Legal Document Updates in English (01/2011)

VEHICLES MUST HAVE HEALTH CONTROLS

October 01, 2010, Government issued the Decree No. 103/2010/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases regarding border heath quarantine.

The Decree regulates 3 cases of vehicles that are subjected to health control prior to their entry, exit or transit: Vehicles departing from or going through zones of class-A infectious diseases, which have not been under health control; vehicles or persons and goods on vehicles carrying or with signs of carrying pathogens of class-A infectious diseases; ships without a ship sanitation control exemption certificate or ship sanitation control certificate.
Accordingly, these vehicles will be controlled by extermination of agents of diseases and vectors; Removal and disposal of solid waste and waste matters of humans or animals; treatment of daily-life wastewater and ballast water. Goods carrying or with signs of carrying pathogens of class-A infectious diseases shall be put under health control as follows:extermination of agents or vectors of diseases; Health control measures specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article must be completed within 4 working hours after detecting goods concerned; forced destruction or re-export of goods ofwhich agents or vectors cannot be exterminated.

Expenses for destruction or re-export shall be paid by goods owners. For destruction of goods with unidentified owners, border health quarantine units shall report such to provincial-level People’s Committees for allocation of funds for the destruction. When expenses for destruction exceed local budget limits, provincial-level People’s Committees shall report such to the Ministry of Finance for proposing the Prime Minister to provide central budget supports.

A person carrying or with signs of carrying pathogens of a class-A infectious disease is subject to the following health control measures: medical isolation; use of vaccines and medical biologicals, sterilization and application of prophylactic measures; medical examination and treatment.

This Decree takes effect on December 1, 2010 to cancel the Government’s Decree No. 41/1998/ND-CP of June 11, 1998, promulgating the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s Regulation on border health quarantine, to annul health quarantine declaration form provided in Appendix VIII to the Government’s Decree No. 71/2006/ND-CP of July 25, 2006, on management of seaports and navigable channels.

DECREE 102/2010/ND-CP REPLACES THE GOVERNMENT'S DECREE NO. 139/2007/ND-CP GUIDING IN DETAIL A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON ENTERPRISES
 

After issuing the Decree No. 43/2010/ND-CP replacing the Decree 88/2006/ND-CP on business registration, on October 01, 2010, Government issued the Decree No. 102/2010/ND-CP (Decree 102) guiding in detail a number of articles of the Law on Enterprises. Decree 102 takes effect on November 15, 2010 and replaces the Government’s Decree No. 139/2007/ND-CP.

This Decree regulates that unless otherwise provided for by a treaty to which Vietnam is a contracting party or a specialized law, an enterprise established in Vietnam of which foreign investors hold not more than 49% of charter capital is subject to investment or business conditions applicable to domestic investors; unless otherwise provided for by a treaty to which Vietnam is a contracting party or a specialized law. an enterprise established in Vietnam of which foreign investors hold more than 49% of charier capital is subject to investment or business conditions applicable to foreign investors. The holding rates specified in Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article is applicable to enterprises throughout the course of their investment or business in relevant sectors while Decree 139 was only applied in the course of business registration for enterprise establishment (investment registration)

One prominent point is that the Decree 102 regulates right of members to institute lawsuits against the chairman of the Members' Council and director (director general) in a limited company in Article 19 and shareholders (in a joint stock company) in Article 25. Accordingly, a shareholder or a group of shareholders holding at least 1% of common share for six consecutive months may request the Control Board to institute a lawsuit over the civil liability of a member of the

Members' Council or the director (director general) in the following cases: the member of the Members' Council or the director (director general) fails to properly exercise his/her vested rights and perform his/ her assigned duties: fails to implement or fails to properly and promptly implement decisions of the Board of Directors: exercises his/her vested rights and performs his/her assigned duties in contravention of law. the company charter or a resolution of the Shareholders' General Meeting; the member of the Members' Council or the director (director general) has used business information, know-how and opportunities of the company for self-seeking purposes or in the interests of other organizations and individuals; the member of the Members' Council or the director (director general) has abused his/her position, post and the company's assets for self-seeking purposes or in the interests of other organizations and individuals.

The restriction on share transfer by founding shareholders specified in Clause 5. Article 84 of the Law on Enterprises is applicable only to shares subscribed to by the time of first-time enterprise registiation and paid for within 90 days after the grant of an enterprise registration certificate.
Besides, Decree 102 also has some changes in rights to make business registration and conduct business activities; state assets and public funds; authorization by at-law representatives of enterprises; Making of capital contribution and rights and obligations related to the contribution of capital to limited liability companies with two or more members; signatures of members and member representatives in minutes of the Members' Council's meetings and so on.

