Legal Document Updates in English (30/2011)

PUBLIC INFORMATION IN WEB PORTALS OF STATE AGENCIES
 

On June 13, 2011, the Government issued the Decree No. 43/2011/ND-CP on provision of online information and public services on websites or web portals of state agencies.

Accordingly, the web portal of a state agency must contain the following sections: Introductory information; News and events; Directing and administering information; Information disseminating, popularizing and guiding laws, regimes and policies on the domains under the agency’s state management; Development strategies, orientations, master plans and plans. Besides, the web portal must also contain system of specialized legal documents and related administrative management documents; Information on investment projects and items, bidding and public procurement; Consultation of the public; Contact information of competent persons; Transaction information of the web portal.
The web portal of a state agency must provide metadata to assist information search, exchange and sharing, which must enable link and integration with web portals of other state agencies and concurrently guarantee technological compatibility.
In which, the Government’s web portal will play the role of focal point linking the Government’s online administrative information network with central and local administrative state agencies; ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial People’s Committees.

Also according to this Decree, a managing agency shall publish full information on its online public services on the national database on administrative procedures. Services shall be organized and classified by industry and sector for convenient use. Information on online public services must be updated, supplemented and modified right after any change occurs.

Managing agencies shall provide public administrative services on web portals based on their results of standardizing administrative procedures. Services attached with administrative forms and declarations which allow users to download forms of documents and make declarations on those forms to complete dossiers as required. Completed dossiers may be submitted directly or by post to the service provider;

Web portals of state agencies must satisfy requirements on support for people with disabilities in access to and use of information technology and media under the Ministry of Information and Communications’ regulations.

This Decree takes effect on October 1, 2011.

FROM AUGUST 01, A FINE TO VND 30 MILLION FOR FORGING OR
MAKING FALSE DECLARATIONS ON ACCOUNTING VOUCHERS
 

On May 26, 2011, the Government issued the Decree No. 39/2011/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 185/2004/ND-CP of November 4, 2004, on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of accounting.

Accordingly, for each act of administrative violation in the field of accounting, individuals or organizations are subject to either of the following principal sanctions: caution or a fine of between VND 200,000 and 30,000,000 (increased by VND 10,000,000 compared to previous regulations).

Specifically, forging or making false declarations on accounting vouchers; agreeing with or compelling other persons to forge or make false declarations on accounting vouchers; making an accounting voucher with its copies containing different contents; failing to make accounting vouchers for arisen economic or financial operations; deliberately making more than once an accounting voucher for a single arisen economic or financial operation; destroying or deliberately damaging accounting vouchers will be fined to VND 30,000,000. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 shall be imposed for acts of selling goods without making sale invoices according to regulations.
A fine of between VND 15,000,000 and 30,000,000 shall be imposed for acts: opening accounting books outside the system of official accounting books of the unit; forging accounting books; reaching agreement with or compelling other persons to forge accounting books; deliberately leaving assets of or related to the unit out of accounting books; destroying accounting books ahead of schedule or deliberately damaging them.

For violations of regulations on financial statements, the Decree regulates a fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 15,000,000 shall be imposed for acts: failing to make financial statements or making financial statements with insufficient contents; making and presenting financial statements in an improper, unclear or inconsistent manner; submitting financial statements or settlement statements between 1 and 3 months later than the set deadline; disclosing financial statements with insufficient contents; disclosing financial statements between 1 and 3 months later than the set deadline. Enterprises submitting financial statements or settlement statements more than 3 months later than the set deadline; making financial statements with figures different from those on accounting books and accounting vouchers; forging financial statements or falsifying figures in financial statements will be fined between VND 15,000,000 and 30,000,000

The Decree also regulates much more on violations in organization of chief-accountant training courses and grant of chief-accountant certificates; violations in settlement statements in the administrative violations and increasing level of fine in some other administrative violations.

These amends and supplements take effect on August 1, 2011; previous regulations on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of accounting which are contrary to this Decree are all annulled.

A FINE TO VND 3 MILLION FOR CAR HAVING A HORN OF EXCESSIVE SOUND VOLUME
 

On May 16, 2011, the Government issued the Decree No. 33/2011/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 34/2010/ND-CP of April 2, 2010, on sanctioning of administrative violations in road traffic.

