On 26 September 2019, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 75/2019/ND-CP on administrative sanction in terms of competition laws. This Decree comes into effect and replaces Decree No. 71/2014/ND-CP from 01 December 2019.
Decree No. 75/2019/ND-CP provides several new regulations in comparison to its predecessor, in particular:
Maximum fine level for violations of regulations on anti-competitive agreement, abuse of dominant market position and abuse of monopoly position.
Decree No. 75/2019/ND-CP does not change the maximum fine level of 10% of the total revenue in the fiscal year preceding the violation year of violating enterprise.
However, the Decree further provides that this maximum fine could not exceed the minimum fine specified in Criminal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017). According to this Criminal Code, the minimum fine level is VND 1,000,000,000 or 3,000,000,000 depending on the violation form and the extent of arisen damage.
Maximum fine level for violations of economic concentration regulations.
Decree No. 71/2014/ND-CP provides that the maximum fine level for economic concentration regulations is 10% of the total revenue in the fiscal year preceding the violation year of violating enterprise while Decree No. 75/2019/ND-CP stipulates another fine level of 5%.
Determination of a specific fine in case the violating enterprises in the relevant market has revenue of zero in the fiscal year preceding the year of violating.
It is true that violating enterprise might not have any revenue in the fiscal year preceding the year of violating. Therefore, Decree 75/2019/ND-CP has solved this problem that its predecessor overlooked. In particular, the new Decree stipulates that the fine in this case will range from VND 100,000,000 to VND 200,000,000.
Decree No. 75/2019/ND-CP sets out many detailed regulations about maximum fines for competition law violation, contributing to prior assessment of financial risk (i.e fines) of enterprises when they conducts competitive practices in the market.
On September 26, 2019, the Head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy issued Decision No. 435 / QD-VKSTC in 2019 providing regulations on the control of bankruptcy settlement. This decision takes effect from September 26, 2019.
Accordingly, in the Regulation issued together with Decision 435 / QD-VKSTC 2019 stipulating the object of the control of bankruptcy settlement is the compliance with the law of persons conducting bankruptcy procedures (except the Institute the head of the Procuracy and Procurators), who participate in bankruptcy procedures during the court process of bankruptcy cases in accordance with law.
This Regulation also stipulates the scope of control of bankruptcy settlement starting from:
The procuracy receives a decision to return the petition to open bankruptcy proceedings until the decision takes legal effect to resolve the request for reconsideration and petition for returning the application (if any); or
The procuracy receives notice of acceptance of the petition to open bankruptcy proceedings until the Court’s bankruptcy decision comes into force without any recommendations, protests or requests for reconsideration.
In case of supervising the bankruptcy settlement before the decision to declare bankruptcy of the enterprise or cooperative, the control of the acceptance of the application for opening of bankruptcy procedures is as follows:
Upon receiving the Notice of acceptance of the petition, the officer must enter the acceptance book, make a monitoring card announcing the acceptance of the application for opening of bankruptcy procedures.
The officer who controls the submission deadline, the subject is sent notice of acceptance; legal status of the applicant; competence and procedures for accepting applications.
If detecting any violations, gather and report to the Procuracy Leader to exercise the right to petition.
The Procuracy’s activities of supervising the bankruptcy settlement include: Controlling the return of applications for opening of bankruptcy procedures; To supervise the handling of applications for reconsideration and proposals for the return of applications for opening of bankruptcy procedures; To supervise the bankruptcy resolution before the decision to declare bankruptcy of enterprises or cooperatives; Control the declaration of enterprises, cooperatives and many other activities as prescribed in the Regulation issued together with this Decision.
Regulations on supervising the bankruptcy settlement for the purpose of controlling this activity in accordance with the law, ensuring fairness, transparency and efficiency to assist the Court in resolving the bankruptcy case.
