Starting from May 12, Vietnam’s national public services portal will integrate six more public services, aiming to support people and businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and government's leaders at the launch of the national public services portal. Photo: Thong Nhat

These public services delivered online would help reduce the processing time by 6-10 days compared to the current physical delivery.

The six services are extension of payment deadline for income tax and land rental fee; supporting workers in delaying obligations written in labor contracts or taking unpaid leave; supporting employers in taking preferential loans to provide severance pay for workers; applying for delay in payment of income and corporate taxes; deferring contribution to pension and death gratuity funds; receiving complaints and suggestions in providing support for people affected by the pandemic.

Nguyen Doan, a new user of public online services, said the process made it easy for everyone and saves significant amounts of time.

Doan said the application for delay in payment of land rental fees takes approximately 15 minutes, and more importantly, people can do it on computers or smart phones. “Users can check the processing status at any time, while the result would be sent to their smart phones immediately,” he added.

Director of Sun Smile Travel Vietnam company Duong Thanh Hang said the provision of six public online services are substantial measures for enterprises to access the government’s support programs.

“We can check the progress of our applications and timely provide additional documents if needed,” Hang shared her experience with online public services.

The government estimated these online services would aid more than four million workers and businesses affected by the pandemic, said Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, adding the move is in line with the government’s efforts in simplifying administrative procedures and creating convenience for citizens.

As the country is rolling out a number of support programs, public online services also help reduce risks of people abusing policies for unfair personal gains, Dung stated.

After six months of implementation, the national portal of public online services received 35 million visitors and 134,000 registered accounts; over seven million applications are being processed and 10,000 calls from the people.

The portal is expected to save VND6.49 trillion (US$278.53 million) annually for the state budget, Dung said.

During the last two months when the pandemic was spreading across the country, the number of applications processed in the portal more than tripled compared to the number received in four months before, averaging 1,400 applications per day.