RESOLUTION

FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICIES FOR SUPPORTING SOCIO-ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Pursuant to Constitutions of Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Law on National Assembly Organization No. 57/2014/QH13 amended in accordance with the Law No. 65/2020/QH14;

In consideration of Presentation No. 02/TTr-CP dated January 2, 2022 of the Government, Assessment Report No. 604/BC-UBKT15 dated January 3, 2022 of Economic Committee, Report No. 106/BC-UBTVQH15 dated June 11, 2022 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly regarding receipt, adjustment, and presentation regarding draft Resolution on fiscal and monetary policies for supporting Socio-economic recovery and development program, relevant documents, and remarks of National Assembly members;

HEREBY RESOLVES:

Article 1. Principles

...

...

...

2. Coordinate flexibly, cooperate closely and effectively in implementing fiscal and monetary policies and other macroeconomic policies; closely control inflation, ensure major balances of the economy; only increase state budget expenditure for investment in development and balancing of state budget when implementing tax exemption and/or tax reduction to finance Socio-economic recovery and development program (hereinafter referred to as “Program”).

3. Policies supporting the Program have adequate scale and resources and pose impacts on both supply and demand; have identified focus, priority, and support beneficiaries to settle pressing issues, avoid thinning and/or wasting resources assigned to organizations, individuals, heads, committee levels, and governments of all levels.

4. Supporting policies and measures must be feasible, timely, effective, implemented within 2022 and 2023 with appropriate roadmap in order to improve COVID-19 control capacity and socio-economic recovery and development; have presented resources which can be disbursed and utilized immediately.

5. Mobilize, distribute, and effectively manage resources; taking regions, provinces, fields, and priorities into heavy consideration; allow implementation, inspection, supervision, and assessment; prevent exploit, misconduct, or corruption of the policies for personal gains; ensure effectiveness, equality, transparency, and openness.

Article 2. Objectives

1. Rapidly recover and develop production and sale activities, promote growths, prioritize key sectors, and strive to achieve objectives of the period 2021 - 2025: average GDP growth of 6,5 - 7%/year, public debt is lower than the warning threshold permitted by the National Assembly under Resolution No. 23/2021/QH15, urban unemployment rate below 4%; stable macroeconomics, stable major balances in the medium term and the long term.

2. Reduce costs, assist cash flow, facilitate an active stand, create optimal conditions for enterprises, economic organizations, and the general public.

3. Prevent and control the COVID-19 effectively; guarantee social security and livelihood of the general public, especially workers, poor people, disadvantaged people, victims of the epidemic; ensure national defense, security, order, and societal safety.

Article 3. Policies on support for the Program

...

...

...

1.1. Tax reduction, exemption policies:

a) Reduce 2% of VAT in 2022 for goods and services currently subject to 10% VAT (to 8%), except for the following goods and services: telecommunication, financial activities, banking activities, securities, insurance, trading of real estate, metal, precast metal products, mining products (excluding coal mining), coke mining, refined oil, chemical products, goods and services subject to excise tax;

b) Allow donations and sponsors made by enterprises and organizations for COVID-19 epidemic control operation in Vietnam to be included in deductible expenses when calculating taxable corporate income for the tax period of 2022.

1.2. Development investment policies:

Increase development expenditure from state budget of up to VND 176 thousand billion, focusing in 2022 and 2023, including:

a) Regarding medical sector:

Allocate up to VND 14 thousand billion to invest in new construction, renovation, upgrade, modernization of local health system, preventive medical system, regional centers for disease control (CDC), improve epidemic control capacity of central institutes and hospitals together with providing training, improving personnel in health sector, domestic vaccine and COVID-19 medicine production;

b) Regarding social security, labor, and employment sectors:

- Grant Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) up to VND 5 thousand billion, including interest rate cover and management fees of VND 2 thousand billion in order to implement preferential credit policy within the Program; support interest rate of up to VND 3 thousand billion for debtors of policy credit programs with applicable interest rate of more than 6%/year;

...

...

