RESOLUTION

ON GOVERNMENT’S REGULAR MEETING OF AUGUST 2020

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015 and Law on Amendments to Law on Government Organization and Law on Local Government Organization dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 138/2016/ND-CP dated October 01, 2016 on working regulation of the Government;

Based on discussions of governmental members and conclusion of the Prime Minister in the Government’s regular meeting of August 2020 on September 04, 2020,

HEREBY RESOLVES:

1. Regarding implementation of Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP and Directive No. 11/CT-TTg; and socio-economic situation of August and the first 8 months of 2020

...

...

...

However, our economy also faces many difficulties and is affected by both internal and external risks and challenges. The pandemic progresses unpredictably around the world. Trade tensions still escalate; while geopolitical competition becomes complicated. The global economy is predicted to recover slowly, potentially leading to global monetary and financial instabilities. In Vietnam, business operations encounter much hardship, especially transport, aviation, tourism, accommodation and food and beverages. There is high risk of unemployment, insufficient number of jobs and decrease in income. Industrial production index of the first 8 months barely increases; revenues of some sectors fall as disrupted supply chains have yet to recover and global demand declines sharply. Foreign investment attraction seems to have reached a plateau. Budget revenues are low, while there are many state budget expenditures on COVID-19 and natural disaster prevention, social security, etc.

For the next period, the Government requests regulatory bodies, governments at all levels, enterprises and citizens to remain vigilant against COVID-19, properly eliminate all infection sources and identify and eradicate hotspots; continue to focus on “dual targets” of socio-economic recovery and development, striving to achieve the highest growth rate possible, while vigorously preventing COVID-19;  with a focus on the following matters:

- Ministries, regulatory bodies and local governments, especially ministries in charge of macroeconomic management, shall continue to follow directions concerning preservation of macroeconomic stability and inflation control; provide suitable mechanisms, solutions and policies to strongly stimulate drivers of growth, utilize opportunities to recover quickly and develop socio-economic activities sustainably. Robustly attract social investment capital and private investment capital, especially the moving foreign investment capital flows. Concurrently, resolve difficulties and bring about administration reform to adapt to the new situation; focus on effective implementation of the national digital transformation program, accelerate the digital transformation process in each sector and locality to develop the digital economy and achieve breakthroughs. Pay attention to agricultural and rural development, which shall be the pillar of the economy during difficulty time; enhance capacity of the domestic market, boost development of an independent economy and lessen dependence on foreign ingredients and supply chains. Create convenient and fair investment and business environments, support and facilitate development of different types of enterprises, paying attention to large and top enterprises capable of leading and sharing to generate growth in important sectors of the economy.

- State Bank of Vietnam shall continue to implement monetary policies in a flexible and proactive manner and cooperate with fiscal policies and other policies harmoniously to stimulate the economy and control inflation, stabilizing macroeconomy. Urgently amend Circular No. 01/2020/TT-NHNN before September 30, 2020 and relevant regulations with an aim to extending repayment period for debts affected by COVID-19 and eligible for restructuring/debt classification retention as appropriate to the pandemic’s progress and in support of citizens and enterprises. Urgently submit draft decision on pilot use of telecoms accounts for low value goods and services payment (mobile money) to the Prime Minister; complete and submit proposal for formulation of a Decree on regulatory sandboxes for fintech in the banking sector within October 2020 to the Government.

- Ministry of Finance shall continue to review and propose tax and fee policies supporting enterprises facing difficulties due to the pandemic; promote administrative procedures reform to enable citizens and enterprises to pay tax; cooperate with ministries, central authorities and local governments in adopting more measures against revenue loss, transfer pricing and trade frauds, reviewing and collecting debts. Urgently propose draft Decree amending Decree No. 126/2017/ND-CP and Decree No. 32/2018/ND-CP to the Government for consideration and promulgation to accelerate equitization of state-owned enterprises and divestment of state capital in enterprises; finalize amendments to Circular No. 01/2020/TT-NHNN with the State Bank of Vietnam to promulgate the amendments promptly and provide practical support for enterprises and borrowers affected by the pandemic in accordance with the Prime Minister’s direction.

- Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall direct proper implementation of guidelines, performance of tasks and adoption of solutions accelerating use and disbursement of public investment capital put forward by the Government and the Prime Minister; actively expedite and supervise and promptly resolve difficulties, prevent dishonest reporting, corruption, wastage and loss of the State's investment capital and property. Ministry of Planning and Investment shall continue to monitor, propose and report to the Prime Minister for allocation of capital used ineffectively from ministries, central authorities and local governments to ministries, central authorities and local governments making good disbursement progress and wishing to receive more capital.

- Ministry of Planning and Investment shall proactively and actively give advice on and propose promotion of cooperation with other countries on investment in radical solutions to promote investment and selectively attract supply chain relocation and foreign investment capital; concurrently, cooperate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in considering and revising industrial park land use targets across the country as appropriate and feasible.

- Ministry of Industry and Trade shall cooperate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Finance, relevant ministries and regulatory bodies, and local governments in developing action programs and plans for trade promotion and boosting of export to potential markets; concurrently, stimulating demand for domestic consumption, focusing on development of the domestic market with detailed solutions and policies for domestic tourism, retail, transport, accommodation, food and beverages services, agricultural products, etc.; prevent smuggling and trade frauds in any shape or form, contributing to protection of domestic consumption and production.

- Ministry of Transport shall take charge and cooperate with relevant ministries and regulatory bodies in proposing resumption of commercial international flights connecting Vietnam with some other countries. Accelerate progress of key transport infrastructure projects such as Long Thanh airport project, project on expansion of Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai airports; project on North - South expressway to the East.

...

...

...

- Ministry of Education and Training shall direct local governments and educational and training institutions to prepare for the 2020 - 2021 academic year in connection with COVID-19 prevention, ensuring safe teaching and learning environments for teachers and students. Further apply information technology to teaching and learning.

- Ministry of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs shall take charge and cooperate with other ministries, central authorities and local governments, especially those in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities, in resolving problems and distributing aid packages to persons facing difficulties due to the pandemic effectively.

- Ministry of Health shall urgently disseminate simple, understandable, easy-to-follow and effective COVID-19 prevention measures to citizens to ensure their safety during the pandemic; propose COVID-19 prevention plans to cooperate with the Ministry of Transport in gradually resuming commercial international air routes, ensuring safety and compliance with COVID-19 prevention requirements, with a focus on enhancement of quick COVID-19 testing capacity at airports, in tourism areas, etc. Concurrently, further direct local governments to control and eliminate epidemic hotspots completely, preventing the spread of COVID-19.

- Ministry of Information and Communications shall continue to organize communication activities to promote the efforts that the whole society has put into achievement of the “dual targets”; promptly rebut wrong information and bad arguments from hostile forces. Research and propose development of specialized digital infrastructures for regulatory authorities to competent authorities. Continue to take charge and cooperate with the Office of the Government, ministries, central authorities and local governments in e-Government development tasks.

- Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall properly organize foreign affairs events as appropriate to the COVID-19 situation, especially the 37th ASEAN Summit and related events. Continue to properly protect Vietnamese citizens abroad amidst the pandemic.

- Ministry of National Defense shall grasp developments and promptly provide accurate forecasts and analyses, especially for issues concerning the South China Sea, to adopt suitable response measures and protect Vietnam’s sovereignty and interests. Successfully perform military and national defense duties in connection with COVID-19 prevention tasks.

- Ministry of Public Security shall direct its forces to enhance management of their assigned localities; continue to organize crackdowns on crimes, especially high-tech crimes, to preserve public order and security. Accelerate building of a national identity database.

- Ministries and regulatory bodies shall promptly prepare documents and reports required for the 10th session of the 14th legislature of the National Assembly as assigned and regulated.

2. Socio-economic situation of 2020 and provisional 2021 socio-economic development plan

...

...

...

Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take charge and cooperate with other ministries and central authorities in seriously receiving opinions of the Central Steering Committee to complete the report before submitting it to the Prime Minister for approval; on such grounds, with the authorization from the Prime Minister, the Minister of Planning and Investment shall submit the report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the National Assembly on behalf of the Government according to regulations.

