What are conditions to do business on public rental properties?
VCN- Public assets at public non-business units can be rented in the case where they must be assets which are assigned, invested, constructed and procured to carry out tasks assigned by the State but they have not been used yet. Also, the Ministers, heads of central agencies, and provincial people’s committees need to approve these cases.
Another case is also used for business purposes, for lease, that is: Assets are invested for construction and procurement by the state budget to serve the project-based business activities which are approved by competent authorities.
They were the provisions of the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, which was adopted by the National Assembly at its third session, the XIV National Assembly.
Competence to approve projects on lease or trading of public assets in public non-business units belongs to the Ministers, heads of central agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees who shall approve schemes on lease of assets from non-business establishment or other property of great value under the Government’s regulations; the Managing Board or the head of a public non-business units who shall approve a project on lease of assets assigned or invested for construction or procurement in order to perform the tasks assigned by the State but not used at full capacity.
Regulations on the use of assets invested by the State budget to perform the tasks assigned by the State but have not yet used up their designed capacity for the purposes of leasing, business, joint venture or association have been received controversial feedback from the National Assembly deputies in the discussion of the Law.
Some deputies proposed not to assign the Prime Minister to decide but decentralize the Government to decide whether to allow public non-business units to exploit public assets that have not been fully used for business purposes to ensure the feasibility and fit with reality.
It is proposed not to allow the use of assets formed from the state budget after the effective time of the law for business purposes.
Explaining and accepting this issue, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly said that the current public property is now managed, used at four budget levels, if all the cases are required to submit to the Prime Minister, it will give rise to incidental work to the Prime Minister, not in line with the decentralization of public asset management.
The provisions before and after the effective date of the Law led to a lack of uniformity in management, not on the same legal ground. In the exploitation, assets invested after the Law takes effect shall not be exploited.
In order to ensure strict protection against the abuse of excess capacity and the capacity of doing business in non-business agencies, the Law stipulates that investment in the construction of non-business facilities is only allowed if there are no existing non-business establishments or existing non-business establishments, they shall be short of the areas in excess of the prescribed criteria and norms; investment in the construction of new assets from the state budget shall be allowed only for the purpose of service provision, leasing, joint venture or association.
For cases of excess capacity when being put into business, leasing, joint venture or association, the Law must be clearly permitted by the competent agencies or persons without affecting the performance of the functions, the tasks assigned by the State do not lose the ownership of public assets to preserve and develop the capital and assets assigned by the State in conformity with the functions and tasks of the units and promote the capacity and efficiency of the use of assets.
In addition, the permission to put into operation for the above assets will be in line with the roadmap for transferring fees and charges for public service costs in some areas such as health care and education, and in line with the roadmap for autonomy implementation of non-business units, towards the accuracy and adequacy of public service costs.
Accordingly, the regulation of business and lease of public assets in public service delivery agencies is clearly stipulated in the Law on management and use of the public property because, in recent times, wrong purposes caused wastes and losses.
Recently, the Government Inspectorate has outlined the wrong and unreasonable violations of a ministerial-level agency for renting a public office at a “dump” price, not offsetting the land rent to be paid to the state as prescribed. That is the best proof of the loss, waste, not properly collected enough revenues from business revenues and rental of public offices.
On many occasions, the Prime Minister has directed the need to strictly control the standards and norms for the use of working offices. Particularly, ministries, branches, localities, agencies, organizations, and units strictly control the standards and norms for the use of working offices according to regulations, including the working area, services and technical sections at the stage of formulation and approval of investment designs for new construction, upgrading or renovation of working offices.
The Law on Management and Use of Public Assets takes effect from 1st January 2018 with specific provisions of the lease and trading of state assets will contribute to publicity and transparency in the management of public assets, avoiding losses and wastes of resources of the State
Source: customsnews.vn