Báo cáo thực tập tiếng anh INTERNSHIP COMPANYINSTITUTION international cooperation department – ministry of finance

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

***

GRADUATE INTERNSHIP REPORT

INTERNSHIP COMPANY/INSTITUTION: International Cooperation Department – Ministry

of Finance
Address: No. 28 Tran Hung Dao St., Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam

Supervisor: Ms. Hoang Kim Thu
Student’s full name: Đỗ Phương Chinh
Student’s ID: 12071201
Major: International Business

1


Class: IB2012B

Hanoi, March 10, 2016

2


Acknowledgements
I’d like to say thank to all the peoples at the International Cooperation Department of
Ministry of Finance, especially Mr. Pham Tuan Anh (Deputy Director), you all have
made my six weeks of training time worthwhile and mind-opening. Special thanks go

to my academic supervisor Ms. Hoang Kim Thu from the International School,
Vietnam Nation University, Hanoi; you have provided the necessary ideals and steps to
make this report a success. And last but not least, I’d like to take the opportunity to
thank the International School, Vietnam Nation University for giving me the chance to
apply my academic knowledges into real-life practice.

3


Table of Notations and Abbreviations
Abbreviation

Meaning

AEC

ASEAN Economic Community

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ATIGA

ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement

FTA

Free Trade Agreement

International Cooperation Dept.

International Cooperation Department

MOF

Ministry of Finance

RCEP

Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership

4


Table of Contents

5


I.

Introduction:
In recent years, Vietnam has successfully signed many free trade agreements
(FTA) in the processes of globalization and regionalization. By the end of 2015,
Vietnam has joined 10 FTAs, 6 of them are regional FTAs (ASEAN, ASEANChina, ASEAN-South Korea, ASEAN-Japan, ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand
and ASEAN-India) and four bilateral FTAs (Vietnam-Japan Economic
Partnership Agreement (VJEPA), Vietnam-Chile FTA, Vietnam-South Korea
FTA, and the Vietnam Eurasian Economic Union FTA. These FTAs have made

positive impact on economic growth. With an import and export turnover 1.5
times higher GDP in recent years, Vietnam is considered a relatively open
economy [3]. And behind all of these economic achievements of Vietnam is a
Government agency that working day by day for the good of the people of
Vietnam, it is the Ministry of Finance (MOF). For more specific, the
International Cooperation Department, which under the management of MOF, is
the institution taking the lead responsibility in searching, negotiating and
signing FTA between Vietnam and other countries. Moreover, it also has the
function of evaluating the impact of FTAs on Vietnam economic, ensuring the
fulfilment of Vietnam’s commitment in FTAs and all related issues.
Through this internship report, I wish to bring peoples an inside view of MOF,
especially on how they maintaining an FTA. For the first two chapter of this
report, I will give the reader an introduction about the history, establishment and
organizational structure of MOF as well as the International Cooperation Dept.
After that, I will describe one specific activities of MOF that help to maintain
FTAs. The last two chapter of this report will mainly focus on the experience
that I have and lessons I have gained during the intern in the International

II.

Cooperation Dept. (MOF)
Contents:
A. Chapter 1: General information about Internship Institution
1. The Ministry of Finance of the Social Republic of Vietnam
6


a. General information about Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Finance

No. 28 Tran Hung Dao St., Hoan
Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
84-4-22202828
84-4-22208010 – 84-4-22208020 –
84-4-2220802

http:/www.mof.gov.vn [2]

Address:
Tel:
Fax:
Email:
Website:
Leaders of the Ministry of Finance [8]
Title
Minister
Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister

Full name
Đinh Tiến Dũng
Đỗ Hoàng Anh Tuấn
Trần Xuân Hà
Trần Văn Hiếu
Nguyễn Hữu Chí

Trương Chí Trung
Vũ Thị Mai
Huỳnh Quang Hải

b. Establishment and development of the Organization:

August Revolution 1945 had succeeded, the state of Democratic Republic of
Vietnam was born, along with the establishment of the Provisional Government,
the Ministry of Finance is one of the government organization established on
28/8/1945. During the decades of establishment and development, the Ministry
of Finance and Vietnam Finance have matured in all fields, the construction of
National Finance gradually grow, greatly contributing to the development and
protection of our country. We can look back on the history of the Ministry of
Finance through time milestones:
1945-1954
- Ministers: Phạm Văn Đồng (1945-1946) and Lê Văn Hiến (1946-1958)
- Adjusting State budget during 1945-1954
- Unified state financial management during 1951-1954
7


1955-1975
-

Ministers: Lê Văn Hiến (1946-1958) and Hoàng Anh (1958-1965) and Đặng

-

Việt Châu (1965-1974)
Building and implementing State Budget to be in consistent with existing

situation and requirements of action plan on economy rehabilitation during

-

1955-1957
Three year Social reform and initial culture – economic development (1958-

-

1960). State budget is continuously strengthened and developed
The Third Communist Party Congress on the Socialist industrialization and

-

financial target during 1961-1965
Improving the State Budget revenue regime during 1961-1965
Strengthening the expense management, practicing economy for taking a

-

step forward and improved economy accounting regime during 1961-1965
Important addition and renewal on the financial policy and mechanism

-

during 1966-1975
State Budget during 1966-1975

1976-1980
-

Ministers: Đào Thiện Thi (1974-1977) and Hoàng Anh (1977-1982)
State Budget revenue
State Budget expenditure
State Budget fund management
Revenue and Expenditure balance and budget surplus solutions
Decentralization on the State Budget management levels between Central
and local

1986-1990
-

Ministers: Chu Tam Thức (1982-1986) and Vũ Tuân (1986-1987) and

-

Hoàng Quy (1987-1992)
State Budget Revenue
State Budget Expenditure
State Budget preparation and implementation
8


-

State Budget fund management
Revenue and Expenditure balance and budget surplus solutions
Decentralization on the State Budget management levels between Central
and local

1991-2000
Ministers: Hồ Tế (1992-1996) and Nguyễn Sinh Hùng (1996-2006)
Finance sector of Vietnam in 10 year reform [7]
c. Position and Functions
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) is a Government agency which has the function
-

of implementing the State management in finance (including: State budget, tax,
fees and other revenues of the State budget, national reserve, State financial
funds, financial investment, corporate finance and financial services); customs;
accounting; independent auditing; insurance; prices; securities; conducting the
owner ship right to the State’s investment capital in enterprises according to
regulations of the Law.
d. Tasks and Powers
Pursuant to the Decree No 215/2013/ND-CP issued by the Government, the
main tanks and duties of the MOF are as follows:
- Submit to the Government and Prime Minister for approval law and
ordinance projects. Draft legal documents, strategy and development
planning, long-term, five-year, and annual plants on the fields within the
-

Ministry’s authority
Issue legal documents within the Ministry’s authority
Instruct, guide, supervise and to be in charge of implementing the legal
documents, strategy, planning, plan, to be set up the propaganda,
disseminate, educate legal documents on the fields within the Ministry’s

-

authority

Manage the State budget
Manage the collection of tax, fees and other revenues under the State budget

9


-

Manage the budget fund, the State reserve fund and other State financial

-

funds
Manage the national reserves
Manage the State assets
Manage corporate finances and the State capital at the enterprises
Manage the Government borrowing and debt servicing from domestic and

-

abroad and international grants
Implement the State management in accounting and auditing.
Manage banks and non-banking financial institutions regarding issues,

-

financial services.
Manage customs activities
Implement the State management in prices
Issue Government bonds and participate in stock market management under

-

the regulations of law
Manage, supervise stock and stock market
Organize and guide the implementation of statistics in the fields within the

-

Ministry’s authority
Decide specific orientations and measures and guide the operating
mechanism of public services providing organizations in the fields within the
Ministry’s authority in accordance with provisions of Laws, to manage and
guide the implementation of activities of non-productive units within the

-

Ministry’s authority
Inspect, control, settle complaints and denouncements, resist corruption, and
be processed by authorized level or be submitted to the competent levels for
settlement in accordance to the regulation of the law applied for finance-

