Official Dispatch 2236/BHXH-TST 2022 increase the number of participants in compulsory social insurance

To: Social Security Offices of provinces and centrally-run cities

Pursuant to the 2014 Law on Social Insurance; the 2008 Law on Health Insurance; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the 2014 Law on Health Insurance; the Law on Employment; the Law on Occupational Safety and Health; Decision No. 546/QD-TTg dated April 29, 2022 of the Prime Minister on the assignment of health insurance coverage targets for the 2022-2025 period; Resolution No. 69/NQ-CP dated May 19, 2022 of the Government on the assignment of targets to increase the number of social insurance participants; Official Dispatch No. 3036/BHXH-BT dated September 24, 2020 of Vietnam Social Security on advising party committees and authorities to lead and direct the intensive implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies; Official Dispatch No. 1664/BHXH-TST dated June 21, 2022 of Vietnam Social Security on implementing solutions to increase the number of participants in the last 06 months of 2022, Vietnam Social Security hereby provides guidelines for utilizing and increasing the number of participants in compulsory social insurance, unemployment insurance, work injury and occupational disease insurance, health insurance at employers that are enterprises and production and business establishments that have not yet participated in social insurance or health insurance or have not participated in all social insurance and health insurance benefits (collectively referred to as units) as follows:

I. Process of sharing, updating, reviewing data of units and utilizing and increasing the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance

1. Decentralization and deadlines

1.1. Decentralization: In 58 provinces where the provincial Social Security Offices do not establish subordinate Social Security Offices in provincial cities, the provincial Social Security Offices must, in addition to managing the utilization and increase of the number of beneficiaries and participants in social insurance and health insurance on a province-wide scale, perform the same duties as the district-level Social Security Offices in the provincial cities where they are headquartered following the guidelines herein.

In 05 centrally-run cities, the municipal Social Security Offices shall directly utilize and increase the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance in units, which have their contribution collection managed by the municipal Social Security Offices but have not yet registered to participate in compulsory social insurance and health insurance and fully pay the respective insurance for their employees. They shall also arrange and assign additional personnel to the Social Security Offices of rural and urban districts and municipality-affiliated cities to ensure the utilization and increase of the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance comprehensively and promptly within the deadlines.

1.2. Deadlines: For 2022 only, the requirements outlined in Points 3.2 and 3.3 of Clause 3 in this Section must be fully implemented before August 15. From 2023 onwards, the list of increases and decreases in the number of local units must be prepared twice a year, before January 10 with respect to the second half of the preceding year and before July 10 with respect to the first half of the current year.

2. Advising Chairpersons of the People's Committees at all levels to direct and coordinate the utilization and increase of the number of beneficiaries and participants of compulsory social insurance and health insurance

2.1. Social Security Offices of provinces and centrally-run cities

Social Security Offices of provinces and centrally-run cities (hereinafter collectively referred to as provincial-level Social Security Offices) shall coordinate with members of the Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies to advise the Chairpersons of the provincial-level People's Committees - Heads of the Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies in directing authorities, organizations, Chairpersons of People's Committees of urban/rural districts, provincial/municipality-affiliated cities, and towns, and request the provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, unions and socio-political organizations to coordinate with each other to:

a) Develop and submit for promulgation programs, or plans and targets for utilizing and increasing the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance in their respective localities for each year and the 2022-2025 period in the annual socio-economic development plans to be submitted to and decided by the provincial-level People's Councils in accordance with the 2014 Law on Social Insurance, the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 546/QD-TTg dated April 29, 2022, the Government’s Resolution No. 69/NQ-CP dated May 19, 2022 as a basis for implementation thereof, and at the same time send them to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Vietnam Social Security for such authorities to summarize and report them to the Government and the Prime Minister.

b) Clearly assign tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines to each of authorities and units which carry out the tasks of utilizing and increasing the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance.

c) Share data, or provide information and compile lists of operating units and employees working for each unit, which will be sent to the Social Security Offices.

d) Issue, by themselves if within their competence or otherwise by competent authorities as escalated by them, the decisions and then inspect and examine the compliance with policies and law regulations on social insurance and health insurance at the request of the Social Security Offices, or relevant organizations and individuals.

e) Coordinate with the Chairpersons of the People's Committees of the urban/rural districts, provincial cities, and towns (collectively referred to as district level) to direct the Heads of relevant district-level authorities and units, and the Chairpersons of the People's Committees of communes, wards and towns (collectively referred to as commune level) to coordinate with the district-level Social Security Offices.