On August 30, 2019, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 60/2019 / TT-BTC amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular 39/2015 / TT-BTC of the Minister of Finance providing regulations on customs value for import and export goods. This Circular takes effect from October 15, 2019
1. Principles:
a) The customs value of imported goods is the actual price payable up to the first import checkpoint determined by the sequential application of methods from point a to point e clause 2 of this Article and stopping at method of determining customs value;
b) If the declarant requests in writing, the order of application of the deductible value method and the calculated value method may be interchangeable;
c) The determination of customs value must be based on vouchers, documents, objective and quantifiable data.
2. Methods of determining the customs value of imported goods:
a) Method of transaction value of imported goods: Pursuant to Article 7 of Decree 40/2007 / ND-CP, we have the concept of customs value as follows;
“The customs value of imported goods is the transaction value, which is the actual price paid or will be payable for goods sold in the export operation for the importing country, this value is adjusted in accordance with the provisions of Article ”
The method of customs valuation is called the method of calculating actual or paid prices for imported and exported goods.
b) Method of transaction value of identical imported goods: Pursuant to Clause 8, Article 2 of Decree 40/2007 / ND-CP. Identical goods are identical goods in all respects, including physical characteristics, quality and reputation; are manufactured in the same country, by the same manufacturer or another manufacturer under the authorization of that manufacturer, imported into Vietnam.
c) Method of transaction value of similar imported goods: Pursuant to Clause 9, Article 2 of Decree 40/2007 / ND-CP Similar imported goods are goods although they are not the same in all directions. face but with the same basic characteristics, made from the same materials and materials; have the same function and are interchangeable in commercial transactions; are manufactured in the same country, by the same manufacturer or another manufacturer under the authorization of that manufacturer, imported into Vietnam.
d) Method of deduction value: Pursuant to Circular 39/2015 / TT-BTC. The customs value calculation method using the deduction value is a method of calculating customs value on the basis of a basis for calculating import and export tax. Deductible value is determined based on the selling price of imported goods, identical import goods, similar imported goods on the Vietnamese market minus (-) the reasonable expenses incurred after import.
đ) Method of calculation value: Pursuant to Article 11 of Circular 39/2015 / TT-BTC. If the customs value cannot be determined by the methods of transaction value, the value of identical or similar imported goods or the deductible value, the customs value of imported goods shall be determined by legal value calculation. where to learn import and export
e) Method of deduction: Out of the six methods for determining customs value of imported goods, the inference method is the last and the least applicable method.
This Circular 60/2019 / TT-BTc helps organizations and individuals export and import goods, customs authorities, customs officers and other relevant organizations and individuals to choose methods to define customs valuation of imported goods in the most appropriate way.
On June 19, 2019, the Government issued Decree No. 54/2019 / ND-CP stipulating the business of Karaoke and dance club services.
Decree No. 54/2019 / ND-CP (hereinafter referred to as the “Decree”) takes effect on September 1, 2019, detailing the business activities of karaoke and dance club services for The contents are previously stipulated in Decree No. 103/2009 / ND-CP stipulating the Regulation on cultural activities and the provision of public cultural services.
New points of the Decree:
1. More detailed provisions on conditions for dealing in karaoke and discotheque services:
Business conditions for karaoke services
– Being an enterprise or business household established under the provisions of law.
– Satisfying the conditions for fire and explosion prevention and fighting as well as the order prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 96/2016 / ND-CP of July 1, 2016, providing for security and order conditions. for a number of sectors and trades subject to conditional business investment.
– The theater room must have an area of 20 m2 or more, excluding auxiliary works.
– Do not place door latches inside the theater room or place alarm devices (except fire and explosion alarm devices).
– The responsibility of businesses and business households when doing karaoke service business is to ensure that the image of the lyrics is shown on the screen (or similar form) and culture, ethics, traditions and customs of the Vietnamese nation.
Dance service business conditions
– Being an enterprise or business household established under the provisions of law.
– Satisfying the conditions for fire and explosion prevention and fighting as well as the order prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 96/2016 / ND-CP of July 1, 2016, providing for security and order conditions. for a number of sectors and trades subject to conditional business investment.
