Prime Minister's conclusion on supporting businesses to restore production and business

On May 20, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung chaired a meeting to discuss solutions to help and support businesses to overcome the damage caused by law violations in some localities. After listening to reports from ministries, agencies and localities, the Prime Minister concluded and gave instructions on this issue.

Recently, people across the country have strongly protested China’s illegal placement of an oil rig in Vietnam’s waters. Some protesters have violated the law, vandalized property of the State, individuals, and businesses, including foreign-invested enterprises, and resisted law enforcement officers, affecting security, social order and safety, and production and business.

The Government has directed the synchronous implementation of timely preventive measures and resolutely and strictly handled law violators. Security, social order and safety have been ensured. Most enterprises have returned to normal production and business activities. The Government has continued to direct the implementation of necessary measures in accordance with the law and international commitments to ensure absolute security and safety for agencies, enterprises and foreigners in Vietnam.

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To help and support businesses to overcome damage and develop production and business, the Prime Minister requests:

1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to fully inform countries and territories about the current situation and the Government's direction as mentioned above. It is requested that countries encourage and motivate businesses to continue to invest and conduct business in Vietnam.

2. Ministries, branches, localities, businesses and workers share and cooperate closely to quickly overcome the consequences, develop production and business, and bring common benefits. Ministries, branches and localities work directly with businesses in a constructive spirit and implement all appropriate solutions to help and support businesses. Focus on the following main tasks:

a) The People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities with damaged enterprises must assign staff to work directly with each enterprise to grasp the actual situation, and immediately announce the focal point to receive and resolve issues related to administrative procedures, especially support in recovering, confirming, providing records, documents, and certificates to serve the determination of the value of damaged assets and applying related policies and regimes. In case of lost records, documents, and certificates, the agencies are allowed to implement based on the commitment of the enterprise and post-inspection.

b) The Ministry of Finance shall preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies and localities to:

- Guide insurance companies to identify and include businesses' damages within the scope of insurance; promptly determine the value of damages to make compensation according to simple and shortened procedures; advance compensation for cases that have been clearly identified as being within the scope and subject of insurance.

- Direct tax and customs authorities to base on the actual damage of enterprises to extend the deadline for submitting tax declarations; extend the deadline for paying taxes and amounts payable to the State budget for amounts incurred before May 2014 but not yet paid, corresponding to the level of damage. The maximum extension period is 02 years, without late payment penalties for damaged enterprises.

- Direct customs authorities to exempt and reduce export and import taxes according to regulations and refund export and import taxes for export and import taxes of damaged goods; allow customs clearance of export and import shipments of damaged enterprises with tax debts.

- Direct tax authorities to promptly deduct or refund input value-added tax on damaged goods and services without compensation, including cases where documents and invoices no longer exist.

- Directing tax authorities to guide enterprises to declare deductible expenses when determining taxable income for corporate income tax for the value of damage that is not compensated or not within the scope of compensation and the interest payment on charter capital loans for remedying the consequences of damage.

- Guidance on reducing the special consumption tax payable in 2014 by a maximum of 30% but not exceeding the value of damaged assets after compensation.

c) The People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall exempt or reduce land rent for damaged enterprises. In case the damaged enterprise rents infrastructure associated with land use rights, the land rent shall be exempted or reduced for the infrastructure business company; this amount shall be deducted accordingly from the infrastructure rent of the damaged enterprise.

d) The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs directs localities to take appropriate measures to support and provide timely replacement labor for the labor shortage. The Ministry of Public Security creates all favorable conditions to grant quick entry visas to foreign investors and workers to enter Vietnam for businesses that have suffered losses and need to recruit foreign workers.

To meet urgent labor needs, it is allowed to immediately apply the regulation that foreign experts working in Vietnam only need to have a university or bachelor's degree or at least 05 years of experience in the expected field of work; for granting work permits to foreigners residing in Vietnam for 6 months or more, only a Criminal Record issued by a competent authority of Vietnam is required.

For damaged enterprises that have not been able to resume production and business activities and are unable to pay wages to employees from April to June 2014, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Vietnam Social Insurance shall coordinate with the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to direct the review of the list and apply regulations on unemployment insurance regimes to resolve the remaining wages owed to employees. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to synthesize the implementation situation of localities, report to the Prime Minister on solutions and propose plans to apply from June 2014.

d) The State Bank of Vietnam directs credit institutions to proactively and actively take timely and necessary measures to remove difficulties in transaction and loan relationships to help businesses quickly restore and develop production and business.

e) The Ministry of Public Security shall urgently direct the investigation, clarification and strict handling of those who violate the law; at the same time, actively search for, recover and return lost assets and technical equipment to organizations, individuals and businesses./.

According to Chinhphu.vn