Eliminate unreasonable distances between electricity users

According to Minister Nguyen Hong Dien, to eliminate the unreasonable gap between electricity users, the draft proposes to adjust the electricity price framework for production and daily life to be closer.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien answers questions. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

Handling of violations regarding the origin of goods; calculation of tiered electricity prices... are issues that many National Assembly deputies are interested in and question Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien at the 36th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the morning of August 21.

Eliminate unreasonable distances between electricity users

Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) assessed that recently, the situation of electricity supply for production and consumption has clearly improved, unlike in 2023 when there was a local power shortage.

However, according to the delegate, the current method of calculating electricity prices is not suitable for the people. In particular, level 1 of household electricity stipulates the usage level from only 0-50 kWh.

In addition, people are also subject to value added tax (VAT 10%). Therefore, delegate Pham Van Hoa proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade study and raise the level 1 household electricity price to 100kWh and calculate whether VAT can be eliminated or not?

Responding to questions, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that the tiered electricity price is a common model in all countries to encourage customers to use electricity economically and efficiently; and to enhance social responsibility in environmental protection. Because electricity is a very different product from other industries, the more it is produced, the more it affects the environment.

Currently, according to Decision No. 28/2014/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister regulating the structure of retail electricity prices, the average retail electricity price structure includes 6 levels.

Delegates attending the opening ceremony. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

Implementing the Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee and the direction of the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has chaired the revision and supplementation of this Decision. Accordingly, in the draft submitted to the Government, the retail electricity price is recalculated into 5 levels. In which, level 1 is increased from 0-50kWh to 0-100kWh as proposed by the National Assembly delegates.

According to the Minister, this calculation will contribute to supporting the poor. At the same time, the level of support for the poor remains the same, the State budget supports up to 30kWh. From level 30 to the end of the first bracket, consumers still have to pay according to regulations.

In addition, according to the Minister, to eliminate the unreasonable gap between electricity users, the draft proposes to adjust the electricity price framework for production and daily life to be more approximate.

Some manufacturing sectors are adjusted to correspond to the price list in the service sector to ensure no cross-subsidization among electricity users.

Do a good job of building databases and sharing information.

Concerned about market management, prevention and combat of smuggling and counterfeit goods, delegate Chu Thi Hong Thai (Lang Son) pointed out that counterfeit and smuggled goods of unknown origin are still being sold openly in many places; the tricks are increasingly sophisticated, systematic and recently have mainly appeared on cyberspace.

Delegates requested the Minister of Industry and Trade to propose solutions on sanctions to be sufficient to deter violations of goods origin and implementation roadmap?

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that in a market economy, preventing and combating trade fraud, smuggling of counterfeit and poor quality goods, and tax evasion is a very important task, and at the same time a huge challenge for every country, including Vietnam.

Scene of the questioning session. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

In recent times, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has presided over and coordinated with relevant agencies to advise competent authorities to issue many mechanisms and policies to overcome this situation, typically advising on the issuance of the Law on Consumer Rights Protection; Project against counterfeit and poor quality goods; amending and supplementing regulations on penalties in traditional and e-commerce commerce.

The Ministry has deployed a mechanism to receive and process information through the National Electronic Information Portal on e-commerce management and consumer rights protection; coordinated well with forces in preventing and combating commercial fraud, including: the Ministry of Public Security, Border Guard, Customs, and Steering Committee 389 of localities; requested trading floors and websites to review, prevent and remove thousands of fake and poor-quality stalls and violators from several times or more.

In addition, the Ministry also strengthens communication to guide consumers to become smart consumers; builds a database and shares information with relevant agencies for handling, including the Police, Information Technology, Finance, Banking, etc.

"With the above measures, tens of thousands of violations have been handled recently, bringing in tens of thousands of billions of VND for the state budget," Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized.

Regarding solutions for the coming time, the Minister of Industry and Trade stated that the Ministry will continue to advise competent authorities to amend and supplement regulations on penalties for violations of commercial laws, especially e-commerce and protection of consumer rights.

The Ministry also effectively implemented the Project on anti-counterfeiting and consumer protection issued by the Government; strengthened and improved the construction of databases and information sharing among relevant agencies (including the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Bank) to handle counterfeit, fake, and poor-quality goods and prevent tax losses in this field.

The Minister also mentioned improving the effectiveness of the Electronic Information Portal in receiving and processing information on commercial fraud violations; doing a good job of communication to help consumers improve their understanding and protect themselves, and at the same time hoping for the participation of all levels, sectors, localities, especially the people, to promptly fight and do a good job of protecting consumer rights./.

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