– Disco room must have an area of 80 m2 or more, excluding auxiliary works.
– Do not place latches on the inside of dancing halls or set alarm devices (except for fire and explosion alarm devices).
– Business locations must be 200 m or more from schools, hospitals, religious, religious, historical-cultural relics.
– The responsibility of an enterprise or household business when doing disco service is not to provide dance club services for people under 18 years old.
2. There are no exceptions to the operating hours of karaoke services:
– Not operating karaoke services from 00 AM to 08 AM;
– Do not operate dance club service from 02 am to 08 am.
Thus, the Decree has eliminated the exception of allowing karaoke rooms in tourist accommodation establishments rated 4 stars or higher or high-class to operate after 12 pm but no later than 2 am Previous regulation.
Value of the Decree:
Decree 54/2019 / ND-CP stipulates many specific and strict regulations. This is a step forward to improve the legal framework to strengthen the management capacity for these two types of sensitive services.
On August 14, 2019, the Government issued Decree No. 68/2019 / ND-CP stipulating the management of construction investment costs applicable to projects funded by state budget and state capital off-budget and investment projects in the form of public-private partnerships (PPP). This Decree takes effect from October 1, 2019.
Accordingly, this Decree provides for the content of costs of total investment, specifically in Article 4:
a) Costs of compensation, support and resettlement include expenses for compensation for land, houses, structures on land, assets attached to land, water surface and other compensation costs as prescribed; allowances when the State recovers land; resettlement costs; organization of compensation, support and resettlement; expenses for land use, land lease during construction (if any); expenses for relocation and reimbursement of the technical infrastructure already invested in construction (if any) and other relevant expenses;
b) Construction costs include construction costs of works and construction items of the project; works and items of temporary construction works and auxiliary works in service of construction; The cost of demolition of construction works is not within the scope of site clearance that has been determined in the cost of compensation, assistance and resettlement. The structure of construction costs includes: direct costs, indirect costs, pre-calculated taxable income, value added tax;
c) Equipment expenses include expenses on procurement of construction equipment and technological equipment; expenses for management of procurement of construction equipment by contractors; expenses for purchasing software copyrights used for construction equipment and technological equipment of the project (if any); expenses for training and technology transfer (if any); expenses for processing and manufacturing non-standard equipment (if any); installation, testing and calibration costs; expenses for running equipment tests according to technical requirements; transportation and insurance costs; taxes and other related fees and charges;
d) Project management costs include expenses for organizing the implementation of project management tasks from project preparation, project implementation and construction completion and putting project works into operation. For investment projects in the form of public-private partnership (PPP) project management costs include project management costs of competent state agencies, operating expenses of project management units under state agencies competent to implement projects and project management costs of investors;
đ) Costs of construction investment consultancy include construction consultancy costs, preparation of pre-feasibility study report, report on proposal of investment guidelines for projects of groups B and C according to regulations of Law on Public Investment, prepare feasibility study report or economic – technical report; design costs, construction supervision consultancy costs and other related consultancy costs;
f) Other expenses including necessary expenses for execution of work construction investment projects, such as expenses for clearance of boms, mines and explosive objects; cost of work insurance during construction period; project evaluation, design and construction cost estimates and fees; expenses for auditing, verifying and approving investment capital settlements and other necessary expenses for executing work construction investment projects but not falling into the contents prescribed at Points a, b, c, d, đ, Clause 4 of this Article;
g) Contingency cost includes contingency cost for arising work volume and contingency cost for inflation during project implementation.
In summary, the promulgation of Decree 68/2019 / ND-CP has created a legal corridor for the management of construction investment projects using state capital, in the context of need for transparency and publicity in state budget management activities.
On September 23, 2019, the Government issued Decree No. 74/2019 / ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 61/2015 / ND-CP dated July 9, 2015 of the Government employment support policy and national employment fund. This Decree takes effect from November 8, 2019.