3. Some matters pertaining to execution of 2020 public investment plans

a) Regarding amendments to 2020 plans for investment of state budget-sourced capital:

Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take charge and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in reviewing, consolidating and submitting amendment plans to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision. For 2020 capital to be returned as proposed by ministries, central government authorities and local governments, which is included in report No. 5808/BC-BKHDT dated September 03, 2020 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall urgently take charge and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in reviewing and reporting to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision before September 25, 2020 to accelerate disbursement of 2020 investment capital.

b) Regarding extension of deadline for disbursement of capital provided for in 2018 and 2019 capital investment plans to 2020:

Deadlines for disbursement of 2018 and 2019 capital by ministries, central government authorities and local governments is extended to December 31, 2020 inclusive.

c) Regarding deadline for allocation of 2020 capital not yet allocated to specific projects:

Ministries, central government authorities and local governments shall allocate 2020 state budget-sourced investment capital to specific projects before September 30, 2020. After this deadline, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take charge and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in reviewing amounts of 2020 investment capital not yet allocated by ministries, central government authorities and local governments, and adding these amounts to plans for amendments to 2020 plans for investment of central government budget-sourced capital of ministries, central government authorities and local governments according to regulations in the Government’s Resolution No. 84/NQ-CP, and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision to reclaim and allocate these amounts to other ministries, central government authorities and local governments making good disbursement progress and wishing to receive more capital.

4. Regarding handling of preferential import duty levied on project of Formosa Ha Tinh Corporation

...

...

...

5. Regarding tax policy for 2.000 Eliciae MV20 ventilators aid of humanitarian aid

The Government approved of the Ministry of Finance’s proposal that import duty and value-added tax applicable to in-kind humanitarian aid/non-refundable aid given by foreign organizations and individuals to Vietnamese regulatory bodies, organizations and individuals shall be imposed upon 2000 Eliciae MV20 ventilators gifted to the Government and Ministry of Health by Van Lang Healthcare LLC, which is put forward in Report No. 108/BC-BTC dated September 03, 2020. Ministry of Finance shall provide guidelines on this matter for customs authorities; concurrently, review and propose appropriate amendments to legislative documents on tax policies applicable to in-kind aid from Vietnamese organizations and individuals.

6. Regarding amendment to estimate of funding for operation of General Department of Taxation and General Department of Vietnam Customs in 2020

Proposal of the Ministry of Finance in Proposal No. 120/TTr-BTC dated June 29, 2020 was approved.

With the authorization from the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance may, on behalf of the Government, sign reports and explanations sent to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the National Assembly for consideration and decision on adding estimated funding for recurrent expenditure (funding for operation allocated for 2020) of General Department of Taxation and General Department of Vietnam Customs to estimated funding for development investment expenditure (capital construction expenditure). Ministry of Finance shall take responsibility for accuracy of information and figures reported; prepare all necessary documents and send them to bodies of the National Assembly before the given deadline.

- After receiving the permission to add funding for recurrent expenditure to funding for investment expenditure from the competent authority, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take charge and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in proposing additional capital to the 2016 - 2020 mid-term investment plan and extension of deadlines for funding allocation and disbursement according to regulations to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

7. Regarding proposal from the People's Committee of Hanoi for resolution of some difficulties arising during amendment to foreign investment projects with more than VND 5.000 billion of funding in accordance with approved planning

According to Report No. 249/BC-UBND dated September 04, 2020 by the People's Committee of Hanoi, which proposes allowing the People’s Committee of Hanoi to amend investment guidelines decisions of foreign-invested projects with more than VND 5.000 billion of funding in accordance with planning approved by the competent authority; Report No. 5833/BC-KHDT dated September 04, 2020 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment; Report No. 7324/BC-VPCP dated September 04, 2020 by the Office of the Government (Section IV); opinions on the proposal of the People’s Committee of Hanoi from Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung formed after he worked with relevant ministries and regulatory bodies on September 11, 2020, the Government established the following principle:

Within the competence stipulated by law, the regulatory body that decides a set of investment guidelines has the power to decide amendment to such guidelines. However, considering the issue concerning competence in deciding investment guidelines and competence in deciding amendment to investment guidelines (Clause 9 Article 31 and Article 35) arising from Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP on guidelines for some Articles of the Law on Investment (in effect until the end of 2020), the Government agreed to allow provincial People’s Committees to decide amendment to investment guidelines of the projects mentioned in Clause 9 Article 31 of Decree No. 118/2015/ND-CP in compliance with regulations of law and in a transparent and consistent manner.

