Admin procedure crackdown ramps up to assist businesses

Deadlines for removing unnecessary admin procedures and business conditions have been set, forcing ministries and localities to provide more assistance to both enterprises and investors.

- By Khoi Nguyen

Relevant authorities up and down the country were last week tasked with implementing resolutions on cutting or simplifying administrative procedures (APs) as well as investment and business conditions.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung demanded that by Q3, ministries, sectors, and localities are required to complete a 50 per cent reduction in AP processing times and compliance costs compared to 2024 levels. They will also have to complete cutting at least 30 per cent of conditional business lines and eliminate all unnecessary business conditions.

On April 29, the government issued eight resolutions on this issue, affecting 14 ministries and agencies. Over 160 legal normative documents have been revised and supplemented, including two government resolutions, 155 decrees, and six decisions issued by the prime minister.

With the promulgation of these documents, 184 business procedures have been abolished, 134 procedures decentralised to local authorities, and 349 procedures simplified, reducing the scale of centrally administered APs to 27 per cent. This is below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development benchmark target of 30 per cent. In addition, 890 business conditions have been abolished and four simplified.

It is reported that these efforts are expected to generate annual social cost savings of about $920 million.