Ministry of Finance proposes to abolish some circulars on foreign loans

Bộ Tài chính đề xuất bãi bỏ một số thông tư về các khoản vay nợ nước ngoài

The development of Circulars to abolish a number of Circulars is necessary to ensure that the system and regulations of the law are synchronized and unified in the legal system.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance drafted a Circular to completely abolish the following two Circulars:

Firstly, Circular No. 153/2014/TT-BTC dated October 20, 2014 of the Minister of Finance promulgating the Regulation on consideration, examination and approval of foreign loans in the form of self-borrowing and self-repayment of enterprises in which the State owns more than 50% of the charter capital.

Second, Circular No. 09/2022/TT-BTC dated February 14, 2022 of the Minister of Finance amends and supplements a number of articles of the Regulation on consideration, examination and approval of foreign loans in the form of self-borrowing and self-payment of enterprises with more than 50% of charter capital owned by the State, issued together with Circular No. 153/2014/TT-BTC dated October 20, 2014 of the Minister of Finance.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the development of the Circular to abolish Circular No. 153/2014/TT-BTC and Circular No. 09/2022/TT-BTC is necessary to ensure that the legal system and regulations are synchronized and consistent in the legal system and consistent with new regulations issued by the Government. The specific reasons are given as follows:

On July 25, 2024, the Government issued Decree No. 97/2024/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 10/2019/ND-CP of the Government on the implementation of rights and responsibilities of the representative of the State owner (effective from September 10, 2024). In particular, Clause 7, Article 1 of Decree No. 97/2024/ND-CP amended Point b, Clause 3, Article 11 of Decree No. 10/2019/ND-CP as follows: "For foreign loans in the form of enterprises borrowing themselves and being responsible for repayment, except for foreign loans in the form of importing goods with deferred payment, the representative agency of the owner approves the foreign borrowing policy of the enterprise. The capital mobilization of enterprises in the form of enterprises borrowing themselves and being responsible for repayment shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws."

The Ministry of Finance believes that current laws no longer require the Ministry of Finance to appraise and approve foreign loans in the form of self-borrowing and self-repayment by enterprises.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance's continued appraisal and approval of foreign loans in the form of self-borrowing and self-repayment in the form of loan contracts associated with investment projects of enterprises in which the State holds 100% of charter capital as prescribed in Circular No. 153/2014/TT-BTC and Circular No. 09/2022/TT-BTC is no longer consistent with current legal regulations.