The Council of Ministers, or Cabinet, on July 8 passed draft legislation to revise the Constitution, as well as a draft law on the management of non-fiscal revenues, according to a government spokesman.

This came during a Cabinet session led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who tasked Minister of Justice Koeut Rith with holding a press conference at “a convenient time” to go over the details of the constitutional amendments, government spokesman Phay Siphan said in a statement.

Without elaborating further, Siphan said the amendments were “in the interest of the people” and geared towards “maintaining normalcy in administrative work”.

“As such, we urge national and international media to wait for information concerning the time and venue of the press conference,” he said.

Meanwhile, the draft law aims to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, accountability and consistency in the management of non-fiscal revenues among relevant institutions at all levels, as well as optimise the associated legal framework and institutional structures, he added.

The bill defines modern technology-driven institutional mechanisms and cooperation structures covering the entire non-fiscal revenue management process from pre-collection to result reporting.

It also includes provisions concerning non-fiscal debt; dispute resolution; inspections, audits, reviews and evaluations; and incentives and penalties.

Siphan was optimistic that the draft law would mitigate the challenges facing authorities in managing non-fiscal revenues and fulfilling other pertinent tasks.

He said the draft law was meticulously prepared after thorough research on relevant legal standards and provisions, taking into account the experiences and inputs regarding good practices of developed countries such as Sweden and Australia.

The draft law consists of 12 chapters and 101 articles, and was developed with feedback from relevant ministries and institutions, civil society organisations, and national-level consultation workshops.