...

c) Regarding support for enterprises, cooperatives, and household businesses:

- Support interest rate (2%/year) of up to VND 40 thousand billion via commercial institution system for important sectors, enterprises, cooperatives, and household businesses capable of repaying debt and recovering; grant loan for renovation of old apartment buildings, construction of social houses, and houses for purchase, rent, and lease purchase;

- Grant Tourism Development Assistance Fund up to VND 300 billion in charter capital;

d) Regarding investment in infrastructure development:

Add up to VND 113,55 thousand billion to investment capital from the state budget to develop infrastructure in: traffic, information technology, digitalization, embankment of river banks, beaches, reservoir safety, adaptation to climate change, and remediation of natural disaster consequences;

dd) Selection and allocation of capital for projects within the Program must allow disbursement of capital of the Program in 2022 and 2023 and comply with the following rules:

- Priority projects of national importance, projects in the list of Medium-term public investment plans in the period of 2021 - 2025 that are being implemented and can be completed prematurely but have not been adequately allocated with capital;

- When allocating capital for projects not mentioned under the list of Medium-term public investment plans in the period of 2021 - 2025: prioritize important, urgent projects that pose their effects on a large scale, are potentially disbursed fast, affect the economy immediately, satisfy planning, use funding sources effectively, guarantee capital balancing capacity to finish the projects within 2022 - 2025; for new projects that are important for socio-economic development, prioritize support in granting clearance;

- Investment procedures of projects must be fulfilled as per the law;

...

...

...

1.3. Other fiscal policies:

a) Support for rent of workers having labor relations, living in rental apartments, working in industrial parks, export-processing zones, and key economic zones (use approximately VND 6,6 thousand billion from increased central budget income and deceased central budget expenditure in 2021);

b) Increase the limit on sovereign guarantee for domestically issued bonds for VBSP by up to VND 38,4 thousand billion to grant loan in order to settle jobs; students; non-public preschools and primary schools; individuals taking loans for purchase or lease purchase of social houses, constructing new, renovating, or repair houses in accordance with policies on social houses; implement National target program regarding socio-economic development in ethnic minority regions and mountainous regions of the period of 2021 - 2030.

2. Monetary policies:

a) Consistently and flexibly coordinate monetary policy tools to maintain macroeconomic stability, control inflation, ensure safety of credit institution system, and provide positive assistance for socio-economic recovery and development; conduct research to maintain stability of percentage of maximum short-term capital for medium-term and long-term loans, calculate reserve ratio, implement open market operation, refinancing, direct credit institutions to continue to reduce operational costs to reduce loan interest by 0,5% - 1% in 2022 and 2023, especially in priority sectors;

b) Continue to restructure debt repayment period and maintain debt category, exempt and reduce interest for debtors affected by COVID-19 epidemic, monitor economic and monetary market development in order to implement measures to support enterprises and the general public accordingly while guaranteeing safety in operation of credit institution system;

c) Regulate liquidity accordingly, facilitate promotion of disbursement progress for beneficiaries of preferential interest rate;

d) Circulate money reasonably, closely cooperate with fiscal policies, and facilitate the issuance of Government bonds and investment made via Government bonds of credit institutions;

dd) Utilize up to VND 46 thousand billion from other legal financial sources to import vaccines, medicine, and medical equipment, facilities serving COVID-19 control when necessary;

...

...

...

3. Other policies:

Adopt other policies to focus on implementing the Program in 2022 and 2023, including:

a) Utilize approximately VND 5 thousand billion from the Vietnam Public-utility Telecommunication Service Fund to develop telecommunication and internet infrastructure, in which, utilize VND 1 thousand VND to equip tablets for the implementation of “Wave and computer for children” Program;

b) Settle difficulties in regulations on expenditure and management of Science and Technology Development Fund of enterprises; utilize approximately VND 5 thousand billion to renovate technology, incubate technology, incubate science and technology businesses, commercialize science and technology research results; decode technology; purchase equipment, machinery, and materials serving technology renovation, production, and business activities of enterprises.