-

budget management regime breaks and violations
Conduct administrative reform under the Government program
Manage organizational structure, permanent staff, guide the implementation
of the provision on salary, bonuses, disciplines for the State officers within

-

the Ministry’s authority, train and retrain staff in the whole sector
Manage the assigned capital and assets and the distributed budget plan under

the provisions of the Law. [11]
e. Organization Structure
10


Organization structure of the MOF according to the Decree No 215/2013/NDCP dated 23/12/2013 issued by the Government [12]:

2. Department of International Cooperation at Ministry of Finance of

Vietnam
a. Position and functions

International Cooperation Department is a unit under the Ministry of Finance of
Vietnam, with the function of advising and assisting the Minister of Finance to
fulfill State management functions for international economic integration and
international financial cooperation in the field under the MOF’s jurisdiction,
managing cooperation programs and Ministry’s projects funded by foreign
countries, implementing foreign affairs of the MOF.
b. Tasks and powers
- Proposing and developing strategies for international cooperation and
integration of MOF, action plan, the implementation plan for international
-

cooperation in the areas under the state management of the MOF
Chairing, submitting to the Minister draft of legal and regulatory documents,
guidelines and policies on international cooperation in the Ministry’s

management fields

11


-

Chairing, developing negotiation plans and assisting the Minister in signing
and entering international treaties, international agreement with other
countries, or with international organization and involving contribute
opinions with other Ministries, Branches in the process of negotiation,

-

signing international treaties as assigned by the Government
Chairing, organizing policy dialogues and providing information about the
financial policy of Vietnam to foreign investors within ASEAN Finance
Ministers Investors Seminar or within bilateral cooperation as assigned by

-

the Minister of Finance
Building regulations on coordination between organizations and units within

-

the MOF in implementing international cooperation tasks as assigned
Chairing or coordinate with other organizations, internal or external units of
the Ministry in propagandize, disseminate, provide information about
international cooperation and integration tanks under the scope of

-

management of the Ministry according to provisions of Law
Carry out information regulations, report about the progress of assigned

-

tasks implementation
Taking part in conducting research or research cooperation with other units

according to the plan and content assigned by the competent authorities
- Fulfilling other duties as assigned by the Minister [5]
c. Organizational structure
Organization structure of the International Cooperation Dept. according to the
Decision No 1135/2014/QD-BTC dated 27/05/2014 issued by the MOF [6]:

12


Director

Deputy Directors

Division of

Division of

International

International Finance

Economic Cooperation

Cooperation

Division of Managing

Division of Foreign

Program, Projects

Affair

Leaders of the International Cooperation Department
Title
Director
Deputy director
Deputy director
Deputy director
Deputy director

Full name
Vũ Như Thăng
Phạm Tuấn Anh
Trần Văn Sơn
Hà Duy Tùng
Nguyễn Bá Toàn

3. Division of International Finance Cooperation:

a. Function:

According to Decision No. 03/QD-HTQT dated 15/7/2015 issued by MOF [4],
the Division of International Finance Cooperation is a professional specialized
unit helping the Director in implement tanks related to policy integration and
regional cooperation (ASEAN, ASEAN +, APEC, ASEM)
b. Tasks:
- Drafting legal document related to regional integration and cooperation
within the Ministry’s management field

13


-

Implement tasks related to regional economic-finance cooperation, regional
agreements
In charged of supervising regional micro-economic
Collaborate with other related divisions in implement including tanks:
 Drafting international cooperation strategies
 Evaluate impact of cooperation
 Propagandize, provide information about international cooperation
and integration
 Dealing with petitions related to finance from foreign enterprises,

foreign embassies in Vietnam, international organization
Supervise the process of implement foreign affair regulation
Make a report about foreign affair [4]
B. Chapter 2: Finding about a specific major activity of Division of




International Finance Cooperation (Ministry of Finance Vietnam)
1. An overview of International Cooperation Dept. (MOF)’s operation
There are 4 Divisions in the International Cooperation Dept. Their functions
and tasks are as follow: (According to Decision No. 03/QD-HTQT dated
15/7/2015 issued by MOF)
a. Division of Foreign Affair
• Function:
The Division of Foreign Affair is a professional specialized unit helping the
Director in implement tanks related to policy integration and bilateral
cooperation (except for bilateral cooperation with ASEAN nations)
• Tasks:
- Drafting legal document related to bilateral integration and cooperation
-

within the Ministry’s management field
Implementing tasks related to bilateral economic-finance cooperation,

