The surveillance programme on administrative reform in the field of tax and customs has been carried out at the right time, contributing to the reform of administrative procedures in these fields. — Photo chinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI (VNS) — The Government has taken many innovative measures to reform administrative procedures, thereby helping to improve the business environment, national competitiveness and efficiency of State management, Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Chairman Vũ Tiến Lộc said.

Lộc made the statement at a seminar to review surveillance programmes on administrative reform to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness in the field of taxation and customs.

As head of the Steering Committee of the surveillance programme, Lộc said the Government has enacted many effective measures to improve administrative reform in recent years, such as issuing Resolution 19, which tasks many important institutions with improving the business environment and reforming administrative procedures.

The Government also assigned the Việt Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) and VFF’s members, such as VCCI, to supervise the Government agencies’ operations, particularly tax and custom authorities, to ensure they are making objective assessments.

With judicious leadership and guidance from VFF President Nguyễn Thiện Nhân, within a short time, VFF has established a steering committee to supervise the administrative reform process among Government agencies and bodies. VFF has tasked its member organisations with working together to conduct the programme, and they received praise from ministries and sectors.

"This helps VFF engage more deeply in the task of assessing and supervising the reform of administrative procedures," Lộc said.

Empowering enterprises

According to an evaluation of supervisors, the surveillance programme on administrative reform in the field of tax and customs has been carried out at the right time, contributing to the reform of administrative procedures in these fields.

The programme has led to a drastic change in the administrative reform process, which was appreciated by the business community, Lộc said. It also promoted the role of VFF’s members, empowered enterprises, and created a link between state agencies and enterprises.

However, in addition to positive results, the programme has still encountered some difficulties, such as financial troubles and a lack of experts specialising in the fields of tax and customs.

Phạm Thu Hương, Deputy Head of the Law and Democracy Committee under VFF, said the surveillance program this year will focus on reflecting the real situation of administrative reform in the fields of taxation and customs through the evaluation of businesses, co-operatives and business associations.

The programme also listed problems and difficulties that enterprises have to face when complying with State regulations in the field of taxation and customs, then collected their recommendations and requests to accelerate the simplification of administrative procedures.

Hương said the surveillance programme will continue to focus on supervising administrative reform in 13 provinces and cities of Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, HCM City, Bình Dương, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, Đồng Nai, Vĩnh Phúc, Quảng Ngãi, Quảng Ninh, Khánh Hòa, Đà Nẵng, Cần Thơ and Bắc Ninh.

It will also focus on reviewing and assessing the legal provisions and administrative procedures related to taxation and customs, especially the implementation of electronic tax declaration and filing. The period of surveillance activities will last from July to October this year, Hương said. — VNS