Legal Document Updates in English (34/2019)

THE INVESTOR MUST PAY
A MINIMUM WARRANTY OF 03-05% VALUE OF THE IT INVESTMENT PROJECT
 

On September 05, 2019, the Government issues the Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP on regulations on managing the investment on IT application using the State budget source.

Based on the importance and scale, projects are classified into national important projects, Group A projects, Group B projects and Group C projects according to the criteria prescribed by the Law on Public Investment.

The minimum warranty period of a project products is counted from the date the investor signs the minutes on acceptance, hand-over, putting the project's product or work item into exploitation, use and is prescribed as follows:

- 12 months warranty for products of Group B, C projects.

The minimum warranty amount is calculated as a percentage (%) of the project's product value and is prescribed as follows:

- For 24 month warranty period products, is 03%;

- For 12 month warranty period products, is 05%.

The contractors shall submit a letter of guarantee of a bank of equivalent value to the investor or other forms of guarantee accepted by the investors. The contractors will only return the guarantee after the warranty period has expired and the investor has confirmed that the warranty has been completed.

04 TYPES OF STATE TREASURY’S ACCOUNTS

On August 30, 2019, the Ministry of Finance issues the Circular No. 58/2019/TT-BTC on prescribing the management and use of the State Treasury’s accounts opened at the State Bank of Vietnam and commercial banks.

The State Treasury’s accounts opened at the SBV and commercial banks are demand deposit accounts and include the following types of accounts: General payment account, General specialized collection account, Payment account, Specialized collection account. These account could be opened in State Bank of Vietnam Operations Center, the headquarters of commercial bank systems

having carried out bilateral electronic payment with the State Treasury…

In addition, this Circular also regulates that Commercial bank open the Specialized collection account must satisfied the following criteria: having high safety rate according to the ratings of the SBV, having the Core Banking system located in Vietnam, coordinating with the State Treasury in formulating an agreement on the process of organizing the coordination of state budget revenue collection and bilateral electronic payment…

TO SUPPLEMENT 03 CRITERIA
TO DETERMINE ENTERPRISES WITH CUSTOMS VALUE RISKS
 

The Ministry of Finance issues the Circular No. 60/2019/TT-BTC ON amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Circular No. 39/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015 of the Minister of Finance stipulating customs value of exports and imports.

Accordingly, to supplement criteria to set up the List of enterprises with customs value risks, to be specific:

- At the time of assessment, being assessed by the customs offices as enterprises not complying with law provisions;  

- At the time of assessment, being classified by the customs offices as high-risk enterprises or very high-risk enterprises or enterprises engaged in commodity export and/or import for less than 365 days;

- Within a period of 730 days (02 years) or earlier before the assessment date, the enterprises handled by the customs offices for the act of incorrect declaration of customs value, resulting in a lack of payable taxes or the increase of exempted, reduced, refunded or non-collected taxes, with the sanctioning levels and fine norms prescribed in the Circular of the Ministry of Finance stipulating risk management in customs operations; or sanctioned or evaded by tax offices.

In addition, this Circular also amends the regulation on principals and methods of determining custom value of imports; Method of transaction value of imports; Database of transaction value of imports regulated in the Circular No. 39/2019/TT-BTC.

MAXIMUM CURCUMIN
USED IN 01 KG FLAVORED DAIRY LIQUID PRODUCT IS 105G
 

On August 30, 2019, the Minister of Health issues the Circular No.  24/2019/TT-BYT on regulating on food additives management and use.

According to this Circular, to promulgate the List of 400 flavors allowed to use in foods and maximum level for each flavor. To be specific: Dairy liquid product shall contain the maximum Curcumin level of 105g/kg, for soup cube and meat soup shall be 50mg/kg; for sugar marinated fruit, the maximum Erythrosine shall be 200mg/kg, the maximum level of this substance for pickle and fermented seaweed products shall be 30mg/kg, for products used to decorate mulch, sweet sauce shall be 100mg/kg…

Determination of maximum level of food additives shall in comply with principles of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as follow: Minimize the amount of food additives needed to achieve the desired technical effect; The used amount of food additives in the manufacturing process must not cause any change in food nature or food manufacturing technique; Food additives must satisfies the quality and safety standard and be produced, transported as food ingredients.