2.2. District-level Social Security Offices

The district-level Social Security Offices shall coordinate with members of the Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies to advise the Chairpersons of the district-level People's Committees - Heads of the Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies in the respective rural districts in directing the commune-level Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies and requesting the district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, unions and socio-political organizations to coordinate with each other to:

a) Develop and submit for promulgation programs, or plans and targets for utilizing and increasing the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance in their respective localities for each year and the 2022-2025 period as decentralized to them by the Chairpersons of the provincial-level People's Committees; or clearly assign tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines to each of authorities, units, and commune-level People's Committees which carry out the tasks of utilizing and increasing the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance in accordance with the general plans of the whole provinces as specified at Point 2.1 of this Clause.

b) Share data, or provide and compile a list of operating units and employees working for each unit, which will be sent to the Social Security Offices.

c) Issue, by themselves or otherwise by competent authorities as escalated by them, the decisions to inspect and examine the compliance with policies and law regulations on social insurance and health insurance contributions at the request of the Social Security Offices, or relevant organizations and individuals.

3. Sharing, updating, reviewing information and data on units and employees

3.1. Data sharing

3.1.1. The Information Technology Center shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with the Contribution Collection - Insurance Book and Card Department to review and reconcile the data on units and employees, who have finalized their personal income taxes, provided by the General Department of Taxation on a quarterly basis, and the data on cooperatives, individual business households, and individual businesses, provided by the district-level Departments of Finance and Planning and local authorities and organizations with the data being managed by the Social Security Offices; classify and extract information into forms in the software (Form No. 02- KT, Form No. 02a-KT, Form No. 03-KT, Form No. 03a-KT), and decentralize competence to the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices.

3.1.2. Provincial-level Social Security Offices shall:

- Request authorities and organizations of relevant sectors and fields under their management to share data, information, or lists of units operating in the respective localities, number of employees who have not participated in compulsory social insurance and health insurance in each unit by categories: Cooperatives, People's Credit Funds, health units, socio-cultural units, information units, physical education units, sports units, tourism units, education and training units, non-public hotel and restaurant services with the expertise and operations under their management (Form No. 02-KT, or Form No. 03-KT) to the Social Security Offices.

- Coordinate with the provincial-level Tax Departments and Regional Tax Departments to review information and data shared by the General Department of Taxation, to which the access has been decentralized to the provincial-level Social Security Offices, and provide additional data on units and number of employees (if any) that have not participated in compulsory social insurance and health insurance and not included in personal income tax finalization data (using Form No. 02-KT, Form No. 03-KT) to the Social Security Offices.

3.1.3. District-level Social Security Offices shall:

- Request the district-level Departments of Finance and Planning to share information, data, or lists of individual business households and individual businesses (using Form No: 01-KT) with the Social Security Offices;

- Request the district-level Tax Departments to share data, information, and lists of individual business households and individual businesses paying presumptive taxes and license taxes, and provide additional data on units and number of employees not included in the personal income tax finalization data (using Form No. 01-KT) to the Social Security Offices.

3.2. Review information and data on units and employees in the respective localities; update management software

3.2.1. Review information and data of units and employees in the respective localities: The provincial/district-level Social Security Offices shall coordinate with the commune-level police to supplement the lists of units and number of employees of each unit newly operating in each commune, which have not yet participated in compulsory social insurance and health insurance and not yet shared by the authorities mentioned in Clause 2 of this Section, and supplement the missing information (number of employees, phone numbers, emails, etc., if any).