Accordingly, driving a car having or using a horn of excessive sound volume according to regulations will be fined between VND 2 million to 3 million regardless of the previous regulation between VND 300.000 and 500.000.

The Decree also regulates to postpone on sanctioning of administrative violations in road traffic. In particular, in case of driving vehicles with semi-trailers without driver licenses of category FC, shall be sanctioned from July 1, 2011 instead of July 1, 2011 with the fine between VND 2 million and 3 million.

When parking occupying a part of roadway without putting dangerous signals in the front of and behind the vehicle as stipulated, except for parking at the location specified permitted for parking;in case of installing danger signs against regulations, shall be sanctioned from July 1, 2013 (violations in previous regulations was applied on January 01, 2011).

TO 2020, 100% VOLUME OF GENERATED HAZARDOUS INDUSTRIAL
AND HOSPITAL SOLID WASTE IS COLLECTED, TREATED UP
 

On May 25, 2011, the Prime Minister issued the Decision No. 798/QD-TTg approving the program for investment in solid waste treatment during 2011-2020 with the objectives to mobilize and concentrate purees on investing in solid waste treatment in order to enhance the effectiveness of solid waste management, improve the quality of the environment, ensure the community's health and contribute to national sustainable development.

Specifically, in the stage 1from 2011 to 2015,  85% of the total volume of generated urban daily-life solid waste will be collected and treated up to environmental standards, of which 60% will be recycled and reused; 40% of the total volume of generated rural daily-life solid waste will be collected and treated up to environmental standards, of which  50% will be recycled and reused. This percentage must be increased to 90% of collection and 85% of recycle in urban; 70% of collection and 60% of recycle in rural.

Besides, the Decision also points out that 85% of the total volume of generated hazardous industrial and hospital solid waste generated will be collected and treated up to environmental standards to 2015; and 100% of the total volume of generated non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste must be collected and treated up to 2020.

As also according to this Decision, Ministries and provincial People’s Committees shall be responsible for implementing preferential policies and supports in land (land use levy exemption, ground clearance supports), tax, investment in technical infrastructure systems to the fences of projects (roads, energy, electricity supply, water supply and drainage, information and communication), assistance for research and development of solid waste treatment technologies, assistance for labor training and state credit loans under current regulations.
This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

THE PRIME MINISTER APPROVES THE SCHEME ON INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION I
N SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY THROUGH 2020
 

The Prime Minister signed to issue the Decision No. 735/QD-TTg dated May 18, 2011, approving the scheme on international integration in science and technology through 2020 with the objective to turn Vietnam into a country robust in a number of scientific and technological fields t by 2020 for the cause of national industrialization and modernization and to narrow the gap in science and technology between the nation and the region and the world.

Specific objectives, to the year 2015, Vietnam's science and technology officials will be fully capable of directly participating in scientific research and technological development activities of the region and the world in a number of priority and key fields. To the year 2020, Vietnam's science and technology organizations and businesses in a number of priority and key fields will be fully capable of cooperating with foreign partners and absorbing, mastering, renewing and creating technologies. Some results of scientific research and technological development of Vietnam in priority and key fields will earn their credit on the regional and world markets.

To achieve above objectives, the Decision must point out clearly 6 major tasks: to raise the quality of science and technology officials and administrators; to effectively mobilize financial sources for international integration in science and technology; to mobilize more information Resources for international integration in science and technology; to step up renewal of technologies, especially high technologies, with a view to raise competitiveness of a number of national products; to commercialize results of scientific research and technological development of Vietnam; to step up international integration activities in intellectual property, standardization, metrology and quality control.

Besides, some programs for performance of the scheme's tasks from now to the year 2020: A program on bilateral and multilateral scientific and technological research cooperation; A program on intensification of information sources for international integration in science and technology; A program on search for, decoding and transfer of foreign technologies into Vietnam.
This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

TO INCREASE VALUED ADDED TAX , DECREASE ENTERPRISE INCOME TAX
 

The Prime Minister, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung issued  the Decision No. 732/QD-TTg dated May 17, 2011 approving the tax system reform strategy for the 2011-2020 period.

