs 2014 has created a legal framework for a modern, professional, integrated customs. The results of administrative reform in the financial sector recognize the contribution of institutional reform to customs, reform of administrative procedures in customs operations. The Customs Law of 2014 has paved the way for the application of e-customs, the implementation of the National Single Window mechanism and the ASEAN Single Window, facilitating the import and export of goods with spectacular results with reductions of time release for imported goods. According to a World Bank report on business environment, in 2017, direct clearances at Vietnamese border gates for export goods decreased 3 hours (from 58 to 55 hours); Imports fell by 6 hours (from 62 to 56 hours); The cost of customs clearance at the port of entry for a shipment reduced by 19 USD.

Being an important part of administrative reform and institutional reform in general, the financial institutional reform in particular has had positive results for many years, contributing significantly to building a socialist rule-of-law state, forming a separate mark, the stamp of financial law, with the basic characteristics of continuous development, continuous improvement, creating an environmental framework for financial relations to operate healthily, in the right direction for international integration.