3.2.2. Updating the management software: Upon receipt of the lists of units and employees in their respective localities, the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices shall update them into the software for management within a maximum of 05 days from the date they receive such lists.

3.3. Complete the database of units and number of employees that have not participated in compulsory social insurance and health insurance

Provincial/district-level Social Insurance Offices shall provide lists of units and employees that have not yet participated in social insurance or health insurance, specifically:

- List of units that have not yet participated in social insurance and health insurance for their employees (using Form No. 02a-KT) enclosed with a list of employees who have not yet participated in social insurance and health insurance (using Form No. 02-KT);

- List of units that have not yet fully participated in social insurance and health insurance for their employees (using Form No. 03a-KT) enclosed with a list of employees who have not yet participated in social insurance and health insurance (using Form No. 03-KT).

4. Organizing the investigation, utilization and increase of the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance

4.1. Sending notices of payment of social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, work injury and occupational disease insurance contributions, to employees

Based on the lists of units and employees that have not yet participated in social insurance and health insurance for their employees and the lists of units and employees that have not fully participated in social insurance and health insurance for their employees, the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices shall send notices (made using Form No. 04-KT, enclosed with Form No. 02-KT/Form No. 03-KT) to units via public postal service providers or the commune-level Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies.

4.2. Organizing working conferences with units

After 10 days from the date the notices are sent, if the units have not responded, or have not registered to participate in compulsory social insurance or health insurance for their employees, they shall be gathered in a working conference in person. Conferences with units that have not yet participated and units that have not fully participated in compulsory social insurance and health insurance for their employees should focus on the following issues:

a) Prepare invitations of the units to the Conference: Prepare and send invitations (made using Form No. 05-KT) to the units (via provincial/district-level public postal service providers or the commune-level Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies).

b) Attendees to the conferences:

- Leaders of the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices and relevant departments/units shall invite representatives of the provincial/district-level Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies, local authorities, commune-level police, Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, and other unions and socio-political organizations, relevant departments, authorities and sectoral authorities to attend the Conference.

- The representatives, or the persons authorized to represent the units in accordance with the law regulations, and the persons in charge of accounting, or the persons in charge of organization and human resources of the units that have not yet participated and the units that have not fully participated in compulsory social insurance and health insurance for their employees. The provincial/district-level Social Security Offices shall, depending on the practical number of attendees to conferences, organize conferences appropriately and effectively.

c) Issues to be discussed at the conferences:

- Disseminate the law regulations on the responsibility of participating in and paying compulsory social insurance and health insurance of units (employers) and employees; law regulations on illegal and prohibited acts; sanction violations upon non-payment or late payment of social insurance and health insurance by the units for their employees; the benefits and rights of the units and employees when they participate in and pay compulsory social insurance and health insurance.

- Notify each unit of the number of employees currently employed but have not yet registered to participate in and pay compulsory social insurance and health insurance in order to request and guide such unit to register to participate in and pay compulsory social insurance and health insurance in accordance with regulations.

- Thoroughly grasp and inform the units that, after 10 days from the date of attending the conference, the units that intentionally fail to participate in and pay compulsory social insurance and health insurance will be subject to ad-hoc specialized inspection with respect to insurance payment, or request competent authorities to inspect and examine the compliance with law regulations and policies on social insurance and health insurance, sanction violations, and request remediation of consequences of such violations.

- The number of conferences to be commenced and the number of units to attend the conferences: In the case where, in the district, the number of units that have not yet participated and have not fully participated in compulsory social insurance and health insurance for their employees is small or not enough to commence a conference, it is flexible to invite units to gather in a location, or work with each unit in person as guided at Point 4.3 of this Clause. In case of not working in person, the Director of the provincial-level Social Security Office shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate in commencing the conference in a cluster and an area of multiple districts in accordance with this Point.

d) Time lime and progress for organizing the conferences:

The provincial/district-level Social Insurance Offices shall develop schedules for organizing the conferences with units to ensure flexibility, savings and efficiency. The conferences shall be organized regularly, monthly, and quarterly before December 20 every year.