The Prime Minister has policy on making amendments and additions toward reducing the groups of goods and services not subject to value added tax; to reduce the group of goods and services liable to the 5% tax rate; to add regulations to correctly determine the collection regime applicable to goods and services emerging in the developing market economy; to study and basically apply by 2020 a single tax rate (excluding the 0% tax rate applicable to exported goods and- services); to further improve tax calculation methods, striving to basically apply the credit method; to set a turnover threshold for applying forms of value-added tax declarations suitable to the market economy mechanism under the state management and in line with international practices;
To enterprise income tax (EIT): to reduce the common tax rate according to a suitable roadmap in order to attract investment and create conditions for enterprises to increase financial resources and savings for stepping up development investment and raising their competitiveness; to simplify preferential tax policies toward reducing preferential fields and further encouraging investment in industries manufacturing products of high added value, support industries, industries applying high technology.

Besides, the Decision also adds regulations to embrace newly arising economic activities in an integrating market economy and in line with international practices, such as multi­level sale, e-commerce, development of business groups, the "thin capital" issue when determining expenses, especially loan expense, transfer or revaluation of assets upon enterprise restructuring, and advance price agreements of associated enterprises;

One of the other point to pay attention in this Decision is that the Government has policies to transform license tax into an annual business management fee; to further improve regimes and policies on collection of state budget revenues from national natural resources and minerals, such as levy from land use, levy from land rent, fee for auction of the mining right and revenue from oil and gas.

WITHHOLD PERSONAL INCOME TAX FOR VND 1 MILLION INCOMES
 

On August 04, 2011, the Ministry of Finance issued the Circular No. 113/2011/TT-BTC amending, supplementing the Circular No. 62/2009/TT-BTC dated March 27, 2009, the Circular No. 02/2010/TT-BTC dated January 11, 2010 and the Circular No. 12/2011/TT-BTC dated January 26, 2011.

Organizations and individuals that pay commissions to goods sale agents; salaries, wages, remuneration or other sums of money to individuals performing services of VND 1,000,000 or more each time shall withhold personal income tax before paying incomes to these individuals (in previous regulations, performing services of VND 500,000 or more each time shall withhold personal income tax).

This Circular regulates two levels of tax withholding for individuals who haven’t had tax code instead of the sole level ò 10% as previous regulations). In particular,  Withholding tax at the single rate of 10% of paid incomes for individuals who have tax code and 20% of paid incomes for individuals who don’t have tax code, except for cases for  which the Ministry of Finance has given a written guidance on specific temporary withholding rates (for insurance or lottery agency commission).

To sign labor contract, service contract with individuals, organizations of labor contracts and service contracts will be responsible for informing individuals on above percentage of withholding rate so that individuals can make procedure on obtaining tax code.

In case individuals earn only incomes subject to tax withholding (including also insurance or lottery agents) at the above rate but their estimated total taxable incomes after deducting family circumstance-based reductions are not high enough to be taxed, these individuals shall make written commitments and send them to income payers for use as a temporary basis for delay of personal income tax withholding.

The tax rate taxed incomes applies to individuals earning incomes from transfers of real estate, houses, apartment which are supplied certificates of land use rights, and house and apartment ownership is 25% on the transfer revenue (Transfer price – Cost price).

In case cost price (buying price and related expenses) does not have sufficient proving invoices and vouchers, the tax rate of 2% of the transfer price will apply; in case it is found that the transfer price is not stated in the contract and or declared lower than the land price and registration fee calculation set by the provincial-level People’s Committee, tax shall be calculated at the tax rate of the land price and registration fee calculation set by the provincial-level People’s Committee.

This Circular takes effect on September 19, 2011 and annuls all guidance on personal income tax against this Circular.

FROM JULY 04, FEE FOR BY-CAR TRANSPORT LICENSING WILL BE CHARGED
 

On May 18, 2011, the Ministry of Finance issued the Circular No. 66/2011/TT-BTC guiding the fee for by-car transport licensing.

Accordingly, organizations and individuals licensed for by-car transport business by competent state agencies shall pay the fee for such licensing. The maximum fee for a by-car transport license is VND 200,000. The maximum fee for renewal or re-grant of a license (due to loss or damage or change in business conditions specified in the license) is VND 50,000.

Based on the maximum fee levels, People’s Councils of provinces and centrally run cities shall decide on specific levels and regimes for the collection, remittance, management and use of the fee for by-car transport licensing suitable to their local conditions and in compliance with the current law on charges and fees.

This Circular takes effect on July 4, 2011.