Legal Document Updates in English (15/2020)

REGULATION ON COORDINATION IN RESOLUTION
OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT DISPUTES
 

On April 08, 2020, the Prime Minister issues the Decision No. 14/2020/QD-TTg on promulgation of Regulation on coordination in resolution of international investment disputes.

Specifically, international investment disputes are disputes arising from time when foreign investors sue Vietnamese Government or State or state agencies, organizations authorized for state management.

Within that, the presiding agency is a ministry, ministerial-level agency, government-attached agency or the People’s Committee of province and centrally-run city that takes a measure to be sued or threaten to be sued, receiving the foreign investor’s notification of intending initiate a lawsuit

TO SUPPLEMENT 02 OBJECTIVE DEDUCTED IN EVALUATE
THE CAPITAL PRESERVATION OF THE DEPOSIT INSURANCE OF VIETNAM
 

On April 01, 2020, the Ministry of Finance promulgates the Circular No. 20/2020/TT-BTC on amending and supplementing a number of Articles of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 312/2016/TT-BTC of November 24, 2016, prescribing financial regimes applicable to the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam.

Accordingly, the Ministry supplement 02 objective factors affect to capital and income of Deposit Insurance of Vietnam which shall be deducted in evaluate the capital preservation. They are: Using working capital to purchase long-term bonds of supporting credit institutions in accordance with law, thus affecting annual income; Selling government bonds, long-term bonds of supporting credit institutions or bills of the State Bank of Vietnam to pay

insurance sums to depositors in case the professional reserve fund is not enough to pay deposit insurance sums.

In addition, this Circular also stipulates that the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam may use the balance of income from special loans provided to specially controlled credit institutions which are separately monitored to offset losses arising from irrecoverable special loans. In case the balance of income from special loans is not enough to offset losses, the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam shall report such to the State Bank of Vietnam for consideration and decision on use of the professional reserve fund for offsetting losses in accordance with law. However, the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam may not set aside provision for non-performing special loans.

03 CONDITIONS FOR AN ENTERPRISE
TO BE EXEMPTED FROM MULTIPLE JOURNEY GUARANTEE
 

This new content is prescribed by the Government in the Decree No. 46/2020/ND-CP dated April 09, 2020 on customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision of goods in transit via the ASEAN Customs Transit System to implement Protocol 7 on the Customs Transit System.

Specifically, the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) is an integrated information technology system established and connected by ASEAN member states to exchange electronic transit procedures and control the transport of goods transiting the territories of the ASEAN member states.

Within that, an enterprise shall be exempted from multiple journey guarantee if it meets the following conditions:

Recognized as prioritized transit enterprises; Registered as freight services or logistics services in accordance with the laws; Paying all customs duties, late payment interest, fines within less than 90 days and not subject to coercive measures on tax administrative decision execution related customs within 02 consecutive years up to when the guarantee waiver request is made.

In addition, goods in transit via the ACTS shall only be brought from Vietnam to ASEAN member states or brought from ASEAN member states to Vietnam via international border gates: Cau Treo (Ha Tinh) and Lao Bao (Quang Tri) and Moc Bai (Tay Ninh).

04 TYPES OF PROPERTY NOT TO BE DISTRAINED
ON COERCING OF JUDGMENT EXECUTION
 

On April 08, 2020, the Government promulgates the Decree No. 44/2020/ND-CP on coercing the judgment execution against commercial legal persons.

Accordingly, the coercing the judgment execution against the commercial legal person by distraint of property shall not be applicable for 04 types of property. To be specific: Medicines in service of prevention and treatment of employee; food, tools and other property serving the employees' meals; Kindergartens, schools, medical establishments and equipment, means and other property belonging to these facilities, if they are not property for business; Equipment, facilities and tools to ensure labor safety, fire and explosion prevention and fighting; Property in service of national defense and security, public interests.

Property distraint must be conducted in the daytime, with the time from 08:00 to 17:00, except for day-off and public holidays as prescribed by law and other special cases. When conducting property distraint, the representative at law of the commercial legal person, the organization or individual that has the property distrained, the representative of the local administration where the property is distrained and witnesses must be present. In addition, the competent agency shall only distrain property in correspondence proportion to the amount of expense for execution of judicial measure and expenses for the organization of coercion execution.

OPEN DATA MUST BE UPDATED
WITHIN 03 MONTHS AFTER PUBLICATION
 

On April 09, 2020, the Government promulgates the Decree No. 47/2020/ND-CP on the management, connection and sharing of digital data by state agency.

Accordingly, the list of open data is reviewed and amended periodically, at least every 06 months; open data published according to the list must be updated or supplemented within 03 months from the time of publication.

In addition, publication open data of state agency must ensure the protection of personal information and ensure safety and security when using open data, including risks

caused by open data and comply with relevant law provisions.

Open data of state agency shall be provided by the method of packaged data and allow organization and individual to download to use or provide data through data sharing services.  In addition, open data must be published on the National Data Portal. Agency, organization and individual are allowed to freely copy, share, exchange and use open data or combine open data with other data; use open data into commercial or non-commercial products and services.

VIETNAM TARGETS AVERAGE ANNUAL
GROWTH RATE OF 7% FOR 2021-2025
 

On April 13, 2020, the Prime Minister promulgates the Directive No. 18/CT-TTg on building the five-year socio-economic development plan for the 2021-2025 period.

Specifically, ministries, central and local agencies shall study identify the basic issues of the five-year socio-economic development plan for the 2021-2025 period, focusing on the key content as follows:

First, the country's average growth rate (GDP) in 05 years from 2021 to 2025 shall increase about 7%, ministries, central and local agencies shall rely on the growing reality of sectors, areas and localities to work out appropriate growth plans.

Next, to promote to establish synchronous infrastructure systems in transportation, seaports, energy, information technology and communications, urban and agriculture, among others, etc. while developing urban areas in line with the trend of smart, green, environmentally friendly urban centers, adapting to climate change and focusing on improving urban quality.

In addition, to continue to build and promote the values of Vietnamese culture and people and the strength of the entire nation; implement social progress and social justice, create jobs and improve people's lives; disease prevention and control; promote hunger eradication and poverty alleviation; promote economic development in deep-lying, remote, border, island and ethnic minority areas, etc.

TO PERFORM ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
 IN THE ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENT FROM APRIL 22
 

On April 08, 2020, the Government issues the Decree No. 45/2020/ND-CP on the implementation of administrative procedures in the electronic environment.

The account registration for carrying out the administrative procedures in the electronic environment shall be performed at the National Public Service Portal and provincial-level and ministerial-level public service portals or using an electronic identity connected and integrated with the Electronic Identity Exchange Platform on the National Public Service Portal by the electronic identity providers.

The electronic administrative procedure settlement results of the competent agencies shall have the same validity as the administrative procedure settlement results in paper document form. The administrative procedure settlement result that is canceled shall be stored for the searching of the competent State agency according to the retention period in accordance with specialized law provisions.

Organizations and individuals may print electronic dossiers and electronic administrative procedure settlement results that they had created to store, compare information or submit to the competent agency to check... Paper documents converted from electronic dossiers and electronic administrative procedures must meet some conditions as prescribed by law.

For documents and files that have not been digitalized, stored, connected or shared yet with the National Public Service Portal, depending on the demand, organizations and individuals may request the electronic copies by two methods as follows: To request for grant of electronic copy from original book; To request for authentication of electronic copies from originals documents and files.

This Decree takes effect on May 22, 2020.