4.3. Checking the units in person

a) Units to be worked with in person: Units that have not yet participated and units that have not yet fully participated in compulsory social insurance and health insurance for their employees, which were invited but did not attend the conferences and have not yet given their responses, or have not registered to participate in compulsory social insurance and health insurance for their employees.

b) Those who shall work in person with the unit: Representatives of the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices, commune-level police, district-level Tax Department and, depending on the reality, representatives of the units to be members of the Steering Committees for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies.

c) Time:

Within 02 days, from the date on which the Conference is organized, the officer in charge of collection management, who is assigned to monitor the unit, shall prepare a notice of work agenda (using Form No. 05a-KT), enclosed with Form No. 05b-KT, which shall be submitted to and signed off by leaders before being sent to the unit in person or via the public postal service provider or the Steering Committee for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies.

d) Working with units:

- Check and compare documents related to the implementation of policies for their employees, such as: employment contracts, pay slips, time sheets, tax finalization, etc. with data on social insurance and health insurance contributions of the respective units (using Form No: 05b-KT);

- Prepare working minutes on payment of social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, work injury and occupational disease insurance contributions for their employees (using Form No. 06-KT).

dd) Update work results, enclosed with a scanned copy of the working minutes, to the software.

4.4. Conducting specialized inspections with respect to insurance payment

a) After 10 days from the date on which the conferences were organized, or in-person inspections have been conducted, the units fail to pay social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions for their employees who are required to participate in compulsory social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, work injury and occupational disease insurance, the provincial-level Social Security Offices shall issue decisions on ad-hoc specialized inspection of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance payment[1] and then inspect the compliance with the law regulations on social insurance and health insurance in accordance with the law regulations on inspection and examination and the guidelines of Vietnam Social Security. The working minutes (minutes of specialized inspection of compulsory social insurance and health insurance payment) shall refer to and clearly indicate the law violations with respect to non-payment or late payment; the severity of the violations, the time required to remedy the consequences of the violations, and administrative sanctions to be imposed in accordance with the law regulations on inspection and the guidelines of Vietnam Social Security.

b) Update (using Form No. 07-KT, enclosed with scanned copies of the working minutes and inspection conclusions) the number of inspected units and the number of units for which the Directors of the provincial-level Social Security Offices, or the Labor Inspectors or State Inspectors in the respective localities have issued inspection conclusions into the software for tracking, urging and management.

4.5. Referring case files to the police for investigation

a) If the units commit serious violations warranting criminal sanctions (deliberate non-payment or underpayment of social security contributions in terms of the number of employees, contribution amount, or duration of the violations) and their case files as prescribed in Article 216 of the 2015 Penal Code are fully available (they fail to address or delay in addressing the violations after the inspections are completed administrative sanctions have been imposed), the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices shall coordinate with relevant authorities to collect and refer their case files to the police for criminal investigation in accordance with applicable law regulations.

b) Update the time of referring the case files to the software (using Form No. 07-KT, enclosed with a scanned copy of each case file) for tracking and urging.

5. Sharing data with relevant agencies

5.1. Vietnam Social Security: The Information Technology Center shall, depending on the actual registration to participate and pay compulsory social insurance of newly established units, send (or share) information about the number of employees paying social insurance to the respective business registration authorities to carry out State governance of enterprises after their establishment registration in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 122/2020/ND-CP dated October 15, 2020 (using Form No. 09-KT ).

5.2. Provincial/district-level Social Security Offices shall:

a) On a quarterly basis, make and send lists of units and employees who declare, calculate, pay, and finalize personal income taxes but, in fact, neither work at nor receive salary or income, to the tax offices and request them to inspect and examine the compliance with tax policies and law regulations in accordance with the law regulations and the Regulations on data sharing and coordination between Vietnam Social Security and the General Department of Taxation No. 1999/QCPH-BHXH-TCT dated July 9, 2021 of Vietnam Social Security and the General Department of Taxation (using Form No. 10-KT).

b) On a quarterly basis, make lists of units and employees, who violate law regulations on labor by not agreeing to enter into employment contracts though such employees are required to enter into employments contracts but after having been instructed by the Social Security Offices, relevant organizations and individuals to conclude employment contracts as a basis for payment of compulsory social insurance and health insurance, they intentionally fail to do so. Such lists shall be sent to the State authorities in charge of labor which whereby shall be requested to inspect, examine, sanction violations, and request remediation of violations of law regulations on labor and social insurance and health insurance (using Form No. 11-KT).

