Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has unveiled significant revisions to the policies governing state support for cooperatives and their unions. These changes are outlined in a draft decree aimed at amending various sections of Decree No. 113/2024/ND-CP, which offers comprehensive guidance on the Law on Cooperatives.
The Ministry highlighted that the existing regulations involve complicated procedures and stringent eligibility criteria, hindering many cooperatives from benefiting from government assistance. Smaller cooperatives, in particular, have encountered notable barriers due to their limited ability to navigate the administrative processes.
In response to feedback from provincial and local governments, the Ministry has emphasized the need to simplify criteria and procedures to enhance accessibility to state support programs. Accordingly, the proposed revisions aim to make the regulatory environment more adaptable, allowing cooperatives to better meet requirements without unnecessary pre-approval hurdles.
Under the new proposals, cooperatives and their unions will be eligible for state aid if they comply with the conditions set out in the Law on Cooperatives and meet at least one additional development criterion. These criteria include an increase in membership over the last two years, growth in internal transaction value, contributions to common funds, enhancement of shared assets, or member engagement in educational initiatives.
The draft further emphasizes special provisions for newly formed cooperatives in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, allowing those established within the past 36 months to more readily access supportive policies aimed at boosting local economic development.
For funding requests exceeding 3 billion Vietnamese dong, the Ministry proposes that cooperatives submit audited financial statements from the prior year, verified by independent auditing entities before applying.
Additionally, the Ministry seeks to eliminate certain current clauses regarding eligibility since similar rules will be included in a forthcoming decree, thus preventing overlap and enhancing clarity in the legal framework surrounding state support for cooperatives.
Alongside modifying eligibility standards, the Ministry's draft outlines changes to the support application process. Soon, cooperatives will only need to present a single application to the commune-level People’s Committee where they are based, with submission options including in-person, by post, or electronically.
Commune authorities are mandated to acknowledge the receipt of applications within a week, while they will collate annual requests from cooperatives and forward them to provincial authorities by May 31 each year for further evaluation.
Provincial authorities would then assess the applications and either provide support directly or escalate them to central ministries for approval. For smaller requests under 20 million VND or brief training programs lasting fewer than five days, the application process will be even more streamlined, allowing for submission directly to service providers.
These anticipated changes reflect Vietnam's ongoing endeavor to enhance the efficacy of cooperative development initiatives, fortify local economies, and promote increased engagement in collaborative economic frameworks throughout the nation.
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