Article 4. Resource mobilization solutions

1. In order to guarantee resources for implementation of fiscal policies assisting the Program, allow increased in state budget expenditure in 2022 and 2023 of average 1% - 1,2% of annual GPD (up to VND 240 thousand billion), in which: in 202, increase approximately 1,1% of GPD (up to VND 102,8 thousand billion) compared to the estimates decided by the National Assembly; in 2023, the Government shall consolidate plans and estimate general state budget for the increase of the Program and the year of 2023, request the National Assembly to consider and decide as per the law.

Resource demands must be calculated specifically on the basis of utilizing all available resources, sources that increase revenue and reduce expenditure of central government budget and disbursement to develop appropriate mobilization solutions via the following means:

a) Issue Government bonds, guarantee close cooperation in coordinating monetary policies, fiscal policies, and other macro policies, maintain macroeconomics, financial market, monetary market stability, and guarantee major balances; meet debt repayment capacity, disbursement capacity, ability of the economy to absorb, ensure effectiveness, and avoid waste. Prioritize domestic issuance of Government bonds in national currency, average maturity date may be under 9 years during 2022 and 2023. If Government bonds are issued in foreign currency, request competent authority to consider and decide prior to implementation;

b) Take ODA loans, foreign loans to balance budget;

...

...

...

2. Promote other solutions for utilizing resources, including:

a) Effectively utilize all resources in the medium-term plan of the period of 2021 - 2025; reduce expenditure, and adjust tasks and expenses flexibly. Closely manage revenues, strive to increase revenues, exhaustedly reduce expenditure of state budget; promote tax reformation roadmap, prevent loss, tax evasion, and reduce ratio of tax arrears to total state budget revenue; modernize tax, customs, state treasury systems, implement electronic invoices, utilize surpluses to increase state budget revenues, especially surpluses for cross-border digital transactions and services on digital platforms currently provided for consumers in Vietnam; exhaustedly retrieve recurrently expenses that have not been allocated in a timely manner;

b) Flexibly utilize appropriate policies and tools to mobilize additional resources for Program execution; develop solutions for raising excise tax for goods that require restriction for immediate adoption during Program execution period; promote equitization and divestment of state budget in state-owned enterprises, funding sources from unions and socio-political organizations; review non-state budget financial funds, investment capacity of State Capital and Investment Corporation in order to develop suitable mobilization and utilization plans; conduct research and develop solutions for mobilizing funding sources entrusted from local government budget to the VBSP; effectively integrate and promote disbursement of national target programs and target programs for supporting and investing in local medical facilities.

Article 5. Adoption of specific policies

1. Allow the Prime Minister, heads of competent authorities to review and decide on direct contracting in 2022 and 2023 for contract packages for consultant services, contract packages for relocating technical infrastructure, contract packages for compensating, releasing premises and relocating, contract packages for construction works within projects of national importance, infrastructure projects that have a large scale, and pressing demands in terms of traffic and medical infrastructure in the Program; contractors shall execute these contract packages until the projects are completed. Procedures for implementing direct contracting shall conform to bidding laws.

2. In 2022 and 2023, construction bidders are not required to adopt procedures for Permit for extracting minerals for use as regular construction materials in the Construction material survey dossiers serving traffic infrastructure projects of national importance in the Program; mineral extraction under this Clause shall be implemented until the projects are completed. Bidders in charge are responsible for assessing environmental impact; being subject to management and supervision when extracting and utilizing minerals; paying tax, fees, and implementing environmental protection, renovation, and restoration as per the law.

3. In 2022 and 2023, allow the Prime Minister of review and decide on authorizing and proposing People’s Committees of provinces that are capable, experienced in managing to act as presiding agencies in execution of expressway segments in form of public investment in the Program that travel across the provinces (except for construction projects of the Eastern North-South Expressway Project for the period of 2021 - 2025 in which the Ministry of Transport acts as the presiding agency) once the maximum capacity of Ministry of Transport has been reached. Presiding agencies under this clause may implement expressway segments until the project is completed.

Article 6. Assignments of the Government

1. Issue solutions for implementation of fiscal policies, monetary policies, and other policies within their competence in order to execute the Program; provide guidance on implementing policies under Article 5 of this Resolution together with specific responsibilities and prevent the exploit of policies that generates personal gain or wastes resources.

...

...

...