-

bilateral agreements
Holding policy dialogue and providing information about economic policy
of Vietnam to foreign investors within the framework of bilateral

-

cooperation
Suggesting solutions for handling request related to finance of foreign firms

-

or foreign embassies in Vietnam
Collaborate with other related divisions in implement including tanks:
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



Drafting international cooperation strategies
Evaluate impact of cooperation
Propagandize, provide information about international cooperation

and integration
 Dealing with petitions related to finance from foreign enterprises,
foreign embassies in Vietnam, international organization
 Supervise the process of implement foreign affair regulation
 Make a report about foreign affair [4]
b. Division of Managing programs, projects
• Function:
The Division of Managing programs, projects is a professional specialized
unit helping the Director in implement tanks related to manage programs,
projects, policy cooperation with foreign organization (IMF, ADB, AHB,
WB, UNDP, IFC, OECD…)
• Tasks:
- Planning, recapitulating and evaluating the implementing situation of
-

Foreign affair Regulations, Managing project Regulations
Managing MOF’s programs, projects
Holding policy dialogue and providing information about economic

-

policy of Vietnam to foreign investors
Keeping track of world’s economic and finance, international issues

-

(climate changing, green growth…)
Drafting international cooperation plans of MOF
Solving international organization’s request about financing
Collaborate with other related divisions in implement including tanks:
 Drafting international cooperation strategies
 Evaluate impact of cooperation
 Propagandize, provide information about international cooperation

and integration [4]
c. Division of International Economic Cooperation
• Function:
The Division of International Economic Cooperation is a professional
specialized unit helping the Director in implement tanks related to policy
integration and multilateral cooperation
• Tasks:
15


-

Building integration strategy and international cooperation of MOF,

-

action plan…
Drafting legal document related to economic integration and multilateral

-

cooperation within the Ministry’s management field
In charge of implement duties in economic-finance multilateral

-

integration, multilateral agreement
Holding policy dialogue and providing information about economic
policy of Vietnam to foreign investors within the framework of bilateral

-

cooperation
Evaluating impact of economic-finance multilateral cooperation
Helping the Director in managing MOF’s members at Vietnam
representative

-

d.
•

•
•

agencies

beside

WTO

and

other

international

organizations
Collaborate with other related divisions in implement including tanks:
 Dealing with petitions related to finance from foreign enterprises,

foreign embassies in Vietnam, international organization
 Supervise the process of implement foreign affair regulation
 Make a report about foreign affair [4]
Division of International Finance Cooperation
Function: As mention above
Tasks: As mention above
This is the Division that I’ve worked for during my internship at the
International Cooperation Dept. (MOF). From now on, the rest of my report

will mostly focus on the activities of this Division only.
2. Current projects and programs

a. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
• General information about RCEP
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free trade
agreement (FTA) comprising ten member nations of ASEAN and six other
countries with which has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan,
South Korea and New Zealand) and is expected to conclude before 2015,
toward the target of building on the East Asia Free Trade Agreement
(EAFTA) and introduced the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East
16


Asia initiatives. The first rough of negotiation was launched during the
ASEAN Summit 2011 in Indonesia, and started the negotiation during the
-

ASEAN Summit 2012 in Cambodia.
Until now, seven rounds of official negotiation and many inter-sessional
meetings have been completed, toward the target to complete the
negotiations directed by ASEAN Leaders and six joining negotiation
partners. However, the negotiation process was not reached as many

•
-

different points of opinions between countries. [10]
Goal and tasks of the Division
The target is to help Vietnamese delegation complete the negotiations with
others member nations which brings the best benefit to Vietnam
Tasks included:
 Drafting plan and participate in negotiations

