The 15th National Assembly (NA) wrapped up its 7th plenary session on June 29 with the heaviest amount of legislative work since the beginning of the term. After 27 and a half working days, the NA passed 11 laws, including those on archives, courts, social insurance, defense-security industry, traffic order and safety, capital, asset auctions, security guard, weapons, land and real estate, and credit institutions.
Notably, the passing of Law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Land Law, Housing Law, and Real Estate Business Law consequently accelerated the implementation of these three laws five months earlier than originally planned. They will go into effect on 1 August 2024 instead of 1 January 2025. This is the first time the NA approved submission from the government to expedite a bill’s timeline. The decision is expected to result in quicker advancements for projects stalled by regulatory obstacles under current laws and faster streamlining of legal frameworks for both domestic and foreign businesses.
Following Resolution 142/2024/QH15 adopted by the National Assembly, the Government on June 30 issued Decree 72/2024, providing guidelines for officially extending the 2 percent VAT reduction (from 10 to 8 percent) until the end of 2024. This will help boost business activities and consumption. The decree, however, does not broaden the range of goods and services that qualify for tax rates. Excluded sectors are telecommunications, IT, finance, banking, insurance, real estate, metals, prefabricated metal products, refined petroleum, chemical products, and products and services subject to special consumption tax.
The NA’s successful passing of a heavy legislative workload showcased great efforts at the national level to advance important policies to boost the economy, despite recent major political reshuffles.
