Highest State budget collection in five years is one of top ten outstanding events of the finance sector in 2019 announced by the Ministry of Finance (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Finance (MoF) on December 31 announced the top ten outstanding events of the sector in 2019.
1. Building and completing policies, institutions
In 2019, the ministry completed the making of important draft laws and resolutions which then were submitted to the National Assembly by the Government, including the Law on Tax Management (revised), the Law on Securities (revised) and the legislature’s resolution on the freezing of tax arrears and write-off of late-payment fines and interests for taxpayers who are no longer able to pay these amounts to the state budget.
The ministry also worked with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to submit to the NA for approval the law amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Insurance Business and the Law on Intellectual Property.
In the year, it submitted to the Government 15 decrees and to the Prime Minister 10 decisions, in which 12 decrees and three decisions were issued.
2. State budget collection highest in five years
In 2019, the finance ministry’s State budget collection hit 1.539 quadrillion VND (66.2 billion USD), 9.1 percent higher than estimates.
3. Streamlined, effective apparatus structure
The MoF stepped up the rearrangement of its apparatus, with 2,171 administrative units cut down in 2019. Accordingly, the General Department of Taxation eliminated 1,968 units, including 193 tax departments, while the State Treasury removed 128 offices in provincial treasuries, 15 district treasuries, and 48 units in the State Treasuries of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
One division under the MoF and 12 departments under the General Department of Vietnam Customs were abolished as well.
4. MoF among top entities in administrative reform
The MoF ranked second among the 18 ministries and ministry-level agencies in the 2018 Public Administration Reform (PAR) Index ranking announced by the Government in May 2019.
It also topped the Vietnam ICT Index for the seven consecutive years among the Government ministries and ministerial-level agencies with public services.
The Ministry of Finance is among top entities in administrative reform. The teleconference with localities on closing State budget spending and collection is held on December 31 (Photo: VietnamPlus)
5. Monitoring prices, stabilising market so as to control inflation
In 2019, the National Assembly and Government set a target of keeping inflation below 4 percent. The financial sector took drastic measures to control inflation at a level under the set target. Last year’s average CPI increased by 2.79 percent compared to 2018, thus contributing to macro-economic stability and growth.
6. Vietnam’s paying tax index up 22 places
Vietnam's paying tax index jumped 22 spots from 131st to 109th out of the 190 countries in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 announced on October 24, 2019.
A report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry released in November 2019 showed 78 percent of surveyed firms said they were satisfied with tax reforms, three percentage points higher than in the 2016 survey.
7. Bond market grows more rapidly than ever
Last year, 100 percent of the Government bonds had maturities of five years and more. The average maturity made a record high at 13.44 years, 0.75 year higher than that at the end of 2018. The average interest rates reduced from 1.25 percent – 1.82 percent for each maturity compared to those at the beginning of 2019.
8. Import-export turnover exceeds 500 billion USD
On December 20, 2019, the General Department of Vietnam Customs reported that the country’s total import-export value surpassed 500 billion USD.
9. Following the “single treasury account” model
Through the participation in the inter-bank e-payment system and bilateral e-payment connections with commercial banks, the single treasury account was formed. This was a new progress making the management and use of the State Treasury’s account at banks and the management of State budget close to international practices.
10. Promptly supporting underprivileged localities
In 2019, the Ministry of Finance provided rice worth 1.5 trillion VND from the National Reserves in support of underprivilege localities and students living in difficult circumstances./.
