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| At a workshop of Truong Xuan Shoes Company Limited, Hanoi__Photo: VNA |
Legal support for SMEs is governed by the 2017 Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (the Law), with the aim of improving enterprises’ awareness, knowledge and sense of law compliance. This, in turn, helps prevent and reduce legal risks and disputes arising from production, business and investment activities. On June 24, 2019, the Government issued Decree 55/2019/ND-CP on legal support for SMEs, a meaningful and significant policy for the business sector. Later in 2021, the Prime Minister issued Decision 81/QD-TTg approving the Program on inter-sectoral legal support for SMEs in the 2021-25 period.
Five years after the issuance of Decree 55, ministries, central agencies and provincial-level authorities, within their respective management scopes, have promulgated plans, directives and guidance documents to implement legal support for businesses. Several localities have taken proactive steps to develop and roll out projects, programs and action plans on legal assistance for enterprises, including the adoption of provincial resolutions on funding norms for legal support activities and regulations on inter-agency coordination in providing legal assistance.
However, despite notable progress, legal support for SMEs still faces many shortcomings. Most ministries and sectors have yet to publicly announce networks of legal consultants; support funding remains limited and procedures are cumbersome. Most SMEs do not have in-house legal departments, while the contingent of officers engaged in legal support for businesses remains insufficient.
Vietnam currently has around 900,000 enterprises, of which approximately 97 percent are SMEs. By 2030, the country aims to have at least two million enterprises. With such numbers, demand for business support in general, and legal support in particular, is certain to continue rising. Against the backdrop of rapid digital transformation and deeper international economic integration, legal issues, disputes and regulatory bottlenecks arising in business operations and investment are inevitable, and may become increasingly complex, unpredictable and high-risk.
Meanwhile, the private sector, especially SMEs, still faces limitations in competitiveness, legal knowledge and law enforcement capacity. Therefore, state support through programs and projects on legal assistance for SMEs is essential, including the provision of legal consultancy services through networks of legal advisors.
According to Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Thanh Ngoc, the ministry will further study and identify shortcomings and inadequacies in Decree 55 and related legal documents, particularly those already highlighted, in order to promptly propose appropriate amendments and supplements that will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of legal support in the coming period.
The Ministry of Justice will also focus on expanding the scope of legal support beneficiaries beyond SMEs to include household businesses, in line with Party guidelines, State policies and social demand. This includes establishing a unified legal support mechanism for enterprises, alongside priority and tailored mechanisms for specific groups in accordance with Party resolutions.
At the same time, clearer provisions will be introduced to define coordination responsibilities among ministries, sectors, local authorities, law-practicing organizations, the Vietnam Bar Federation and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the social responsibilities of lawyers in operating and developing the National Law Portal into a trusted address for citizens and businesses.- (VLLF)