 INTENSIFYING MEASURES FOR STABILIZING PRICES AND MARKETS IN THE LAST MONTHS OF 2010

On October 11, 2010, the Prime Minister issued the Directive No. 1875/CT-TTg on intensifying the implementation of measures for stabilizing prices and markets in the last months of 2010.
The Prime Minister implements the State Bank of Vietnam to continue administering monetary policy in an active and flexible manner, ensuring the growth of credit and total payment instruments at reasonable levels in line with development objectives, meeting production requirements, incrementally reducing credit interest rates, administering foreign exchange rates in a flexible manner to ensure macro balances, encouraging export and increasing foreign currency

reserves; reviewing and assessing current regulations on monetary and credit management so as to make necessary adjustments on the principle of assuring safety for the credit and banking system while boosting production and business.

The State Bank of Vietnam shall study and adopt appropriate policies and mechanisms allowing commercial banks to quickly withdraw cash from circulation in order to lessen pressures on price increase, especially at the end of the year when the volume of payments for works and projects will be high and on festive and new year events when bonuses and salaries will be paid in large amounts

 DEVELOPMENT OF VIETNAM'S URBAN LIGHTING THROUGH 2025
 

On October 11, 2010, the Prime Minister signed the Decision No. 1874/QD-TTg approving the orientations for development of Vietnam's urban lighting through 2025.

Accordingly, the general objectives of  Vietnamese urban lighting through 2025 regulate that urban lighting development must comply with urban construction and development planning and plans; to incrementally modernize and raise the efficiency and quality of urban lighting; to renew technology, use new and renewable energies in urban lighting in order to save electricity, contributing to national socio­economic development and building of an image of civilized and modern Vietnamese urban centers of bearing the national identity.

Orientations have given out general objectives and specific objectives. Accordingly, to the year 2015 there are 80% of the existing traffic works, public spaces and advertisements in urban centers of special grade and grade I, and 60% of the existing traffic works, public spaces and advertisements in urban centers of grade II will use high-performance and power-saving lighting products; 100% of the newly constructed traffic works and public spaces will use high-performance and power-saving lighting products;

Through 2025, in order to further raise the urban lighting quality, ensuring that 100% traffic works, public spaces and advertisements in urban centers (including newly constructed, renovated or upgraded ones) use high-performance and power-saving lighting products, of which 30% to 50% use standard solar energy lamps. For urban centers of special grade and grade I: The lighting of streets of all kinds covers 100% of the street length. For urban centers of grades II and III: The street lighting covers 100% of the length of main urban streets; 95% of the length of regional streets; 80-85% of the length of alleys and lanes (of a width of 2 m or more); For urban centers of grades IV and V: The street lighting covers 85-90% of the length of main urban and regional streets; 75% of the length of alleys and lanes (of a width of 2 m or more).

The Ministry of Construction shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries, sectors and provincial-level People's Committees in, realizing the orientations for development of Vietnam's urban lighting through 2025.

This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

 REGULATION ON THE PRICING OF ASSETS, GOODS AND SERVICES
 

This Regulation is issued by the Ministry of Finance attached to the Circular No. 154/2010/TT-BTC on October 01, 2010 provides for the principles and methods of pricing assets, goods and services to be priced by the State; and goods and services on the lists of those subject to valorization, price registration, declaration or negotiation according to law.
In case competent agencies issue specific regulations on the pricing of assets, goods and services on the lists defined in Clause 1 of this Article, such regulations prevail. pricing assets, goods and services are implemented according to the principles: Accurate and sufficient calculation of actual and reasonable production and business costs associated with the quality of assets, goods and services;conformity with regimes, policies, econo-technical norms and cost norms

prescribed by competent agencies; conformity with supply-demand relations of assets, goods and services in the market and the purchasing power of the Vietnamese currency; conformity with domestic, regional and world market prices and competitiveness of assets, goods or services at the time of pricing; conformity with the State’s socio-economic development policies applicable nationwide or in each region or locality.

There are two methods of pricing assets, goods and services: Comparison method means a method of pricing a to-be-priced asset, goods or service by analyzing and comparing its price and economic andtechnical characteristics with great impacts on its price with those of similar assets, goods or services which are traded in the domestic market and, at the same time, referring to regional and world market prices; The cost method means a method of pricing an asset, goods or service based on actual, reasonable and lawful production and business costs (including both direct and indirect costs) for the production and circulation of such asset, goods or service and the projected profit (if any).  On the basis of the property, utilities, practical production and business, market and circulation conditions of each specific asset, goods and service, organizations and individuals may select an appropriate pricing method for making its price plan according to regulations.

This Circular takes effect on November 15, 2010. The Finance Minister’s Decision No. 06/2005/QD-BTC of January 18, 2008, promulgating the Regulation on the pricing of assets, goods and services, is annulled