Further fee cuts needed to support firms

 

Hanoi (VNA)  – The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that the Ministry of Finance (MoF)’s proposed fee cuts was a positive move, but stronger cuts or even abolishment were needed to support businesses.

The VCCI said that many kinds of fees were unnecessary, such as the fee for certifying business information, which was 20,000VND (0.9 USD). Although the fee was low, it was unnecessary, VCCI said, adding that it was compulsory for firms to publish their information on the national portal about business registry.

So, paying fees to get this information is unreasonable, it said.

Regarding the fee for verifying the origin of fishery raw materials, the MoF proposed a cut by 10 percent from 700,000 VND to 630,000VND, which was still high and burdened businesses, the VCCI noted.

The VCCI said that a small-sized fishery processing company must have around 220 certificates about the origin of materials for exporting to the European markets per year, which would cost the firm 154 million VND overall.

The fee remained a burden to businesses, especially exporting firms, the VCCI said, adding that the firms proposed to cut the fee to around 100,000 VND to 350,000 VND per certificate.

Dau Anh Tuan, head of the VCCI’s Legal Department, expected the MoF to implement more fee cuts. “In the short term, fee collection might drop, but in the long term, the fee cuts will promote the development of businesses, and as a result, tax collection will improve and jobs will be created for the sustainable development of the economy,” Tuan said.

It was estimated that the collection of fees and charges accounted for 3 percent to 5 percent of the total budget revenue.

The Vietnamese Government has targeted the year 2017 to reduce the costs of businesses.

However, the MoF has proposed to increase the value-added tax from 10 percent to 12 percent to cope with the shrinking budget revenue and public overspending. –VNA