Removing procedural 'bottlenecks': Focusing on improving the quality of implementation

On August 8, 2025, the Prime Minister issued Official Dispatch No. 130/CD-TTg requesting ministries, branches and localities to urgently review and promptly handle problems in the land sector. On the same day, the Government Office issued Notice No. 408/TB-VPCP, emphasizing the adjustment of business processes to use integrated information on VNeID instead of hard copies. This is a directive demonstrating the determination to shift from perfecting institutions to improving discipline and order in implementation.

Many problems related to the implementation stage

According to experts, the main problems at present do not only come from legal regulations but mostly from the implementation and coordination between agencies. They can be classified into two main groups of issues: Land registration procedures and certification work.

Regarding land registration, the rapid increase in the number of applications has put great pressure on the Public Administration Service Center and the Land Registration Office. Some localities have implemented an online numbering system, but the operation is not stable, many online applications still require paper copies, prolonging the processing time and reducing the efficiency of online public services. Some places have imposed a restriction that each person can only get 01 number, requiring 01 service per day.

With certification, the volume of copies, signature certifications and contracts accumulated at the commune level exceeds the capacity of the staff. The unreasonable allocation of authority leads to a long backlog. This is not a problem of lack of regulations but mainly due to inappropriate organization and allocation of resources.

Legal framework and enforcement requirements

The current legal system has recognized the legal value of notarized documents, allowed the use of electronic identification data to replace many types of documents, and provided online public services at a high level. However, the actual efficiency has not yet met the requirements due to many limitations in receiving and processing electronic records.

Mr. Pham Trung Hieu, Head of Dam Hoang Ha Notary Office (Hanoi) said that the steps in real estate transactions can be completely carried out in an electronic environment. The main problem is that there is no unified process for receiving electronic notarized documents at the registration office and there is still a situation of requiring additional paper copies.

On the other hand, legal contents that have been proven in notarized documents and for which the notary is responsible do not require people to provide documents to prove, but in many cases, the agency receiving the documents still requires people to provide them; this is not in accordance with the function and duties and causes inconvenience to people. The notarization procedure for real estate transactions usually only takes about 1 hour, but the current registration time for name change is 10 working days.

Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Binh, Director of Trung Quan Law Firm, Hanoi Bar Association, commented that if data between land registration agencies and tax authorities are fully connected and shared, the time to confirm financial obligations will be shortened, contributing to saving time, costs and improving transparency.

Mr. Tran Van Tien (citizen in Duong Noi ward, Hanoi) said that the online number collection system needs to be upgraded to ensure stable operation, streamline by procedure type, display waiting time and real-time reception limit. Service discipline must be strengthened; requesting documents outside the list is strictly prohibited; if the appointment is delayed due to the fault of the agency, the file must be prioritized for processing and a written apology must be issued.

"It is impossible to set limits on the number of public services that each citizen can perform in a day. Citizens have to arrange time to do procedures, sometimes taking a whole day, but the agency conducting the procedures has such a limit. Suppose a person has to do many procedures, it will take many days just to queue up to submit the application. I have an appointment to receive results within 10 working days, but in reality, it took 3 days for my application to actually have results," said Mr. Tien.

Provide key solutions to remove "bottlenecks"

To resolve the above problems, experts believe that it is necessary to standardize electronic processes at the Land Registration Office, including receiving electronic notarized contracts, integrating digital signature verification tools and keeping track of processing on the system. Receiving electronic data will help reduce the need to resubmit documents because it is possible to establish tools to automatically review the validity of documents.

In addition, it is necessary to implement real connectivity between registration, tax and finance stages, apply comprehensive electronic processes, return results and update status automatically, and clearly stipulate processing times for each stage.

Regarding certification, in qualified places, it is possible to transfer some types of certification to notary organizations; expand the scope of signature certification for simple transactions; encourage the certification of electronic copies, digital signatures and online lookups; require the receiving agency not to request paper copies when valid electronic data is available.

Amending and supplementing legal regulations is necessary, but cannot replace the requirement to improve the quality of implementation. When digital data, electronic processes and service culture are applied synchronously, administrative procedures in the land sector will be faster, more accurate and more transparent, meeting the expectations of people and businesses, and at the same time promoting administrative reform into substance.

Dieu Anh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/go-vuong-cac-diem-nghen-ve-thu-tuc-tap-trung-nang-cao-chat-luong-to-chuc-thuc-hien-102250813144611913.htm