 Collaborate with other related Divisions
 Suggest solutions in order to overcome different points of opinions
between partner nations under major fields which are commercial

products, services, and investments related to import-tariff cut
b. The ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA)
• General information about ATIGA
- ATIGA is one of many agreements were signed to support ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC). This agreement was signed on 26/2/2009 in
-

the 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand and effective from 17/5/2010.
ATIGA aims to achieve free flow of goods in the religion resulting to less
trade barriers and deeper economic linkages among member nations, lower
business cost, increased trade, and a larger market and economies of scale
for businesses. Through ATIGA, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, and Thailand have eliminated intra-ASEAN import duties on
99.65% of their tariff lines. Cambodia, Lao PRD, Myanmar, and Vietnam

•

have reduced their import duties to 0-5% on 98.86% of their tariff lines. [9]
Goal and tasks of the Division

17


-

The goal is to support the Government in the process of implement

-

Vietnam’s commitment in ATIGA
Tasks included:
 Collaborate with General Department of Customs in order to
complete the shifting from The ASEAN Harmonized Tariff


Nomenclature (AHTN) 2012 to the 2017 version
Drafting Circular on the list of Vietnam’s special preferential tariffs

in order to implement Vietnam’s commitment in ATIGA
 Collect Enterprise’s opinions and solving their petitions related to
issuing the Circular
c. Association of Southeast Asian Nation Plus Three (ASEAN+3)
• General information about ASEAN+3
- ASEAN+3 cooperation began in December 1997 and institutionalized in
1999 when the Leaders issued a Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation at
-

their Third ASEAN+3 Summit in Manila.
ASEAN+3 includes the 10 members of ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,

-

and Vietnam) plus the People Republic of China, Japan and Korea
It includes cooperation in the areas of political and security, transnational
crime, economic, finance, tourism, agriculture and forestry, minerals, small

and medium-sized enterprises, environment, rural development and poverty,
social welfare, youth, civil service, labor, culture and arts, information and

media, education, science, technology, and innovation, and public health [1]
• Goals and tasks of the Division
- The goal is to take full advantage of Vietnam as a member of ASEAN+3 in
-

field of economic and finance cooperation
Tasks include:
 Participate in come up with cooperate ideals in ASEAN+3, especially
about the operation of Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility
(CGIF) fund, ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) in order to

18


strengthen connection between these funds with domestic businesses,
help firms to attract finance investment from these funds
 Making report about macro-economic situation of member nations in
ASEAN+3, keeping update about changing in economic policies of
member nations of ASEAN+3 in order to prepare to upcoming
dialogue relations of the Ministry
3. The process of issuing Circular 165/2014/TT-BTC by Ministry of

Finance to implement Vietnam’s commitment in ATIGA
Out of three major projects that the Division of International Finance
Cooperation (MOF) is currently focusing on, I choose ATIGA to write about
and out of all tasks that the Division has to implement, I choose to describe
the process of issuing Circular 165/2014/TT-BTC. My chosen can be

explained by these following reasons:
- Beside Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), ASEAN Economic Community
(AEC) is the biggest chance for Vietnam to promote economy and
integrate with the flow of the world’s economy. And ATIGA play a vital
-

role in the roadmap heading to AEC.
Since ATIGA took effect on May 17, 2010, it has brought about a
number of advantages for domestic businesses who can now import
materials at lower cost and expand their market to all member nations in
ASEAN. However, it is also forecast to significantly impact local
business activities, as eliminating tariffs can lead to fierce regional
competition. Hence, to help local businesses adapt to market changes, the
Government assign MOF to issue legal documents to guide enterprises
about changes in import-export tax rate and Circular 165/2014/TT-BTC

-

is one of them.
Follow Circular 165/2014/TT-BTC, there will be more legal documents
will be issued in the future, the content will change but the process of
issuing them will be the same. Therefore, by describing the process of

19


issuing Circular 165/2014/TT-BTC, my report can help business owners
have an inside view and understand how the Government making the
rules and by that they will be easier to make change in their operations
when the new rules coming out.

