Prime Minister orders ministries to submit a plan to cut administrative procedures and business conditions by April 20, 2026

In the afternoon of April 13, 2026, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung chaired a meeting of the Standing Government to discuss solutions and implementation methods for administrative reform. The agenda includes reducing administrative procedures, simplifying business conditions, cutting the scope of conditional business lines, and decentralizing the handling of administrative procedures in line with Conclusion 18-KL/TW issued by the Central Committee.

Deputy Prime Ministers and leaders from the Ministries of Justice, Public Security, Internal Affairs, and the Government Office attended the meeting.

Reform targets under Conclusion 18-KL/TW

According to reports presented at the meeting, Vietnam currently has 198 conditional business lines and 4,603 business conditions.

Conclusion 18-KL/TW from the Second Conference of the 14th Central Committee requires ministries and agencies to continue reviewing and cutting 30% of existing conditional business lines (about 60 sectors) and to remove 100% of unnecessary business conditions. The reform also targets:

• 50% reduction in processing time
• 50% reduction in compliance costs
• Ministries to implement no more than 30% of the total administrative procedures under their management

Implementation timeline and oversight

Prime Minister Hung emphasized that the work demands high responsibility from ministers and should begin immediately rather than waiting until the end of Q2. By April 20, ministries must submit their plans to the Standing Government and the Government Office, which will compile and present them to the Government in April.

Based on the Justice Ministry’s overall report and inputs from ministries, the Prime Minister will assign Deputy Prime Ministers to oversee relevant areas. The Justice Ministry, Public Security, Internal Affairs, and the Government Office are tasked with scheduling concrete actions to advance reform, reduce administrative procedures, reduce conditional business sectors, and decentralize decision-making.

Focus on substance, not only numbers

The Prime Minister directed ministers to actively review all administrative procedures within their remit to simplify, cut, and delegate processing. At the same time, ministries are required to prune the list of 198 conditional business lines and 4,603 current conditions, aiming for clarity, ease of implementation, and easier compliance for citizens and businesses.

Prime Minister Hung noted that some conditions are not necessary and must be cut, but the substance within conditions matters more than the number. Reforms should genuinely reduce processing time and compliance costs, and officials should avoid superficial changes. He also urged ministries to listen to and incorporate feedback from businesses and associations during the simplification process.

Decentralization and local capacity

On decentralizing administrative processing, the Prime Minister ordered continued evaluation of which tasks are best handled at provincial or local level. The policy must comply with the 30% cap on central-to-local delegation for procedures within each ministry’s management scope.

He also called for ongoing efforts to improve local capacity through targeted training and practical, meaningful reforms that support the overarching goals of improving the business environment and advancing digital transformation.

Data infrastructure and “provide once” principle

The Prime Minister tasked ministries with strengthening data infrastructure, especially data related to businesses and citizens, and promoting data reuse in administrative procedure processing. Citizens and enterprises should provide information only once, while officials must consult existing databases rather than repeatedly requesting the same information. Specific legal provisions should govern this data-use approach.

Digital transformation and science-technology breakthroughs

Regarding implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution 57 on breakthroughs in science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation, Prime Minister Hung directed the Ministry of Public Security to promptly report to the Government on programs, plans, and concrete contents to implement these directives in line with Conclusion 18 and guidance from relevant central bodies.

Deputy Prime Ministers were instructed to decisively direct their ministries to fast-track the assigned tasks in these areas.