The Ministry of Planning and Investment has announced a draft bill to support small and medium-sized firms which state that officials may face criminal charges for discrimination and harassment.

SMEs to get supports

Agencies are forbidden from issuing unfair business conditions, administrative procedures or limit access to resources to small and medium-sized firms. Officials have also been warned against causing trouble or harassing businesses.

Depending on the violations, the agencies and officials will be fined or prosecuted. They will have to pay compensation if their actions result in losses. The ministry is gathering opinions before submitting the bill to the National Assembly in July. It is estimated at least 550,000 businesses will benefit if the bill is passed.

Ho Sy Hung, director of Business Development Department, said the bill aimed to give support to small and medium-sized firms because this sector accounted for large portion of the market, yet, it faced huge challenges while trying to access capitals or benefit from policies.

The ministry also plans to offer a 5% corporate income tax discount for a maximum of five years and support 70% of business premises and productions.

Small and medium-sized businesses account for 97% the total number of enterprises in Vietnam and contribute 45% GDP and 31% to the state budget and generate 51% of the employment each year.

Firms who will be benefited from the bill are those that have less than VND100bn (USD4.5m) in revenue or have a workforce of less than 300 people over the past five years.