a. General information about Circular 165/2014/TT-BTC
- The lead drafting agency: International Cooperation Dept. (MOF)
- Issued by: Ministry of Finance
- Heading: Promulgating Vietnam’s Special Preferential Import Tariff to
-

implement the ASEAN Agreement on Trade in Goods during 2015-2018
Issuing date: 14/11/2014
Effective date: from 1/1/2015
Purpose of issuing: Implement Vietnam’s commitment in ATIGA
Summary of Contents:
 In the commitment to ATIGA, Vietnam cut 6897 tariff lines
(making up 72% of total import-export tariff lines) to 0% in 2014
 From 1/1/2015, an addition of 1709 tariff lines has been cut to 0%.
The rest of 669 tariff lines (7% of total) mainly for sensitive
commodities in trading between Vietnam and ASEAN will be cut
to 0% by 2018. They are group of commodities such as
automobiles, auto cycles, spare parts of automobiles and auto
cycles, vegetable oil, tropical fruits, home electronics such as
fridge, air-conditioner, dairy and dairy products…
 Good remain in the list of exclusion (MFN tariff is applicable)
include tobacco, items of national security and defense such as
explosive, ammunition, firework, medical garbage, secondhand

tire…
b. The process of issuing circulars of Ministry of Finance
According to Law No. 80/2015/QH13 dated June 22, 2015 issued by the
Government [13], the process of issuing every circular of Ministers, Head of
Ministry-equivalent agencies (including Ministry of Finance) is as follow:
• Step 1: Drafting circular

- The job of preparing draft circulars shall be assigned by Ministers
20


-

The draft circular shall be posted on the website of the issuing agency for at
least 60 days for agencies, organizations and individuals to submit their

-

comments and suggestions
Depending on the nature and the content of the draft circular in question, it
shall be sent to Ministries, Ministry-equivalent agencies, Governmentaffiliated agencies concerned to collect their comments and suggestions. The
collected agency has responsible to respond in official text within 20 days

-

since the day they receive the suggestions
The units assigned with the job of preparing the draft circulars shall take the
lead responsibility and coordinate with units concerned for the revision and

•
-

improvement of the draft circulars, and report to the Ministers
Step 2: Assessment of draft circular
Legal Department, which under the management of Ministry of Finance,
shall be responsible for assessing and verifying draft circulars before they

-

are submitted to the Minister
Regarding those draft circulars that have complicated contents, related to
many sectors and fields, or being prepared by the Legal Department as the
lead drafting agency, then the Minster shall create an Assessors Council
which consist of representatives of related agencies, organizations, units and

-

experts and scientists
The complete set of documents to be summited for assessment and
verification include the following:
 The submission to the Minister on the draft circular
 The draft circular
 An account of detailed explanations and a report on assessment of


impacts exerted by the draft circular
A synthesis report on comments and suggestions from agencies,
organizations, individuals and target groups directly affected by the
draft

circular, a photocopy of the account of comments and

suggestions

of

Ministries,

21

Ministry-equivalent

agencies

and


Government-affiliated agencies, a report on adoption of comments

-

and suggestions
 Other documents (if any)
The contents for the assessment of the draft circular shall be focus on these
following issues:
 The need to promulgate the circular in question, their objects and
scope of regulation
 The relevance of the draft circular to the Party’s directions and


policies
Their constitutionality, legality, consistence with the legal system and
relevance to related international treaties of which the Socialist



Republic of Vietnam is a member

Their feasibility, including their responsiveness to the actual demands
and level of social development as well as required conditions for

-

ensuring their enforcement/implementation
Language and drafting techniques
Report on assessment and verification of the draft circular has to point out

-

the opinion of the Legal Department
Report on assessment and verification of the draft decree shall be sent to the



lead drafting agency no later than 10 days since the date of on which the
assessing agency received the complete sets of the documents for assessment
-

and verification
The lead drafting agency shall be responsible for taking into consideration
comments and suggestions of the assessing agency for the improvement of

-

the draft circular to be summited to the Minister
In cases where different opinions and ideals remain among units regarding
major issues and problems covered by the draft circular, the Legal
Department shall hold a meeting between leaders of related units to settle

those differences before summiting them to the Minister for consideration
and decision

22


-

Based on the outputs of this meeting, the lead drafting agency with the Legal
Department and agencies concerned shall continue to improve and finalize

