Staffs of Quang Binh Province Department of Customs were handling procedures via the customs automated system. The Ministry of Finance would hasten tax and customs administrative reforms this year as a bold effort to improve the business climate. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyet

The Ministry of Finance plans to hasten tax and customs administrative reforms this year to improve the business climate.

This was a highlight of Minister Dinh Tien Dung's recent decision for an action programme to implement a National Assembly resolution about solutions to improve the business climate and national competitiveness.

Accordingly, the finance ministry hopes to move up 7-10 spots in the World Bank’s ranking of paying taxes and social insurance and up 5-10 spots in trading across borders.

The ministry hopes to accelerate tax and customs administrative reforms, shorten procedures, modernise and use information technology in management to reduce the time spent conducting administrative procedures while ensuring transparency.

The ministry aims to provide at least 30 per cent of its public services online at level four, the highest level of online public services.

To gain a higher ranking in paying tax, the ministry plans to review the tax legal document system, including regulations about tax exemptions for agricultural land as well as issuing detailed regulations about freezing tax debts, remission of fines for late payment and overdue payables of payers no longer able to pay taxes.

In 2019, the ministry removed 49 administrative procedures, amended 23 and issued 38 new procedures.

Viet Nam's paying tax indicator jumped 22 spots from 131st to 109th out of 190 countries in the World Bank’s ranking announced on October 24, 2019.

The satisfaction of businesses about tax reforms also increased. A report by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced in November 2019 showed 78 per cent of surveyed firms said they were satisfied with tax reforms, three percentage points higher than the 2016 survey.

The Ministry of Finance was always top of Government agencies in administrative reforms. The Ministry of Finance ranked second in the Public Administrative Reform Index released in May 2019 and topped the Vietnam ICT Index for the seven consecutive years among Government ministries and ministerial-level agencies with public services. — VNS