A petrol station in HCM City. (Photo: VNA) Nguyen Thi Bich Huong, Chairwoman of the Petroleum Associationunder the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), assertedthat many regulations on conditional business lines have posed compliancedifficulties to petroleum firms.
She took several specific regulations on petrol purchase as anexample. One such regulation stipulates that petrol stations and retailers mustpurchase fuels from a single seller to ensure fuel quality.
Huong said the regulation is unnecessary as petrol stations andretailers are subject to fuel standards set by the Ministry of Science andTechnology. That means they are legally bound to distribute up-to-standardfuels, regardless of the number of sellers they take the fuels from.
Other impractical regulations, according to the chairwoman,include those that bar petrol retailers from wholesaling, those that requireapproved environmental protection schemes prepared by petrol retailers, andthose that set a distance of at least 50m between petrol stations and theintersections in their proximity.
Nguyen Anh Duong, Director of the Department for General EconomicIssues and Integration Studies at the Central Institute for Economic Management(CIEM), remarked that some regulations on conditional business lines have addedsubstantial costs to firms.
One such regulation stipulates that petrol exporters, importersand traders, within one year from the date of being licensed, establish theirown laboratory whereby fuel quality could be tested.
"The regulation has added to firm bills. They would havesaved many costs by hiring laboratories from others," said Duong.
The director also highlighted several impractical regulations inthe food industry, including the regulation that requires the separation ofsales areas and other areas within a business facility and the regulation thatprohibits direct connections between restrooms and food-storage rooms.
He also called for the removal of the criteria applicable to riceexporters' warehouses as the criteria causes a high compliance burden on theexporters.
Aedan Puleston, Second Secretary at the Australian Embassy inVietnam, believed that the deregulation of conditional business lines wouldimprove the business environment, reduce corruption and draw in high-qualityforeign investments.
CIEM has recently published a report on conditional business linesin industry and trade. The report found that most regulations in place areconsistent and practical.
However, some contain so many technical details that cause greatcompliance burdens on firms, exposing the need for revision.
"Some specific criteria applicable to facilities, such asfuel tanks and warehouses, would add to firms' compliance costs," said Duong.
Economic expert Le Dang Doanh held that regulations on conditionalbusiness lines should be less detail-focused and more consumer-centric./.
VNA