•
-

the draft circular to be summited to the Minister
Step 3: Submit the complete set of the draft circular and supporting
documents to the Minister
The complete set includes the following:
 The submission to the Minister on the draft circular
 The draft circular after being revised and improved
 An account of adoption of comments and suggestions of the assessing
agency
 An account of detailed explanations and a report on assessment of
impacts exerted by the draft circular
 A synthesis report on comments and suggestions from agencies,

organizations, individuals
 Other documents (if any)
• Step 4: Minister of Finance consider and approve the draft circular
- Depending on the nature and the contents of the draft circular in question,

the Minister may consider and approve it at one or two of its meetings in the
following sequential procedures:
 Representatives of the lead drafting agency shall make presentations
of the draft circular
 Representatives of agencies and organizations attending the meeting
to express their opinions and viewpoint
 The Minister shall discuss
 The lead drafting agency shall coordinate with the Legal Department
and other agencies concerned to revise and improve the draft circular
taking into consideration comments and ideals of the Minister
 The Minister shall sign circular
c. The process of issuing circular 165/2014/TT-BTC by Ministry of
Finance
• Step 1: Submit the plan of drafting Circular to the Minister
- Division of International Economic Cooperation suggested issuing the new
Circular
23


-

The Legal Department put this suggesting along with others into a report
called the Construction plan of Legal documents and submit it to the

•
-

Minister
The Minister considered and approved the plan
Step 2: Drafting circular

Division of International Economic Cooperation took the lead of drafting the

-

new Circular
After research the content of ATIGA and the roadmap of Vietnam in
implement commitment in ATIGA, the Department (Dept.) came up with the
content of drafting circular. The contents including:
 Construction principle: The new Circular is the replacement of
Circular No. 161/2011/TT-BTC dated November 17, 2011 of the
MOF promulgates Vietnam’s Special Preferential Import Tariff to
implement the ATIGA during 2012-2014. The new Circular will
continue to implement and serial for the next phase (2015-2018)
 Effective date: From January 1, 2015
 Conditions for imported goods to enjoy the ATIGA tax rate: The
imported goods can enjoy the ATIGA tax rate if it’s origin is from
one of ASEAN member nations and it have the Certificate of Origin –
Form D according to the policy of Ministry of Industry and Trade of

-

the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
The lead drafting agency collected the opinions on the new Circular from

-

MOF inter-units (1st round)
The Dept. posted the drafting circular in the website of the Ministry
(http:/www.mof.gov.vn) in 60 days for agencies, organizations and

-

individuals to submit their comments and suggestions
The lead drafting agency sent the drafting Circular to all related institutions
and organizations, such as Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, General Department of Customs … and
asked for their opinions on:
 Current policy and situation of the industry
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Projected impact of the new Circular on the industry
Changes in content and the reason why
The lead drafting agency collected opinions and made changes in contents of



-

the new Circular if necessary
• Step 3: Assessment of draft circular
- Legal Department, which under the management of MOF, be responsible for
-

assessing and verifying draft circular before it’s summited to the Minister
The complete set of document to be summited for assessment and
verification include the following:
 The submission to the Minister on the draft circular
 The draft circular
 An account of detailed explanations and a report on assessment of



impacts exerted by the draft circular
A synthesis report on comments and suggestions from agencies,
organizations, individuals and target groups directly affected by the
draft

circular, a photocopy of the account of comments and

suggestions

of

Ministries,

Ministry-equivalent

agencies

and

Government-affiliated agencies, a report on adoption of comments

-

-

and suggestions
 Other documents (if any)
Basically, the assessment of the Legal Department will focus on three things:

 The process of issuing new Circular
 The legitimate of the contents
 The necessary of issuing new Circular
The process of issuing this new Circular was already be checked when the
Division of International Economic Cooperation submit the suggestion plan
of issuing new Circular (Step 1 above) and if the Legal Department decided
to put it into the report submitting to the Minister, it means that they had

-

approved the processing
The Legal Department checked the legitimate of the contents when the lead
drafting agency collects the opinions on the new Circular from MOF interunits (1st round) (Step 2 above)

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