Draft revised State Budget Law: Creating autonomy for localities

Sharing at the "Conference to discuss and provide comments on the Project to comprehensively amend the State Budget Law" on April 11, a representative of the Ministry of Finance said that after more than 8 years of implementation, the 2015 State Budget Law has made an important contribution to the management and use of the State budget in an effective and transparent manner; making an important contribution to the socio-economic development of the country.

However, in the new context, with changes in the economy, society, and international community, the law has revealed a number of limitations and inadequacies that need to be amended and supplemented to suit reality and meet development requirements.

The Government and the Prime Minister have assigned the Ministry of Finance to urgently study and comprehensively revise the 2015 State Budget Law, propose to add it to the 2025 Law-making Program according to shortened procedures to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the 9th Session (May 2025).

Delegates attending the "Conference discussed and gave comments on the Project to comprehensively amend the State Budget Law".

Implementing the Government's assignment, the Ministry of Finance has issued a document requesting ministries, central and local agencies to evaluate and propose comprehensive amendments and supplements to the State Budget Law as a basis for developing the dossier of the State Budget Law (amended). The Ministry of Finance has reviewed and continued to complete the dossier of the State Budget Law (amended) to send to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal.

The representative of the Ministry of Finance said that the Draft Law on State Budget (amended) was built on the viewpoint of fully institutionalizing the policies and orientations of the Party and State; legalizing clear issues that are suitable to reality.

The draft stipulates issues of principle, ensuring consistency and unity among legal provisions. Promote decentralization, create initiative and flexibility, enhance local autonomy in the spirit of "locality decides, locality acts, locality takes responsibility".

That is to innovate the mechanism of revenue decentralization between the central budget and local budgets in the direction of strengthening the leading role of the central budget. At the same time, it creates conditions for local budgets to be more autonomous and proactive in mobilizing and using resources for socio-economic development.

The draft law also reviews and amends regulations on decentralization of budget expenditure tasks in the direction of clearly defining the responsibilities and powers of each level in budget use. Prioritizing the allocation of resources for key tasks, especially science and technology development, innovation and digital transformation.

The draft law increases the authority of the Government in deciding to adjust the revenue and expenditure estimates of a number of ministries, central and local agencies, but does not increase the borrowing level or the state budget deficit. It increases the authority of the People's Committees at all levels in localities to decide to adjust the local budget expenditure estimates, and then report back to the competent authority.

Ha Anh

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/kinh-te/chinh-sach/du-thao-luat-ngan-sach-nha-nuoc-sua-doi-tao-tinh-tu-chu-cho-dia-phuong/20250411104518664