'Must effectively manage foreign traders purchasing agricultural products'

(Baonghean.vn) - Raising the issue of purchasing agricultural products and items for non-commercial purposes, negatively affecting society and the lives of farmers, Ms. Nguyen Van Chi, National Assembly delegate of Nghe An province, suggested that effective management measures and policies must be designed, and even contractor tax must be collected.

Speaking at the discussion session on the draft Law on Foreign Trade Management on November 7, Nghe An province delegate, Ms. Nguyen Van Chi - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, commented that many measures in the draft law are still stipulated at a very general level, so they have not shown the mechanism for application in practice and will mainly be decided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade or the Government.

Minister of Public Security To Lam talked with comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province.

Therefore, Ms. Chi is concerned that the actual application in the future will depend entirely on the guiding documents under the law. For example, the measure of temporarily suspending exports and imports, in addition to the content on the scope of goods, also stipulates the method of application in necessary cases according to the direction and management of competent authorities, and the authority here will be decided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade based on the opinions of ministries and branches. Thus, it will not be clear under what mechanism the measure of temporarily suspending exports and imports will be implemented, when it will be applied, and when it will end.

The bill also does not clarify the criteria for determining which goods must be managed under a license, which organizations are licensed, and how many goods are licensed.

According to Ms. Van Chi, to create a clear and open business environment and especially to be fair to businesses, only goods on the list of prohibited import and export goods should be regulated, but in exceptional cases where they need to be exported or imported or goods are exported or imported under quotas, then an import and export license is required.

As for other items that have been granted conditional business licenses under the Investment Law, as in Appendix No. 4 on the list of conditional investment business lines that will be discussed by the National Assembly in this session, it will not be necessary to manage them again under import and export licenses.

In addition, Ms. Chi also mentioned the issue of import and export business rights of foreign traders without a presence in Vietnam (i.e. not registered to do business in Vietnam), who are entitled to purchase goods in Vietnam for export or sell goods to the domestic market through agents.

This content is briefly regulated in Article 6 on freedom of import and export business and Article 48 on agency activities for foreign traders.

According to Ms. Chi's comments, in reality, there is currently a situation where foreign traders, through legal and illegal agents, collect Vietnamese agricultural products for export and compete significantly with domestic enterprises, in many cases, unfair competition. Or there are phenomena of purchasing agricultural products and items for non-commercial purposes, negatively affecting society and the lives of farmers as mentioned many times in the media.

On the other hand, according to Vietnam's open door commitment, foreign traders are also subject to certain restrictions on retail rights. However, in reality, through these agents or foreign traders can store goods in bonded warehouses for direct distribution to domestic customers.

Ms. Chi assessed that although these foreign traders do not have a commercial presence in Vietnam, they have conducted business activities in Vietnam and accordingly must pay taxes on profits generated in Vietnam. Therefore, there is also the issue of managing contractor tax collection for these subjects.

"Therefore, I propose that the drafting committee have a more specific assessment of all business activities of foreign traders, especially foreign traders in cases where they do not have a presence in Vietnam. Coordinate with management agencies to design effective management measures and policies," the delegate from Nghe An province suggested.

Delegate Nguyen Van Chi spoke in the discussion.

Ms. Chi also assessed that the content on import and export, import and export management will be directly related to the entire work of customs management and import and export tax collection. Therefore, she suggested that the drafting committee review from this perspective, especially the content of regulations on temporary import, re-export, transit, and management of goods for separate customs areas, to ensure legal consistency and create a basis for coordination in preventing and combating trade fraud and tax evasion.

Discussing this bill, Mr. Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), National Assembly delegate of Thai Binh province, said that the bill "embraces too many unnecessary or ineffective issues".

Therefore, the bill has invisibly added many new management "strap" to organizations and individuals participating in foreign trade activities, limiting their freedom of business - Mr. Loc is concerned. Meanwhile, according to his assessment, the necessary and core contents are regulated very generally, "there is no progress compared to the current legal system".

With the draft law giving the Ministry of Industry and Trade decision-making power in many cases but without any basis or criteria, Mr. Vu Tien Loc expressed concern that this could lead to abuse of power.

At the same time, the draft "gives birth" to many new types of licenses without any regulations on conditions and basis for licensing (the only regulation on the competent licensing authority is the Ministry of Industry and Trade), according to Mr. Loc, this is not transparent!

Specifically, there are a number of new types of licenses that the Draft sets out, such as Temporary Import-Re-Export Business License, Goods Transit License; License to process goods on the list of prohibited exports and imports, temporarily suspended exports and imports; License to act as an agent for buying and selling goods for foreign traders if remuneration is paid in these types of goods.

In the questioning session, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh affirmed, "The Government's viewpoint is to create and facilitate all conditions for businesses to develop, which does not contradict the name of the bill on foreign trade management."

Mr. Tran Tuan Anh said that the drafting agency will receive comments and clarify the distinction, principles of restricting and prohibiting the import and export of goods in a transparent and public manner. "These principles will be public, avoiding the abuse of the power mechanism concentrated in State management agencies," the Minister of Industry and Trade emphasized./.

Duong Gim - Anh Tuan