3. Coordinate development of plans for distributing state budget estimates and addition of 2022 public investment plan for programs and projects in the Medium-term public investment plan for the period of 2021 - 2025 and projects of the Program (including details regarding the VBSP, Tourism Development Assistance Fund, etc.); report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for decision on allocating and assigning estimates as per the law before the Government allocates or assigns estimates and adds 2022 public investment plan.

Coordinate the development of solutions for raising charter capital from profit after tax and after fund establishment for the period of 2021 - 2023 for joint-stock commercial banks whose charter capital is held at least 50% by the Government and from state budget funding for Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

4. Based on principles under Clause 1 Article 3 hereof, immediately review and complete lists of projects utilizing funding sources of the Program and report to the Standing Committee of National Assembly prior to allocating capital. Ensure circulation of public investment funding in the Medium-term public investment plan for the period of 2021 - 2025 and public investment funding in the fiscal and monetary policies supporting the Program to prioritize funding for projects that play a key role, produce large-scale effect, connect multiple regions, promote growth and are capable of capital absorption. Request the Standing Committee of National Assembly to consider and decide to add 2022 state budget estimates and public investment plan, request the National Assembly to consider and decide to add 2023 state budget estimates and public investment plan as per the law to promote growth and disbursement of the Program in 2022 and 2023; guarantee funding sources for implementation and completion of component projects of the Eastern North-South Expressway Project for the period of 2021 - 2025.

5. Consistently, promptly, and effectively implement primary tasks and solutions of the Program. During coordination process, continue to balance central government budget in order to add more resources for Program implementation suitable with practical conditions; promptly implement solutions for effectively mobilizing resources for the Program.

6. Flexibly adjust expenditure tasks of the Program in accordance with applicable regulations and law for issues within their competence. For issues within competence of the National Assembly, report to the National Assembly for consideration and decision; for urgent situations during the intervals between 2 meetings of the National Assembly, report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for consideration, decision, and presentation to the National Assembly in the next meeting.

7. Actively and immediately issue and organize effective, consistent implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control program and relevant regulations; reduce and simplify administrative divisions, improve investment and business environments; focus on dealing with difficulties in policies, regulations and law relating to social houses; houses for workers; develop novel policies, prioritize renovation, creativity, digitalization, digital economy, green economy, circular economy together with sustainable development.

8. Research solutions that allow enterprises to include costs for creating immovable properties and labor costs in deductible expenses with a definite rate when calculating corporate income tax; solutions for raising tax for securities and immovable property sale, report to the Standing Committee of National Assembly for consideration and decision.

9. Intensify internal inspection, examination, and guidance from the start to prevent any error, corruption, misconducts, and take strict actions against violations, especially when a great quantity of resources are allocated in a short amount of time.

10. Prioritize communication and media activities, create society consensus, and utilize strength of the whole population and political system.

...

...

...

1. The Government, ministries, central governments, and local governments shall highlight responsibilities, especially responsibilities of individuals who coordinate, organize implementation, and implement details and policies under this Resolution, guarantee adherence to principles, objectives, transparency, effectiveness, feasibility, and implementation progress; prevent the exploit of policies.

2. The Standing Committee of National Assembly, Ethnic Council and committees of the National Assembly, National Assembly delegations, National Assembly delegates, People’s Councils of provinces and central-affiliated cities, Vietnam Fatherland Front, and member organizations shall supervise implementation of this Resolution within their tasks and powers.

3. State auditors shall organize annual audit for Program implementation and ensure progress, effectiveness, transparency, free of misconducts, corruption, and exploit for personal gain, and report to the National Assembly in meetings at the end of 2022 and 2023 and the meeting in the middle of 2024.

Article 8. Implementation

1. This Resolution comes into force from January 11, 2022 to December 31, 2023; fiscal policies under Points 1.2 and 1.3 Clause 1 Article 3 hereof apply to fiscal years of 2022 and 2023.

2. The Government shall provide guidelines and organize implementation of this Resolution; report to the National Assembly in the meetings at the end of 2022 and 2023 and the meeting in the middle of 2024.

This Resolution is approved by the 15th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the 1st irregular meeting on January 11, 2022.

...

...

...