This Circular takes effect on October 16, 2019.

PEDAGOGICAL BACHELOR WORK IN THE WRONG SECTOR
MUST RETURN THE SUBSIDIES ON TUITION
 

This content is prescribed in the Law on Education No. 43/2019/QH14 which approved by the National Assembly on June 14, 2019.

This Law regulate that students at pedagogical institutions will receive subsidies on tuition and living costs throughout the entirety of the course. 02 years after graduation, if persons that receive the subsidies do not work in the field of education or fail to work in education for a sufficient duration, they will have to reimburse the State for the subsidies. The maximum time limit for reimbursement is equal to the training duration.

Another remarkable content is that primary education is now compulsory. Previously, this Law only regulated that universal education applies for preschool education for children aged 05, primary education and lower secondary education.

On tuition and expenses of educational and training services, students at primary education level in public educational institutions are not required to pay tuition; in areas lacking public schools, primary school students in private educational institutions shall receive subsidies on tuition from the State, with the support rate specified by provincial People’s Councils.

Pre-school children at 05 years of age in villages and communes with exceptional difficulties, ethnic minority areas, remote and isolated area… shall be exempted from tuition. Pre-school children at 05 years of age beside those regulated above and students at lower secondary education level shall be exempted from tuition based on road maps specified by the Government.

TO FACILITATE THE VIETNAM LAWYERS ASSOCIATION
TO PROVIDE FREE LEGAL COUNSELING FOR THE POOR
 

The Directive No. 21/CT-TTg on intensifying the implementation of solutions to support and promote the role of the Vietnam Lawyers Association in the new period has been issued by the Prime Minister on August 30, 2019.

Accordingly, to improve the operational quality and efficiency of the Vietnam Lawyers Association in building a law-ruled socialist republic state of Vietnam, the Prime Minister require that:

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees shall encourage lawyers’ associations at all levels in order to consolidate their organizational apparatuses and develop their members; select and assign lawyers with moral qualities, professional capacity, experience and enthusiasm who fully meet the required

criteria to act as full-time or part-time officers in charge of affairs of lawyers’ associations.

Especially, the Ministry of Justice shall takes charge in inviting the Vietnam Lawyers Association’s representatives to join the drafting committees, editorial groups and appraisal councils for related draft legal documents; to facilitate the Vietnam Lawyers Association to disseminate and educate laws in the mass media and provide free legal counseling for the poor and policy beneficiaries…

In addition, the Prime Minister also requires that the Government Inspectorate shall propose and take measures to promote the position and role of lawyers associations of all levels to participate in citizen reception and provision of counseling in resolving complaints in accordance with law.

INAPPROPRIATE GIFTS MUST BE RETURNED
TO THE MANAGING GIFTS DEPARTMENT IN CASE UNABLE TO REJECT
 

On July 01, 2019, the Government issues the Decree No.  59/2019/ND-CP on detailing a number of Article and measurement to implementation of the Anti-corruption Law.

This Decree detail a number of Clause and Article of the Anti-corruption Law No. 36/2018/QH14: Clause 1 Article 15, Article 17, Article 22, Article 23, Clause 4 Article 25, Clause 4 Article 71, Article 80, Article 81, Article 94. Among these is specific of the regulation on giving gifts and receiving gifts of agencies, organizations, units, persons with position and power as follow:

- The office holding agencies, organizations, units or individuals can only use public finance or property as gifts for charity, foreign affairs and provision of benefits as prescribed by law;

agencies, organizations, units or individuals involved in their work or under their management;

- The agencies, organizations or units must reject the inappropriate gifts; if unable to reject, the gifts must be handed over to the department in charge of managing gifts of that agencies or units for further handling as prescribed by law.

In addition, this Decree also regulate on handling interest conflict; on inspectorate of public companies, credit institutions, and social organization established by or have their charters approved by the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs or Chairmen of the provincial People’s Committees which mobilizing the fund of charity from citizen.