On the afternoon of November 18, the National Assembly discussed the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Anti-Corruption.
Regarding asset declaration with fluctuations under 1 billion VND, delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (HCMC Delegation) said that the threshold of 1 billion VND is suitable for the economic context. However, if only the absolute threshold is regulated, there will be a situation of splitting transactions and shifting them separately, making it difficult for the control agency to detect.
"I propose legalizing the principle that all changes in unusual assets that are not suitable for income, even under 1 billion VND, must be explained. This is an important mechanism to prevent "edy reporting techniques" that have been very popular in recent times," said the delegate.
Participating in the opinions on the value of assets and additional income, delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap Delegation) said that for assets with a value of less than VND 1 billion but over VND 500 million, additional declarations can also be made.
"If only calculating from 1 billion VND or more, and under 1 billion, like 999 million VND, it is nearly 1 billion, it should not be missed and not declared" - the delegate gave an example and suggested that it should be declared.
Regarding the handling of dishonest declaration of assets and income and explanation of the origin of additional assets dishonestly, delegate Hoa said that the provisions as in the draft law are appropriate. At the same time, he suggested adding some additional contents.
"We cannot accept cases of dishonest asset declaration, after discovering acts to avoid and disperse assets. Therefore, it is necessary to handle strictly, even handle criminal responsibility," the delegate said and emphasized this handling to deter, reduce negativity, and set an example for others to not dare, not want, and not do wrong things.
Delegate Mai Van Hai (Thanh Hoa Delegation) said that to ensure good implementation of innovation in law-making, the draft law should be regulated in principle and general, not to list assets such as precious metals, precious metals, precious stones, money... that can arise other types of assets.
"It should be stipulated that all types of real estate assets with each type of asset worth VND 150 million or more must be declared and assigned to the Government for detailed regulations," said the delegate.
Clause 2 stipulates that additional declaration is carried out when the person subject to declaration has fluctuations in assets and income in a year with a value of VND 1 billion or more. The declaration must be completed before December 31 every year. The draft law has increased the additional declaration level from 300 million VND to 1 billion VND. The delegate completely agreed on this issue.
However, according to him, there is a problem that according to the above regulations, assets formed in the year under 1 billion VND do not need to be declared additionally, but if the accumulation from previous years is likely to be over 1 billion VND, there is no clear regulation on how to declare this? The delegate suggested that it should be considered to have specific regulations for declaration.
Delegate Nguyen Van Huy (Hung Yen Delegation) agreed with the opinion of the Hoa delegate stating that it is not advisable to stipulate a change fee of 1 billion VND in the draft law.
Therefore, it is recommended that the Government prescribe in sub-law documents to suit and flexibly adjust to the socio-economic situation of the country at each time.
