Registering big achievements following reform

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This was undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The project is divided into phases I and II.  

Phase I: Establishment of legal framework that paved the way for the development of a computerised and consolidated business registration system operating in all 63 provinces based on single point registration for business, tax and statistics, named the National Business Registration System (NBRS). The system standardised enterprise data collected from 65 Business Registration Offices (BROs) and provided an electronic platform of business registration nationwide.

Phase II: Development of nationwide web-enabled information services to disseminate enterprise information for the benefits of the business community and state management agencies.

Since late 2008 until now, the project has been going through a challenging and rewarding journey to achieve certain results that have been highly recognised by the business community and international organisations. Never before has there been an inter-ministerial e-Government project which covers all provinces and cities across the nation.

This was a demanding task consolidating all the application forms of the MPI, the ministries of Finance and Public Security and the General Statistics Office to implement a single-point registration mechanism where enterprises register their particulars at only one agency.

The reform of business registration procedures has reduced unnecessary procedures and shortened the statutory processing time limits from 32 days (in 1999) to 22 days (in 2005) and to five days at present, at the same time it has simplified the process of business registration. 

In the near future, business establishment procedures for enterprises will be reduced even further with the options to register their business in person at BROs or online and to access the National Database of Enterprise Registration for a more transparent and secured business environment. In the coming time, the project will focus on the following tasks:

lOrganisational development: Based on an organisational review, support is envisaged to develop and assist in the implementation of a strategic plan to enable the Agency of Business Registration (ABR) to maintain sustainability and strengthen its performance and gradually reduce dependence on the UNIDO project.

lUpgrading of the NBRS to enable full on-line registration with e-signature, e-payment; web-enabled on-demand enterprise information services; financial statements filing: The ultimate goal that NBRS online business registration service aims to achieve is the significant reduction of long queues at BROs in particular large ones such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

With the introduction of e-signature and e-payment services, enterprises can submit applications at their convenience without having to appear in person at BROs thus alleviating the workload of BRO staff. Information service and financial statement filing will make enterprise information publicly accessible to all parties through which transparency in the business community can be attained gradually allowing business transactions and activities to be carried out more securely and conveniently.

In brief, work is in progress to fully complete the national business registration operating system. It is recognised that new requirements may arise, such as the need to integrate foreign-owned enterprises into the NBRS. The on-going process of amending the Enterprise Law and the Investment Law is expected to lead to the uniform treatment of all domestic, foreign-invested and state-owned enterprises as per the requirement by the World Trade Organization (WTO) of which Vietnam became the 150th member on January 11, 2007.

Depending on the outcome of the revision of the law, it is mostly likely that the current NBRS will undergo further development to accommodate these requirements so as to include the above objects in the NBRS.  

Looking at the Doing Business report, there has been significant progress. However, there still remains ample room for improvement in many developing countries to modernise business registration system. Reducing the cost and time involved in business registration is of vital importance for stimulating development of the private sector as complex and cumbersome procedures discourage formalisation.

Also, improving quality and efficiency of public administration in terms of handling business registration through a registration system that contains legally valid information is an evident indicator of a modernised and cutting-edge registry.