On July 10, the Standing Committee of the Economic and Finance Committee held an expanded session, preliminarily examining draft laws and draft resolutions submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee at the July 2026 session.
Reporting on the draft amendment and supplement to a number of articles of the Investment Law, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong said that the draft supplements regulations prohibiting the business of N2O gas (laughing gas) for use by humans through the respiratory tract, except for medical purposes.
Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong said that the abuse of N2O gas for entertainment causes many serious consequences for the nervous system, health of young people and potentially leads to drug use.
Although current law has regulations controlling the business and use of N2O gas in some fields of health, industry, and food, it is not effective. Therefore, this draft amended Law supplements the above-mentioned prohibition.
The draft Law also replaces the List of conditional business lines of the Investment Law, thereby sharply reducing the list of conditional business lines.
The draft Law also proposes to replace the entire Appendix IV of the current Investment Law, reducing 56 industries and professions and amending the scope of 14 conditional business investment industries and professions (reaching a reduction rate of 28.3% compared to the assigned target of 30%).
At the same time, taking in the opinions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the draft Law further reduces 2 industries: "trade activities and activities directly related to the trading activities of foreign service providers in Vietnam" and "oil and gas activities". Thereby, raising the total rate of reduction to 29.3%.
At the meeting, Member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Finance Committee Phan Van Mai requested the drafting agency and the appraisal agency to fully and seriously absorb the opinions at the Meeting, and update the dossier before submitting it to the National Assembly Standing Committee.
Regarding the draft Law amending and supplementing Article 6 and Appendix IV on the list of conditional business lines, the Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Finance Committee noted that the amendment and supplement must truly improve the investment and business environment.
At the same time, it is necessary to continue to assess the impact of the regulations in the draft Law on the investment and business environment, review relevant laws to create synchronization and unity in the legal system; supplement opinions from the business community and related subjects.
Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Finance Committee Phan Van Mai also noted the transitional clauses in the draft Law, avoiding obstacles when applying new regulations, ensuring that the law is promulgated is truly feasible and effective.
