The basic opinions agreed with the need to amend the law to implement the Party and State's policies and overcome the shortcomings of the current law. The delegates focused on discussing and giving opinions on many groups of policies and specific provisions in the draft law. These included the content on meeting the goals of tax system reform; taxable subjects, tax bases, tax rates, roadmap for increasing and reducing tax rates, and implementation provisions.

Some opinions expressed concern and suggested that the application of special consumption tax on sugary drinks should be carefully considered. Delegate Nguyen Thi Le Thuy (Ben Tre) said that the application of special consumption tax on sugary drinks could reduce the consumption of sugary drinks but it is unlikely to reduce the rate of overweight, obesity and other non-communicable diseases. Therefore, the delegate suggested that a thorough and comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of adding sugary drinks to the list of subjects subject to special consumption tax is needed to ensure the goal of protecting people's health.

Also related to this content, delegate Cam Thi Man (Thanh Hoa) expressed interest in adding soft drinks according to Vietnamese Standards with sugar content over 5g/100ml to the special consumption tax subject with a tax rate of 10%. Accordingly, the delegate agreed with adding this product to the special consumption tax subject to contribute to consumption orientation, expanding the mechanism to encourage businesses and consumers to switch to other sugar-free products, contributing to limiting overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases.

However, the impact assessment research report stated that the beverage industry accounts for 38% of the number of enterprises in the beverage industry. Regarding the impact on budget revenue, the calculation results show that when applying a 10% special consumption tax, the production scale of enterprises is narrowed, and at the same time, the tax imposition not only affects the beverage industry, but also affects 24 other industries in inter-industry relations. The consequences affect the entire economy, leading to a decline in GDP.

Therefore, the delegate of Thanh Hoa province said that it is necessary to balance the goal of guiding consumer behavior with the production and business of enterprises trading in the above-mentioned products. The Government needs to explain more clearly about the goal of achieving this policy. Delegate Cam Thi Man emphasized that the policy supplement needs to be carefully considered to ensure smooth implementation and to give enterprises time to develop business strategies and promptly adapt.

Contributing opinions to the draft Law, delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) suggested considering increasing special consumption tax on sugary soft drinks according to the roadmap. This should be studied in the context of businesses facing many difficulties, affecting production and business... According to the delegate, many other types of goods also have high content, not just sugary soft drinks. If high taxes are imposed, there may appear soft drinks, beer and wine that are handmade and smuggled into Vietnam, which are very difficult to control.

In addition, delegate Pham Van Hoa also proposed to the Drafting Committee of the Law that special consumption tax should not be imposed on air conditioners because this is a need and essential item of the people.

In his concluding remarks, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai stated that, through discussion, delegates agreed on the necessity of amending the Law on Special Consumption Tax to overcome the shortcomings of the current Law, institutionalize the Party's policies, regulate consumption in accordance with the shift in consumption trends in society and the Party and State's orientations on protecting people's health, protecting the environment, in line with the trend of tax reform in the world.

Delegates also gave their opinions on taxable subjects, tax bases, tax rates, tax increase and reduction roadmaps; proposed to review to ensure consistency and comprehensively and harmoniously assess impacts to ensure the relationship between producers, consumers and social interests and use different tools. These are dedicated and responsible opinions, from many different perspectives and there are also concerns about some contents that need to be carefully studied to complete the draft Law.

The opinions of the National Assembly deputies have been recorded and fully transcribed. The National Assembly Standing Committee will direct the verification agency to closely coordinate with the drafting agency and relevant agencies, opinions expressed in the hall and opinions discussed in the Group to fully absorb the draft Law, submit it to the National Assembly for consideration and decision according to the law-making program.