Legal Document Updates in English (23/2020)

TO REDUCE 20% OF CHARGES RELATED TO
PASSPORT GRANTING AND WEAPONS MANAGEMENT TO THE END OF 2020
 

On June 12, 2020, the Ministry of Finance issues the Circular No. 57/2020/TT-BTC on prescribing the rates of charges and fees related to granting of passport and laissez-passer, exit permits and AB stamps, the rates of charges and fees related to granting of firework management permits, weapons, explosives and combat gears management permits.

To be specific, when carrying out procedures to request Vietnam-based competent agencies to grant papers related to passports, laissez-passers and exit, Vietnamese citizens shall pay the charge equal to 80% the charge rate prescribed in Section I of the Charge table attached to the Circular No. 219/2016/TT-BCT dated November 10, 2016.

TO REDUCE 50% OF CHARGES FOR VERIFICATION
OF DOCUMENTS RELATED TO A VIETNAMESE WORKING ABROAD
 

On June 12, 2020, the Ministry of Finance issues the Circular No. 54/2020/TT-BTC on prescribing the rates and the remittance of charges for verification of papers and documents at the request of domestic organizations and individuals, the rates and the remittance of fees for grant of licenses for sending workers abroad for a definite time.

Accordingly, an organization or an enterprise that is granted a new license, renewed or reissued a license for sending a Vietnamese worker to work abroad under contract by a competent State agency shall pay a fee equal to 50% of the fee rates specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of the Circular No. 259/TT-BTC dated November 11, 2016.

TO ADD MANY CONDITIONAL BUSINESS ITEMS
TO PILOT LISTING FOR TRANSACTION
 

On May 22, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issues the Decision No. 1369/QD-BCT regarding the addition of a number of goods subject to the conditional business to be listed on the Mercantile Exchange.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade allows the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as MXV) to experimentally list transactions of a number of goods belonging to the conditional business group (energy and rice commodities) on the Mercantile Exchange for 01 year.

To be specific, the pilot commodities including: Crude oil (Brent Crude Oil ICE EU, Mini Brent Crude Oil ICE Singapore, WTI Crude Oil NYMEX, etc.); Petroleum

products (RBOB Gasoline NYMEX, Low Sulphur Gasoil ICE EU, Heating Oil ICE EU, etc.); Gas (Natural Gas NYMEX, Mini Natural Gas NYMEX, etc.); Rice (Rough Rice CBOT, Vietnamese long grain white rice 5% broken, Vietnamese long grain white rice 10% broken and Vietnamese long grain white rice 15% broken, etc.)

Contracts for trading of energy and rice commodities must be settled before the due date. It is not allowed to deliver material goods. MXV shall send report to the email address of the Domestic Markets Department on a daily basis, from 6:00 to 9:00 (after the trading time is over and the trading system finishes processing the session data).

NOT TO EXPLOIT RIVERBED SAND
 AND GRAVEL AT NIGHT TIME
 

This is a compulsory content in the License for exploitation of riverbed sand and gravel prescribed in the Decree No. 23/2020/ND-CP on prescribing the management of riverbed sand and gravel and protection of river beds, banks and stretches issued by the Government on February 24, 2020.

To be specific, license for exploitation of riverbed sand and gravel must have contents on time of exploitation permitted in the day, from 7 am to 5 pm; not to exploit at night time and regulations on the time of exploitation in the year.

Noticeably, it is prohibited to use riverbed sand and gravel qualified for construction for the purpose of ground leveling and renovation. And in the process of transporting sand and gravel on a river, a vehicle owner shall bring along invoices and documents proving the lawful origin of sand and gravel;

and data, books and documents on the volume of sand and gravel transported; the seller shall issue an invoice to the buyer in accordance with law.

In addition, organizations and individuals licensed to exploit or trade in sand and gravel when gathering the exploited riverbed sand and gravel at wharves and yards must install a notice board to publicize the information on the wharf or yard for gathering sand and gravel: address for supplying sand and gravel gathered at the wharf or yard; installation of weigh stations and cameras to monitor the volume of sand and gravel bought and sold at the wharf or yard, and area of the wharf or yard.

TO GIVE PRIORITY TO DEVELOP 4 TYPES
OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISES
 

On June 03, 2020, the Prime Minister issues the Decision No. 749/QD-TTg on approving the “National Digital Transformation Program until 2025, with a vision towards 2030”.

To focus on developing digital economic development, 04 types of digital technology enterprises shall be given priority to develop, including: Major corporations, commercial and service enterprises in the socio-economic fields have shifted their operations to the field of digital technology and core technology research and investment; Information technology enterprises that have affirmed their brands, undertake the pioneering missions of researching and developing digital technology.

Such enterprises also comprise: Startups applying digital technology in producing new products and services in the

socio-economic fields; Startups innovating and creating in digital technology.

In addition, among solutions for the development of digital society, there are some solutions such as: Selecting, educating and training at least 1,000 experts in digital transformation for sectors, fields and localities. Concurrently, pilot to provide training and retraining courses on digital technology for employees at least 01 hour per week at 03 following provinces: Thai Nguyen, Quang Nam and Binh Duong, then implement nationwide.

