Key infrastructure projects subject to auditing plan

A tunnel section of Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line.

Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line and 10-trillion-VND flood control project in Ho Chi Minh City along with Cat Linh-Ha Dong railway line in Hanoi are among the key projects to be audited this year.

Stating at a meeting in Hanoi on January 14 to launch the agency’s tasks in 2019, Ho Duc Phoc, Auditor General of the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV), said that the SAV will carry out auditing projects on the refund of value added and information technology application of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Vietnam Customs, alongside the contracts of build-transfer projects.

During the year, as the sector will pay great attention to large-scale projects, the number of audits will reduce by about 20 percent, he said.

The Auditor General underlined that 2019 is a decisive year in implementing the strategy of State Audit development towards 2020, and will be the first year that the State Audit performs the role of the ASOSAI Chair in the 2018-2021 period.

Last year, the State Audit successfully hosted the 14th Assembly of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), receiving compliments from foreign friends, he noted.

Phoc also reported that last year, the State Audit completed 100 percent of its plan.

As of December 31, 2018, the agency proposed a fine of 89.6 trillion VND, while helping call back more than 20 trillion VND of State budget and reduce budget spending by 44.4 trillion VND, up 18.39 percent compared to the previous year.

The State Audit suggested amendments to and the cancellation of 115 legal documents, while giving ideas to fix shortcomings in the management of value added tax and export tax, as well as the management of natural resources, economic zones, and ODA resources, he said.

At the conference, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong and head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Pham Minh Chinh presented the State President’s Independence Orders of different classes, the Prime Minister’s Certificate of Merit, and the Government’s emulation flags to collectives and individuals from the State Audit in recognition of their outstanding operational achievements.