The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that the Ministry of Finance’s proposed fee cuts was a positive move, but stronger cuts or even abolishments were needed to support businesses.

The VCCI said that many kinds of fees were unnecessary, such as the fee for certifying business information, which was VND20,000 (US$0.9). Although the fee was low, it was unnecessary, VCCI said, adding that it was compulsory for firms to publish their information on the national portal about business registry.

So, paying fees to get this information is unreasonable, it said.

Regarding the fee for verifying the origin of fishery raw materials, the finance ministry proposed a cut by 10 per cent from VND700,000 to VND630,000, which was still high and burdened businesses, the VCCI noted.

The VCCI said that a small-sized fishery processing company must have around 220 certificates about the origin of materials for exporting to the European markets per year, which would cost the firm VND154 million overall.

The fee remained a burden to businesses, especially exporting firms, the VCCI said, adding that the firms proposed to cut the fee to around VND100,000 to VND350,000 per certificate.

Dau Anh Tuan, head of the VCCI’s Legal Department, expected the Ministry of Finance to implement more fee cuts. “In the short term, fee collection might drop, but in the long term, the fee cuts will promote the development of businesses, and as a result, tax collection will improve and jobs will be created for the sustainable development of the economy,” Tuan said.

It was estimated that the collection of fees and charges accounted for 3 per cent to 5 per cent of the total budget revenue.

The Vietnamese Government has targeted the year 2017 to reduce the costs of businesses.

However, the ministry has proposed to increase the value-added tax from 10 per cent to 12 per cent to cope with the shrinking budget revenue and public overspending. – VNS