At yesterday’s meeting of the National Assembly (NA), many NA deputies complained that people and businesses have long incurred so many kinds of charges and fees, many of which are not based on any laws.

They voiced their complaint during the session in which Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung reported to the NA about compliance with laws and regulations on charges and fees.  “The abuse of charges and fees are taking place in many fields, imposing a financial burden on the public and businesses from urban to rural areas, which have already suffered from economic difficulties,” said Tran Ngoc Vinh, a deputy from northern Hai Phong City. The situation in which charges are overlapped or the quality of services rendered is not appropriate with the service charge paid can be seen everywhere, Vinh said.   Of these charges, there are ones that have yet to be provided for by any laws, such as tenement charge, security charge, disaster prevention and control charge, and money transfer service charge, Vinh said. In response, Ministry Dung said that 301 charges and fees that have been stipulated by the Government so far and that guidance for the implementation of 280 out of the 301 charges and fees have been issued.

This means 21 kinds of charges and fees remain unapplied so far, he added. Dung rejected an allegation that up to 400-500 charges and fees have been applied. He also noted that some local governments randomly collect charges and fees that are not included in the national list of charges and fees, causing discontent to the public. In many cases, residents thought they had paid for a certain charge or fee to local authorities, while under applicable regulations, such payment is paid only on a voluntary basis, Dung said.   Meanwhile, Phung Quoc Hien, chairman of the NA’s Finance and Budget Committee, emphasized that many local government have randomly collected “charges” or “fees” from the public and businesses and then deposit the collected amount into a bank account to gain profit.   Deputy Chairman of NA’s Committee for Defense and Security Le Viet Truong requested that the Finance Ministry strengthen inspections on the implementation of charges and fees and abolished those that have been promulgated unlawfully. Improvement needed Minister Dung said his ministry will review the current list of charges and fees and will make modifications, if necessary, to make them more reasonable and acceptable. Of the current charges and fees, 28 charges and 11 fees are assigned to provincial-level People’s Councils to issue, but the authority to give an exemption or reduction of them belong to the central Government. This caused a situation in which many kind of charges or fees have become impractical or unreasonable, but amending or abolishing them must take a long time, causing damage to the public and businesses. Therefore, many local authorities have proposed the central Government to allow local authorities to issue exemption or reduction of charges and fees that they have issued, based on actual conditions of each locality.Violators to be strictly punished

Besides making law improvements, the Finance Ministry will also boost inspection to detect and punish violators of laws and regulations on charges and fees. He said that any individuals or agencies to put the collected amount of charges and fees into banks for profit, rather than submitting to the State’s treasuries, will be strictly punished in accordance to applicable regulations.   “No agencies are allowed to collect any charges or fees that are not listed in the State’s list of charges and fees.

"Unauthorized individuals and organizations are strictly banned from randomly setting forth any charges or fees,” Minister Dung said.