Hanoi (VNA)⛄ – The simplification of administrative procedures has been considered a breakthrough in administrative reform over the past five years, since a resolution in the field was issued by the Government for the 2011-2020 period.

Under the document, administrative procedure streamlining is one of six major pillars of administrative reform, along with the renovation of institutions, the State administrative personnel system and public finances, the improvement of public servant quality and the modernisation of the administrative system. By the end of the first quarter of this year, as many as 4,525 out of 4,723 procedures, or 95.8 percent, were simplified, meeting the criteria of necessity, suitability, legality and cost-saving. According to Pham Minh Hung, head of the Administrative Reform Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the simplification of administrative procedures has helped liberate social resources, thus enhancing the country’s competitiveness. A large number of proposals and initiatives in the field have been implemented with positive results, especially in taxation and social insurance, he said, noting that the duration estimated to make tax payments for businesses was shortened to 117 hours per year in September 2015, from 420 hours in early 2014. Meanwhile, since May last year, businesses have had to make only one online transaction to pay social insurance for labourers in a year, instead of 12 times as before. So far, 98.2 percent of communal administrative agencies, 98.7 percent at district level and 92.5 percent at provincial level have applied the one-stop-shop mechanism, which allows people and businesses to deal with administrative processes at one desk. A national one-stop-shop mechanism has also been launched, with technical connections to other ASEAN countries in some fields, he stated. At the same time, the State administrative system have been streamlined to become more effective, said Hung, adding that decentralisation to provinces has been implemented in almost all management areas, including issues related to State budget, personnel, planning and investment, and legal document issuance, said Hung. According to Minister of Home Affairs Le Vinh Tan, e-government has been launched to provide 100 percent of public services through the Internet.-VNA