The Standing Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee requested continued improvement in the effectiveness of mineral resource management.
(Baonghean.vn) - Nghe An province has conducted inspections of 22 businesses/32 mining licenses and has imposed fines and collected back taxes totaling over 24.9 billion VND; supplemented tax obligations with a total tax and fee amount of nearly 18 billion VND, and late payment penalties of nearly 3 billion VND.
On the morning of October 27th, at the regular monthly meeting for October 2023, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee heard a report on the situation and results of implementing Directive No. 20-CT/TU dated December 28, 2022, on strengthening the Party's leadership over state management of mineral resources in the province.
Comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, and Head of the Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies - presided over the meeting.
Attending the working session were: Nguyen Van Thong - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; representatives of the Central Party Committees, members of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, and leaders of several departments and agencies.
RESOLUTELY FIGHT AGAINST TAX EVASION AND FRAUDULENT PRACTICES.
In implementing Directive 20, the province has focused on reviewing, amending, supplementing, and developing regulations, rules, mechanisms, policies, and administrative procedures within its authority and responsibility, in accordance with central government regulations and the actual situation.
At the same time, improve regulations on auctioning mineral exploitation rights, especially for common construction materials, ensuring strict adherence to the law, market principles, transparency, and preventing corruption and losses; and thoroughly reform administrative procedures.
Nghe An province has also established and implemented a plan for the exploration, exploitation, utilization, and protection of resources and the environment in mineral activities for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050; minimizing the granting of exploration and exploitation licenses for other types of minerals besides those used as common construction materials.
The province also intensified inspection and supervision work; and combated tax evasion and fraud.
The Provincial People's Committee established two inter-agency inspection teams to conduct inspections of 22 enterprises/32 mining licenses and imposed fines and collected back taxes totaling over 24.9 billion VND; supplemented tax obligations with a total tax and fee amount of nearly 18 billion VND, and late payment penalties of nearly 3 billion VND.
From the beginning of 2023 to the present, the Provincial Police have detected, arrested, and prosecuted 356 cases involving 400 individuals violating regulations in the field of mineral resources.
On October 20, 2023, the Provincial People's Committee issued a decision to establish an inter-agency inspection team to inspect the remaining mineral mining operations in Quy Hop district.
In addition, the Department of Construction and the People's Committees at the district level have established inspection teams; the Department of Transport continues to strengthen the control of vehicle load limits; and control load limits in areas at the source of goods.
The inspection and enforcement results have created order, discipline, and a ripple effect, making a significant contribution to encouraging businesses to seriously fulfill their tax and fee declarations and other financial obligations, thereby increasing budget revenue in this sector. The total amount of environmental restoration deposits in mineral exploitation that have been paid cumulatively up to August 31, 2023, is over 266 billion VND.
During the meeting, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee acknowledged the positive results in the state management of mineral resources in the province; at the same time, it pointed out shortcomings and limitations that need to be overcome and outlined plans for the future.
Comrade Bui Thanh An - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee - suggested that, along with granting mining licenses, it is necessary to expedite the granting of land for processing areas and auxiliary facilities; and strengthen inspections of compliance with laws on occupational safety and hygiene in mining and mineral processing activities.
The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also stated that relevant agencies need to propose solutions based on the law, ensuring that no obstacles are created for businesses; in order to both effectively combat tax and fee losses in mineral exploitation activities and create favorable conditions for businesses to operate.
Analyzing past results, which show that violations were only discovered when inter-agency inspection teams from the province were organized, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung believes that the role and responsibility of local Party committees and authorities in this area are still limited.
Therefore, the comrade suggested that in the coming period, along with inspecting the operations of mineral mining enterprises, the province should examine the role and responsibility of Party committees and authorities in implementing Directive No. 20 of the Provincial Party Standing Committee.
Comrade Nguyen Van Thong, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, stated that for minerals such as common construction materials, once the principle of granting mining licenses has been approved, the procedures need to be expedited. Currently, the procedures for granting mining licenses are slow. Therefore, this issue should be reviewed and reassessed, including the qualifications and capabilities of officials advising on mineral licensing.
The Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee also suggested that inspections and audits are needed to clearly determine the amount of tax revenue lost in order to find effective solutions to combat tax evasion; at the same time, he proposed studying a flexible mechanism to allow small-scale exploitation of common construction materials such as sand and gravel in highland districts to serve the construction of small projects, avoiding the situation where people in highland areas have to go to the lowlands to buy materials, leading to increased construction costs.
TIGHTEN MANAGEMENT AND PREVENT LOSS OF MINERAL RESOURCES
Concluding this discussion, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy acknowledged that the strong determination of the Provincial Party Standing Committee has created positive changes in the attitude, methods, and approaches of the political system towards state management of mineral resources.
At the same time, Nghe An province is able to meet the demand for minerals for the construction of key projects of the Central Government and of the province in the area.
However, there are still shortcomings in mineral exploitation activities, most commonly exceeding the permitted production volume, leading to many negative consequences. Therefore, the Provincial Party Secretary requested continued strict management to prevent resource depletion, protect the environment, and ensure labor safety.
In addition, the Provincial Party Secretary requested the Party Committee of the Provincial People's Committee to listen to and provide guidance and measures to more strictly control and prevent tax and fee evasion in mineral exploitation activities.
The head of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee also agreed with the need to examine the role of Party committees in leading, directing, and concretizing the role of local authorities in the state management of mineral resources in the area when implementing Directive 20.
At the same time, the authorities are conducting thorough research to advise the Provincial People's Committee on resolving practical difficulties and ensuring flexibility in the exploitation of mineral resources such as common construction materials to serve the needs of mountainous districts.
The Provincial Party Secretary also emphasized the solution of building an information system and database related to businesses and organizations and individuals operating in the mining sector in the province; and strengthening environmental control and labor safety activities.
Regarding businesses, the Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee affirmed that the province prioritizes the supply of materials for key projects in the area, but businesses must also participate in the implementation, complete all necessary documents and procedures for submission to competent authorities for processing, and ensure that all requirements are met.
Also on the agenda, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee listened to and commented on many other important issues such as: the overall plan for rearranging administrative units at the district and commune levels in the province for the period 2023-2025; a summary of 15 years of implementing Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW dated July 25, 2008, of the Central Committee of the Party (10th term) on strengthening the Party's leadership over youth work during the period of accelerated industrialization and modernization; discussions on inspection, supervision, and disciplinary enforcement within the Party; approval of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee's regulations on organizing grassroots work trips; attending rallies, commemorations, congresses, conferences, and receiving guests by members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Council, Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committee, and Vice Heads of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation;…