Legal Document Updates in English (06/2021)

GUIDANCE ON THE TIME LIMIT OF TAX PAYMENT FOR IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

The Ministry of Finance promulgates the Circular No. 06/2021/TT-BTC on guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration dated June 13, 2019 on tax administration of exported and imported goods on January 22, 2021.

According to this Circular, taxpayers must temporarily pay tax according to the declared code before goods are released for goods subject to analysis and assessment in order to accurately determine the payable tax amount. If the result of analysis and assessment of goods is different from the taxpayer’s declaration resulting in an increase in the payable tax amount, the time limit for paying the tax due is 05 working days from the date the taxpayer receives a request for additional declaration from the customs agency.

THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION TAX RATE
OF 2,100 PER LITER FOR JET FUEL SHALL BE APPLIED UNTIL THE END OF 2021

The National Assembly Standing Committee issues the Resolution No. 1148/2020/UBTVQH14 amending and supplementing Sub-section 2, Section I of the Environment Protection Tariff specified in Clause 1, Article 1 of the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Resolution No. 579/2018/UBTVQH14 of September 26, 2018, on the Environment Protection Tariff, which was amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 979/2020/UBTVQH14 on December 21, 2020.

BANKS ARE REQUIRED TO ISSUE CHIP CARDS FROM MARCH 31, 2021

On December 31, 2020, the State Bank of Vietnam issues the Circular No. 22/2020/TT-NHNN on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016 by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card operations.

Specifically, the deadline for 100% acquirers’ automated teller machines (ATM) and point of sale (POS) machines operating in Vietnam to comply with basis standards for

FROM 2022, THE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY
IS CONSIDERED AS A SUBJECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

On November 17, 2020, the National Assembly issues the Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14.

Accordingly, the Law adds the residential community into the scope of regulation and subjects of application in order to affirm position and role of this subject in protection of environment. Prohibited acts in environmental protection include: Transporting, burying, overwhelming, discharging, burning solid and hazardous wastes in contravention of technical process and law provisions on environmental protection; Discharging wastewater and gas emissions not yet treated in accordance with environmental technical regulations into the environment, etc.

The grant of an environmental permit commences since a complete and valid dossier is received, with the time limit as specified as follows: No more than 45 days for the environmental permits to be granted under the competence of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of National Defense,

TO REMAIN THE POVERTY STANDARDS IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS IN 2021

The Government issues the Decree No. 07/2021/ND-CP on multidimensional poverty standards in the 2021 - 2025 period on January 27, 2021.

According to this Decree, the multidimensional poverty standards in the 2016 - 2020 period prescribed in the Decision No. 59/2015/QD-TTg dated November 19, 2015 shall continue to be implemented from January 01, 2021. To be specific: poor households in rural and poor households in urban areas shall have a monthly per capita income of VND 700,000 or less, and VND 900,000 or less, respectively.

However the standards of poor households for the 2022 – 2025 period are raised. Specifically, for rural area: households with a monthly per capita income of VND 1,500,000 or less and deprivation of 03 or more indicators used to measure the level of deprivation in access to basic

TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON VOLUNTARILY RETURNING
AT LEAST 3/4 OF THE EMBEZZLED PROPERTY OR TAKEN BRIBES

On December 31, 2020, the Council of Justices of the Supreme People's Court issues the Resolution No. 03/2020/NQ-HDTP on guidelines for application of a number of provisions of the Penal Code in trial of corruption and other position-related offenses.

Specifically, voluntarily returning at least three-quarters of the embezzled property or taken bribes means the case where an offender has voluntarily returned at least three-quarters of the embezzled property or taken bribes after committing the crimes. It is also considered as voluntarily returning at least three-quarters of the embezzled property or taken bribes in the cases where an offender after committing the crimes has influenced his/her father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters, or other relatives to surrender, or does object to that his/her parents, spouse, children, brothers, sisters, or other relatives return at least three-quarters of the property embezzled, or bribes taken by him/her.