MOIC is conducting a feasibility study of the implementation of trading rights in Lao PDR. The implementation of a draft of decision on trading rights shall comply with policies, laws, and regulations of Lao PDR. It is required to conduct the feasibility on the principles, measures, and assessment of positive/negative impacts on community, public and the business sector as well as to find the solutions for further issues.
MOIC together with EMC held a consultation and dissemination meeting on the regulatory impact assessment of the draft decision on trading rights on July 25, 2018, at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce The meeting chaired by Mr. Soulinhon Philavong, Director General of DIMEX and attracting more than 30 participants from government and development partners to attend. The objective of the meeting is to provide an understanding of the trading rights to concerned sectors as well as to disseminate and discuss the regulatory impact assessment of the draft decision.
Mr. Soulinhon Philavong stated that Trading Rights is one of the obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) membership of Lao PDR in order to provide foreign individuals or legal entities whose businesses are not registered in Lao PDR with the rights to import and export goods to/from Lao PDR. The rights in the import and export were mentioned on Article 13 in Decree on Import and Export of Goods No. 114/GoL, dated 06 April 2011, this draft of decision on trading rights aims to enlarge Article 13 in Decree No.114/GoL.
The raised issues in the meeting for instance issues related to trade measures, particularly protection measures, which were not consistent with regulation of WTO. According to the meeting on the regulatory impact assessment of the draft decision on trading rights, any foreign individual or legal entity living or not living in Lao PDR who are not registered for business license, the establishment of a business, or branch in Lao PDR. It is not permitted to import and export, but on other hand they use trade agent for instance logistic agents in the Lao PDR that can handle for tax payment.
Currently, MOIC is conducting the feasibility of implementing "Trading rights" in Lao PDR. In this assessment, there are 03 options for exploration and consideration for instance handle with the current situation, non-legislative solutions, issue or amend legal documents. According to the assessment, there is a direct impact on domestic and foreign entrepreneurs, particularly the import and export sectors. In addition, government sectors at local and central level involved in import and export licenses are conducting the issuance of trading right entitlement certificate to grant import and export for foreign traders.
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