For digital transformation in finance - banking sector, to support the ability to access loans by solutions of credit scoring with customer database and reliable scoring models.

02 FORMS OF EXPLOITATION AND USE OF DATABASES
 ON EXECUTION OF CRIMINAL JUDGMENTS
 

On May 27, 2020, the Government issues the Decree No. 59/2020/ND-CP on providing databases on execution of criminal judgments.

Accordingly, databases on execution of criminal judgments may be exploited and used only via local area networks or upon written requests for data provision. Subjects eligible for and scope of exploitation and use include: Agencies that have participated in the building and maintenance of databases on execution of criminal judgments, and collection and updating of information in these databases; Agencies, organizations and individuals that request provision of information on persons and commercial legal persons serving sentences or judicial measures…

Besides papers storage, data on execution of criminal judgments shall be stored in the form of e-data, which created on the basis of digitalizing files of serving of sentences or judicial measures and paper professional documents… In case of an inconsistency between e-data on execution of criminal judgments and paper professional files and documents, criminal judgment execution management agencies and criminal judgment execution offices shall check and verify inconsistent information before correcting it appropriately.

This Decree takes effect on June 05, 2020.

FROM AUGUST 01, EVALUATE AND MARK SCORE
 FOR SELECTION OF INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS INVESTOR
 

On June 11, 2020, the Government issues the Decree No. 66/2020/ND-CP on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No.68/2017/ND-CP on the management and development of industrial clusters.

On the spirit of former regulations, the Government prioritize the selection of enterprises and cooperatives to perform as the project owner in the construction of technical infrastructure of an industrial cluster when there are dossiers requesting for the establishment or extension of such industrial cluster which satisfy regulations of this Decree. In addition, this Decree supplement specific regulation on selection of investor on constructing the infrastructure of the industrial cluster.

Accordingly, during the appraisal process, the Department of Industry and Trade shall report to the provincial-level People's Committee to establish an evaluation council for the section of project. The council shall evaluate and mark score with a scale of 100 according to the following criteria: investment plan for the construction of technical

infrastructure (15 points max); environmental management and protection plans for an industrial cluster (15 points max); capacity and experience of enterprises and cooperatives (30 points max) and financial plans for investment in construction of technical infrastructure (40 points max).

Enterprises and cooperatives with a score of 50 or more shall be considered and decided by the provincial-level People's Committee to be assigned to be the owner of the project of constructing technical infrastructure. In the course of implementation, if the project owner fails to conduct the technical infrastructure construction project after 12 months from the date of establishment, expansion of an industrial cluster or delay the implementation of the project by 12 months compared to the progress prescribed in the decision to establish or expand the industrial cluster, the provincial-level People's Committee shall consider extending or deciding on another project owner.

PERSONS IN STAY PENDING THEIR EXIT
MUST PAY THE TELEPHONE CHARGES THEMSELVES
 

This content is prescribed by the Government in the Decree No. 65/2020/ND-CP dated June 10, 2020 on providing regulations on management organization and regimes for people staying at accommodation establishments while waiting for their exit.

Accordingly, a person in stay shall be arranged to stay in a gender-based collective room, with a lying area of at least 03 m² per person with the regime of foods and clothing as prescribed. In addition, a person in stay may contact by telephone, receive and send letters to his/her relatives, legal representative, diplomatic mission or consulate and must pay telephone and postal charges. A person in stay

may make phone calls 04 times per month, not exceeding 10 minutes each time.

An accommodation establishment must make a record on foreign currencies, valuable papers, gold, silver, etc. of the person in stay, seal them and send them to the deposit for management; the person in stay may reclaim them before leaving.

Children from 14 years old to under 16 years old who are the children of a person in stay resident with parent at the accommodation establishment but have different gender from their parents, the children and their parent may be arranged for separate accommodation.

AFTER 05 YEARS OF DIGITALIZATION,
DOSSIERS OF SETTLEMENT OF CITIZENSHIP MAY BE DESTROYED
 

On February 14, 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues the Circular No. 02/2020/TT-BNG on performance of consular work.

Accordingly, the Consular Department, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations and representative missions shall make and archive dossiers as follow:

First, dossiers for grant, extension, modification and supplementation of diplomatic passports or official passports and dossiers of request for issuance of diplomatic notes to apply for grant of visas shall be numbered and archived for 08 years.

Second, dossiers for grant, modification and supplementation of ordinary passports shall be archived for

10 years; Dossiers of application for laissez-passers shall be archived for 03 years; Dossiers of application for AB stamps shall be retained for 02 years.

Especially, to archive eternally decisions permitting restoration of Vietnamese citizenship, decisions permitting renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship and lists of persons permitted to renounce Vietnamese citizenship. Dossiers of settlement of citizenship and civil status procedures shall be archived eternally. In case the above dossiers have been digitalized for archive in electronic form, they may be destroyed after 05 years since the date of digitalization.