Some notable contents of Decree No. 74/2019 / ND-CP:
Modify some contents:
+ Abolishing the function of allocating capital and assigning the targets of implementing the National Employment Fund by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to provincial-level People’s Committees and central agencies of major organizations social – treatment. (Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP)
+ Increasing the preferential loan limit for small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative groups, business households and employees. Accordingly, for production and business establishments, the maximum loan is VND 2 billion / project and not exceeding VND 100 million for 01 employee to create jobs, maintain and expand jobs. For employees, the maximum loan amount is VND 100 million. (Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP).
+ Extending the maximum loan term for the borrowing units. Under the new regulations, the maximum loan term is 120 months. The specific loan term is considered and balanced by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to reach agreement with the borrower. (Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP)
Abolish some contents:
+ Abolish the content of formulating, approving loan plans and employment targets for preferential loans of small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative groups, business households and laborers ( Clause 10, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP)
+ Abolish the content of formulating, approving the loan plan for the preferential loan of workers working abroad under contracts (Clause 17, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP).
The promulgation of Decree No. 74/2019 / ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of contents in Decree 61/2015 / ND-CP on employment support policy and national funds for employment is entirely appropriate. The new Decree overcomes the irrationalities of the old regulations, which are more suitable to the reality of the country as well as creating more motivation for businesses and workers.
On September 23, 2019, the Government issued Decree No. 74/2019 / ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 61/2015 / ND-CP dated July 9, 2015 of the Government employment support policy and national employment fund. This Decree takes effect from November 8, 2019.
Some notable contents of Decree No. 74/2019 / ND-CP:
Modify some contents:
+ Abolishing the function of allocating capital and assigning the targets of implementing the National Employment Fund by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to provincial-level People’s Committees and central agencies of major organizations social – treatment. (Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP)
+ Increasing the preferential loan limit for small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative groups, business households and employees. Accordingly, for production and business establishments, the maximum loan is VND 2 billion / project and not exceeding VND 100 million for 01 employee to create jobs, maintain and expand jobs. For employees, the maximum loan amount is VND 100 million. (Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP).
+ Extending the maximum loan term for the borrowing units. Under the new regulations, the maximum loan term is 120 months. The specific loan term is considered and balanced by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to reach agreement with the borrower. (Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP)
Abolish some contents:
+ Abolish the content of formulating, approving loan plans and employment targets for preferential loans of small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative groups, business households and laborers ( Clause 10, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP)
+ Abolish the content of formulating, approving the loan plan for the preferential loan of workers working abroad under contracts (Clause 17, Article 1 of Decree 74/2019 / ND-CP).
The promulgation of Decree No. 74/2019 / ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of contents in Decree 61/2015 / ND-CP on employment support policy and national funds for employment is entirely appropriate. The new Decree overcomes the irrationalities of the old regulations, which are more suitable to the reality of the country as well as creating more motivation for businesses and workers.
On June 13, 2019, the Government issued Decree No. 51/2019 / ND-CP stipulating sanctions against administrative violations in science and technology activities and technology transfer. The Decree takes effect from August 1, 2019.
Accordingly, the Government retains the maximum fine in science and technology activities, technology transfer for individuals is VND 50 million, and organizations is VND 100 million. However, with new penalties will increase with each specific violation. For cases of committing frauds or deceit to receive State supports and preferences according to the provisions of the relevant technology transfer legislation, the maximum fine level of up to VND 40 million will be increased. 10 million compared to current regulations.
Individuals who transfer technology from Vietnam to abroad or from abroad to Vietnam on the List of technologies banned from transfer will be fined up to VND 50 million.
For acts of violations occurring before August 1, 2019 which are later discovered or being considered and settled, the provisions that are beneficial to organizations and individuals shall apply.
The new regulations of the Government have raised the responsibilities of organizations and individuals when committing acts of violation in scientific and technological activities, technology transfer, further enhancing the building of a healthy environment in this field.
