That is the comment made by Dr. Nguyen Duc Hien, Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission at the Conference - Exhibition on digital finance in state budget management in 2022 (Vietnam Digital Finance -VDF 2022) themed “Embracing IT Modernization to Accelerate Digital Transformation in Financial Sector” co-organized by the Department of Financial Informatics and Statistics, the National Institute for Finance, the World Bank (WB), IEC Group on November 17, 2022.
The Ministry of Finance is one of the first ministries and branches to issue documents orienting the research and implementation of digital transformation. For many consecutive years, the Ministry of Finance has always led the ranking of readiness index for information and communication technology development and application (Vietnam ICT Index); for two consecutive years (2020, 2021) the Ministry of Finance led among ministries and sectors in digital transformation (DTI); the taxation, customs and treasury branches have always pioneered in digital transformation with impressive results.
According to Dr. Nguyen Duc Hien, the VDF 2022 Conference - Exhibition is of special importance, contributing to the implementation of Resolution No. 52 of the Politburo and relevant national strategies and programs.
Assessing the digital transformation achievements in the financial sector, Andrea Coppola, Chief Economist of the World Bank, said that electronic systems of the taxation, customs and treasury have become effective tools to serve for handling administrative procedures for people, businesses, and budget-using units. This brings great benefits, improves transparency of administrative procedures settlement, reduces costs and time for the procedure applicants.
According to Nguyen Dai Tri, Director of the Financial Informatics and Statistics Department (Ministry of Finance), digital transformation in the financial sector will be one of the most important factors to promote digital transformation in general and in other fields in particular. In general trend on technology application of the 4th Industrial Revolution, in recent years, the application of information technology (IT) by the Ministry of Finance in particular and the whole financial sector in general has improved to a new scale, to a new height, with significant qualitative changes. However, in the context that the Government issues further specific programs and plans for national digital transformation with 3 main pillars: digital government, digital economy, digital society, the Ministry of Finance is required to have a general, comprehensive and long-term implementation plan.
Mr. Nguyen Dai Tri, Director, Department of Financial Informatics and Statistics (Ministry of Finance). Photo: Quang Minh.
The Ministry of Finance's digital transformation plan sets forth specific targets by 2025, in which, focuses on digital transformation in three key areas having great influence to society, namely the taxation, customs and treasury. In order to achieve the target, it is necessary to implement synchronous solutions. According to Mr. Tri, the first important solution is to review, research and amend mechanisms, policies, professional processes in line with electronic transactions to ensure strict and legal compliance. The second shall be technology solutions; the Department of Informatics and Financial Statistics, with its assigned roles, responsibilities, functions and tasks, will research, study and advise leaders in choosing the best technologies at most suitability, reliability and safety.
The financial sector activities are multi-disciplinary, multi-field, and serve a wide range of people, businesses, budget-using units having different awareness level on information technology application. In difficult and remote areas, it is still difficult to access information technology applications and public services, although improvement has been made recently. People, businesses, and budget-using units still keep habit to use manual methods, carry out paper transactions.
Therefore, the third solution is to raise awareness and change mind of people and businesses. In order to do so, officials, civil servant and cadres in financial sector shall change working manner, change perception from the view point of serving people, businesses, agencies and organizations that have transactional relations with the finance sector.
Speaking at the Conference, Mr. Dang Ngoc Minh, Deputy Director General, General Department of Taxation, said the taxation branch has had a process over the past 30 years of developing and building information technology applications, modernizing and reforming the taxation branch to serve the needs of people and businesses. Especially, since 2014, the taxation branch has built a centralized integrated information technology system. The system has developed comprehensively, with application of IT in all stages of tax administration process and provision of various online public services to taxpayers, contributing to building a modern, effective and efficient taxation, being highly recognized and appreciated by organizations, businesses, individuals and the whole society.
With regard to technology application of the 4th industrial revolution, big data, connection of things, artificial intelligence and in the context of digital transformation worldwide, especially in the business sector, the taxation branch has pioneered in digital transformation, administrative reform, and information technology application. Typically, the Taxation has implemented e-invoice nationwide to create environment to promote digital transformation in state management agencies, as well as in business community and business households.
The Taxation branch has also identified a number of opportunities and challenges in the process of developing digital transformation-oriented information technology applications, including: businesses’ race on "digital technology, digital transformation"; development of digital economy; data collection, building and analysis; implementation of solutions on management of domestic commerce and cross-border digital services towards centralizing management data from e-commerce trading floors, and cross-border digital service providers; digital transformation in state management agencies and organizations.
The implementation of transition steps from e-government to digital government orientation is a long-term program, requiring the consensus and drastic direction of the Government, the participation of all management levels and sectors, synchronous implementation plan under the Government's strategy.
Determining development targets to 2030, the Ministry of Finance shall strive to establish a comprehensive digital financial system and smart finance with four focuses: Strict tax management, avoiding tax fraud and provide the best utility for people and businesses; Smart Customs; “Three-No” Treasury; Strong digital transformation of securities market.
(Thu Hằng)
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