Proposal to expand cases exempted from construction permits

Continuing the 50th session, on the afternoon of October 16, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on the draft Law on Construction (amended).

Presenting the Government 's proposal, Deputy Minister of Construction Bui Xuan Dung said that one of the new points of the draft Law is to cut and simplify many administrative procedures to improve the investment and business environment. In particular, it expands the subjects exempted from construction permits.

Accordingly, the project is subject to appraisal by a specialized construction agency and does not require a construction permit. Specifically, the project is a public investment project, a PPP project, a large-scale business investment project, or a project that has a major impact on safety and public interests.

For the remaining projects, the State management agency on construction shall manage through construction permit procedures.

The draft law also simplifies the conditions, procedures, and processes for granting construction permits; and implements the entire process online. Accordingly, the time for granting construction permits will be reduced to a maximum of 7 days.

Examining this content, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Tran Van Khai said that the Standing Committee of the Committee basically agreed with the Government's proposal.

" However, some opinions in the Committee believe that licenses are not barriers but tools to protect rights and social order. The problem lies in the quality and licensing process. Therefore, it is necessary to simplify the process but still ensure close supervision, " said Mr. Tran Van Khai.

Besides, the exemption of construction permits helps reduce procedures but it is necessary to perfect legal regulations in the Construction Law or Land Law to ensure property ownership rights on land.

In addition, the inspection agency believes that it is necessary to supplement a mechanism to handle violations of licensed works that are constructed incorrectly according to design, have their functions changed, or violate regulations, ensuring consistency and clarity of responsibilities among relevant parties.

Discussing at the meeting, Chairman of the Delegation Affairs Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai acknowledged the positive innovations of the draft, especially the reduction of licensing time from 20-30 days to 10-15 days. However, she expressed many concerns about the transition from pre-inspection to post-inspection.

" This is a positive step towards modern management, but we need to carefully consider its consistency and feasibility ," said Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hai, worried that if it is not consistent with other laws such as the Investment Law, Bidding Law, and Environmental Protection Law, investors may have to face many parallel inspection agencies, causing overlap.

The Chairman of the Delegation Work Committee also pointed out the lack of clarity between "construction permit" and "construction use permit".

" A construction permit is permission to construct, while a building use permit is permission to operate. This is directly related to safety, such as fires and explosions in buildings that do not meet fire prevention and fighting conditions but have already come into operation, " Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hai cited.

Considering this a huge change, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hai suggested that it should be carefully evaluated, and even piloted in big cities before applying nationwide to avoid unnecessary risks.

Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also proposed studying clear regulations on post-inspection to avoid abuse or lax inspection.

The National Assembly Chairman pointed out that many errors and violations in construction arise not because of the construction licensing mechanism but because of the lack of transparency and inconsistency in regulations on types of licensed works, conditions and licensing authority.

Therefore, the National Assembly Chairman suggested that attention should be paid to the quality, methods, and licensing procedures, so that construction permits are not a barrier or a procedure that causes trouble for people and businesses.

English

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/de-xuat-mo-rong-truong-hop-duoc-mien-giay-phep-xay-dung-ar971538.html