II. Implementation organization

1. Units under Vietnam Social Security

1.1. The Contribution Collection - Insurance Book and Card Department shall:

- Coordinate with the Information Technology Center to perform the tasks mentioned in Point 3.1.1 of Section I, instruct the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices to utilize and deploy the software.

- Assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with relevant units inside and outside the industry in fostering, guiding and training organizations and individuals on collection, utilization and increase of the number of beneficiaries and participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance; monitoring, urging and inspecting the situations, results and progress of the implementation thereof by the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices.

- In a periodical and ad-hoc manner, summarize results and progress of implementation nationwide into reports sent to the General Director (using Form No. 08-KT).

1.2. The Information Technology Center shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with the Contribution Collection - Insurance Book and Card Department to upgrade, modify and supplement relevant software, and guide the provincial/district-level Social Security Offices to update results of implementation of relevant tasks mentioned in Section I herein.

1.3. The Inspection Department shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with the Contribution Collection - Insurance Book and Card Department and other relevant units to give advice and submit to the General Director for issuance decisions on ad-hoc specialized inspection of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance contributions with respect to units that fail to make contributions of compulsory social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance for their employees; guiding and urging the provincial-level Social Security Offices to organize ad-hoc specialized inspections of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance payment in accordance with regulations.

1.4. The Legal Department shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with relevant units to guide, inspect and urge the Provincial/district-level Social Security Offices to transfer dossiers to the investigation authorities for handling of criminal violations in accordance with regulations.

1.5. The Finance & Accounting Department shall ensure fundings within the estimates allocated for the implementation.

1.6. Other units under Vietnam Social Security: Depending on their functions and tasks, assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with each other in guiding and urging the implementation of tasks serving the utilization and increase of the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance by provincial/district-level Social Security Offices.

2. Provincial/district-level Social Security Offices shall:

2.1. Pursuant to Section I herein, clearly assign the tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines to each leader of provincial/district-level Social Security Offices, heads of relevant departments, public employees, and employees, and timely organize them to successfully perform such targets and tasks.

2.2. Update the implementation of the tasks in Section I: Update the details mentioned in Section I herein (using Form No. 07-KT attached hereto) into the management software. During the period when the software functionality is being completed, periodically on the 10^th, 20^th and last day of the month, send reports on the results of the utilization and increase of the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance (made using Form No. 08-KT) to Vietnam Social Security (via the Contribution Collection - Insurance Book and Card Department) for summarization and escalation to the General Director.

2.3. On a 6-monthly or annual basis, assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with relevant authorities and organizations in escalating to the Chairpersons of the provincial/district-level People's Committee - Head of the Steering Committee for implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies and Vietnam Social Security the summarization, evaluation, and commendation of organizations and individuals that perform well in utilizing and increasing the number of participants in compulsory social insurance and health insurance.

3. This Document supersedes Vietnam Social Security’s Official Dispatch No. 3045/BHXH-BT dated August 20, 2019 providing guidelines for reviewing, investigating, and utilizing participants in social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, work injury and occupational disease insurance.

The Social Security Offices of provinces and centrally-run cities must strictly implement it. During the process of implementation, any arising problems shall be promptly reported to Vietnam Social Security for consideration and resolution./.

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[1] The district-level Social Security Office and the Contribution Collection division shall send a list of enterprises to the Inspection Division which shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with relevant departments and district-level Social Security Offices to escalate to the Director for issuance of a decision to establish an ad-hoc specialized inspection team to inspect social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance payment by enterprises.