...

...

...

Proposal for formulation of a Decree on mobilization, receipt, distribution and use of voluntary contributions to natural disaster, epidemic and incident recovery; and to terminally ill patients is approved.

Ministry of Finance shall take charge and cooperate with relevant regulatory bodies in researching, formulating and proposing the Decree to the Government before the end of 2020.

9. Regarding addition to scope and regulated entities of draft Decree on tuition and living expenses support policy for pedagogical students

The Government passed the draft Decree on tuition and living expenses support policy for pedagogical students after the Ministry of Education and Training received opinions from members of the Government and expanded the Decree’s scope to include pedagogical students trained per societal demand as well as adding students of full-time bridge programs and students working for a concurrent second full-time undergraduate/college degree in pedagogy with very good grade for the first degree to regulated entities.

Ministry of Education and Training shall take charge and cooperate with the Office of the Government in urgently completing and proposing this Decree to the Prime Minister for promulgation.

10. Regarding on-lending appraisal for project for disaster and climate change countermeasures using Earth observation satellite funded by capital borrowed from Japan

The Government’s direction is as follows:

a) Pursuant to Point b Clause 1 Article 33 of the 2017 Law on Public Debt Management, which stipulates that public service providers may receive on-lent ODA loans and concessional loans; Resolution No. 13/NQ-CP dated February 19, 2020 on domestic financial mechanism for foreign loan of project for disaster and climate change countermeasures using Earth observation satellite funded by Japanese ODA loan; and Clause 4 Article 16 of the Government’s 97/2018/ND-CP dated June 30, 2018 on on-lending of the Government’s ODA loans and foreign concessional loans, the end borrower that borrows the Japanese ODA loan shall be Vietnam National Space Center, which is affiliated to Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology; and loan security is not required for this project’s on-lent loan.

b) On-lending plan of the project:

...

...

...

- Repayment period shall last 05 years, which corresponds to the period in which the satellite is in orbit (estimated to be from 2024 to 2028).

- Regarding all debt obligations arising during pre-launch period (including principal, interest and fees stated in the loan agreement signed on November 02, 2011; and debt, interest and fees stated in the loan agreement to be signed for the following period), Vietnam National Space Center may make late debt payments and be exempt from late payment interest; and shall fulfill all debt obligations equally divided over the 05 years during which the satellite is in orbit and other debt obligations arising within a specific tax period.

- Other eligibility requirements for receipt of on-lent loans (on-lending interest rate, on-lending fees and loan loss provision) are provided for in Decree No. 97/2018/ND-CP.

c) Responsibilities of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology:

- Direct and supervise Vietnam National Space Center to ensure that it performs the project successfully.

- Allocate sufficient reciprocal capital to cover all fees related to the foreign loan agreement (commitment fees for the loan agreement signed on November 02, 2011; and capital arrangement fees for the loan agreement to be signed for the following period). Report any difficulty arising to the Government and the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

- Propose adding VND 240 billion of satellite operation costs to recurrent expenditure of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology for the 5 years during which the satellite is in orbit to the competent authority for consideration and approval;

- Amend investment decisions of the project to ensure that they are consistent with the on-lending plan approved by the competent authority.

11. Approval of funding allocation plan for the fiscal year 2019 (implemented in 2020) and addition to foreign funding and state budget estimate of 2020; list of communes and list of works to receive aid from ODA grant from the Government of Ireland for communes with exceptional difficulties under Programme 135

...

...

...

- With the authorization from the Prime Minister, the Minister of Planning and Investment shall, on behalf of the Government, sign the report submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the National Assembly on allocation of additional capital to the 2016 - 2020 mid-term public investment plan and 2020 investment capital from ODA grant from the Government of Ireland for 2017 - 2020 for the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs to perform the project on assistance for communes with exceptional difficulties under Programme 135 as proposed by the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs (in Proposal No. 1100/TTr-UBDT dated August 28, 2020). Ministry of Planning and Investment shall prepare and send all necessary documents to the National Assembly and bodies of the National Assembly before the given deadline.

- Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs shall take responsibility for reported contents and figures, allocation plan and list of communes and works to receive such aid. Take charge and cooperate with relevant ministries and regulatory bodies and the sponsor in directing, inspecting and evaluating use of the grant in the receiving localities stated in the financing agreement between representatives of the Vietnamese and Irish Governments and progress and efficiency thereof, and report these matters to the Prime Minister according to regulations.

12. Regarding the Government’s draft report on review of legislative documents concerning areas under state management

The Government passed the Government’s draft report on review of legislative documents concerning areas under state management. Ministry of Justice shall review and complete the Government’s report to ensure its quality and that it is on schedule; and only include contradictory regulations, major difficulties and points no longer practical the legal grounds of which have been identified in the draft report.

- With the authorization from the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice shall, on behalf of the Government, sign the report, which shall be submitted to the National Assembly immediately after the Government’s regular meeting of August 2020.

- Based on opinions from the National Assembly, the Ministry of Justice shall complete the report and propose to the Prime Minister solutions adopted to direct relevant ministries and regulatory bodies to introduce amendments to legislative documents intra vires or propose such amendments.

13. Progress of performance of tasks assigned by the Government and the Prime Minister

Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall urgently propose remaining assigned guidelines  or cooperate with the Office of the Government in completing and proposing such guidelines to the Government and the Prime Minister for consideration and promulgation before September 15, 2020; concurrently, focus resources on and vigorously direct formulation and proposal of 49 guidelines for the laws coming into force on January 01, 2021 to competent authorities for promulgation. Concurrently, accelerate development and proposal of schemes under programs that are behind schedule before September 15, 2020 and propose 41 schemes of the operation program of September 2020.

14. Regarding resolution of difficulties encountered by enterprises while complying with some regulations of Decree No. 40/2019/ND-CP during the COVID-19 pandemic

...

...

...

- Deadline for installation of automatic and continuous wastewater and emission monitoring systems provided for in Clauses 20 and 23 of Article 3 of Decree No. 40/2019/ND-CP may be extended from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2021 inclusive.

- Validity period of license for hazardous waste treatment (issued to enterprises by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) may be extended to December 31, 2021 inclusive for the cases mentioned in Clause 39 Article 3 of Decree No. 40/2019/ND-CP, and a new environmental impact assessment report is not required if the current report has been approved and there is no change to the location or increase in capacity or size according to regulations in Article 20 of the 2014 Law on Environmental Protection.

- Validity period of certificate of eligibility for environment protection in import of scrap as production materials may be extended to December 31, 2021 inclusive for the cases mentioned in Clause 39 Article 3 of Decree No. 40/2019/ND-CP, and a new environmental impact assessment report is not required if the current report has been approved and there is no change to the location or increase in capacity or size according to regulations in Article 20 of the 2014 Law on Environmental Protection.

- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall properly adopt these resolutions, provide guidelines and information in a transparent and proactive manner on mass media for enterprises and avoid giving rise to more administrative procedures during such adoption. Concurrently, continue to review and detect difficulties arising during implementation of Decree No. 40/2019/ND-CP to propose to the Government amendments that are favorable to enterprises but also ensure state management, prevent misconduct and corruption; prevent environmental pollution and avoid affecting people’s life.

15. Regarding progress of e-Government development and administrative procedures reform

The Government requests ministries, regulatory bodies and local governments to:

- Focus on performing the tasks concluded by the Prime Minister in the meeting of the National Committee on E-government on August 26, 2020.

- Urgently establish their own reporting system and connect it with the Government’s reporting system in the fourth quarter of 2020.

- Further reform, simplify and digitalize administrative procedures and promptly handle complaints and propositions from people and enterprises.

...

...

...

- The Ministry of Information and Communications shall take charge and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in proposing solutions for reduction of prime cost of public digital signature maintenance and operation to the Prime Minister in September 2020.

- The Government Cipher Commission shall accelerate decentralization and authorization of some Government specialized digital signature authentication services according to direction from Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam in document No. 3402/VPCP-KSTT dated April 29, 2020 by the Office of the Government.

- In September 2020, local governments shall finish launching electronic copy certification and start recognizing validity of electronic applications intra vires./.

P.P. THE GOVERNMENT
THE PRIME MINISTER




Nguyen Xuan Phuc