Legal Document Updates in English (47/2020)

FROM FEBRUARY 01, 2021, TO ADD THE CHARGE
FOR TRANSFERRING MONEY OVERSEAS FOR PAYMENT IN EUR

On November 20, 2020, the State Bank of Vietnam promulgates the Circular No. 15/2020/TT-NHNN on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Circular No. 26/2013/TT-BTC dated December 15, 2013 promulgating the Table of charges for payments via the State Bank of Vietnam.

According to the new regulations, the Transaction Bureau of the State Bank, the State Bank’s branches at provinces and central affiliated cities shall collect the charge for transferring money overseas with the rate of 0,15% of transferred amount for payment in EUR (EUR 02/item at minimum; EUR 200/item at maximum).

Besides, the charge for receiving money from overseas for payment in EUR shall be 0,05% of received amount (EUR 01/item at minimum; EUR 100/item at maximum). The charges

for transferring money overseas and receiving money from overseas for payment in US Dollar shall be equal to the ones as specified before.

In addition, the State Bank defines that the charge for maintenance of outstanding deposits on foreign-currency payment accounts shall be calculated based on actual outstanding deposits, the number of dates maintaining such deposits and conversion charge rate by percentage per annum. The charge rate shall be decided by the Governor of the State Bank for each period

This Circular takes effect on February 01, 2021.

PATIENTS’ FAMILY MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED
TO INSTALL AND TURN ON COVID-19 TRACING APPLICATION

The Ministry of Health issues the Directive No. 24/CT-BYT on strengthening measures on prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic on November 24, 2020.

In order to strengthen the strict implementation of pandemic prevention and control measures without affecting people's health and socio-economic development, the Minister of Health requests:

Firstly, medical examination and treatment establishments shall maintain the strict implementation of procedures on screening, classification, and separation; ensure the hospital infection control, prevent the cross infection in hospitals, especially in departments where patients with severe conditions are treated.

In addition, to continue expanding the subject of testing, including suspected cases and patients being treated in departments for those in severe conditions and health staff; to increase training in testing, treatment and use of ventilator, dialysis equipment and other equipment for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Noticeably, the Ministry of Health continues requesting health staff, patients, and their family members who come for visiting and taking care of them to install and turn on the tracing and health declaration applications, for those who use smart phones. At the same time, to encourage the application of information technology in registration for medical examination and treatment, health counseling and remote medical examination.

PERSONS INFECTED WITH COVID-19 MAY NOT SHOW ANY CLINICAL PRESENTATIONS

On July 29, 2020, the Ministry of Health issues the Decision No. 3351/QD-BYT promulgating the Guidance on diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 caused by a new strain of Coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2).

According to this Guidance, the incubation period lasts from 02 to 14 days, or from 05 - 07 days on average. Common symptoms are fever, dry cough, fatigue and muscle pain. Most patients (about more than 80%) have only mild fever, cough, fatigue, no pneumonia and usually recover on their own after about 01 week. However, some cases do not show any clinical presentations.

For children, most children infected with COVID-19 have milder clinical presentations compared to adults, or have no symptoms at all. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 in children are fever and cough, or manifestations of

pneumonia. However, some children infected with COVID-19 have a multi-system inflammatory lesion similar to signs of Kawasaki disease: fever; erythema or corneal congestion, or swollen oral mucosa, hands, or feet; circulatory failure; manifestations of impaired cardiac function and elevated heart enzyme levels; etc.

Additionally, COVID-19 disease has the following clinical infection forms: Asymptomatic infection (in cases of a person infected with SARS-CoV-2 confirmed by a positive real-time RT-PCR assay, but showing no clinical symptoms); Mild infection-Acute respiratory infection; Moderate infection-Pneumonia; Severe infection-Severe pneumonia and Critical infection.

This Decision takes effect on the signing date.

TO CANCEL PROCEDURE FOR GRANT OF
VIETNAMESE LEGAL ENTITY REPRESENTATIVE CERTIFICATE FOR FOREIGN AIRLINE

On September 28, 2020, the Ministry of Transport issues the Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BGTVT amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Circular No. 81/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2014 of the Minister of Transport on airway transportation and general aviation operation, and the Circular No.14/2015/TT-BGTVT dated April 27, 2015 of the Minister of Transport on compensation for non-refundable advance of passenger transport by air and the Circular No.33/2016/TT-BGTVT dated November 25, 2016 of the Minister of Transport on operational and statistical report in Vietnam Civil Aviation.

Specifically, the Ministry of Transport decides to cancel the procedures for grant of the certificates of Vietnamese legal entity representative for foreign airlines.

Besides, instead of submitting interim reports within 24 hours, the Ministry stipulates that within 72 hours from the time of expected take-off

(in case of cancelled flights) or the time of actual take-off (in case of flights in which there are customers refused to transport or delayed flights) or irregularly at request of the Airport authority, airlines must be responsible for reporting to the Airport authority about compensating for non-refundable advance of flights.

In addition, regional flight management companies shall not have to report the actual time of departure and landing off of each flight of Vietnamese and foreign airlines in the airports (daily) according to the Form QLB-7 to the Airports Authority or representative of the Airports Authority at the corresponding airport: data from 00:00 to 23:59 (UTC hour) and report before 15:00 of the next day as in the previous regulations.

This Circular takes effect on November 15, 2020.

TO PILOT INTEROPERABILITY MECHANISM
FOR PROCEDURES FOR NOTARIZATION AND GRANT OF LAND USE RIGHT CERTIFICATES

On November 19, 2020, the Government issues the Resolution No. 172/NQ-CP on notarial profession development policies.

The notarial profession development policies include the following contents: Upon request of individuals and organizations, to implement interoperability on a pilot basis with regard to procedures for notarization, registration of use rights of land and land-attached assets, and taxes with a view to saving time and costs in performance of administrative procedures for individuals and organizations, thus helping detect and prevent sham transactions or legalization of illegal transactions and avoid loss of state budget revenues.

The Government also requests to strictly verify dossiers of request for establishment of notary offices and dossiers of request for relocation of notary offices from a district-level

locality to another, preventing unfair competition and affected the sustainable development of the notarial profession, which are likely to make some notarial practice organizations and notaries violate law and, at the same time, make it impossible to satisfy the demand for notarization of contracts and transaction agreements of individuals and organizations in rural districts and areas far from central areas.

In addition, it is required to shift notary bureaus satisfying law-specified conditions to operate under the autonomy and accountability mechanism according to the roadmap whereby the State allocates funds for definite-term operation of these bureaus in accordance with Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW.

This Resolution takes effect on the signing date.

NAME OF A CHILD MUST NOT BE TOO LONG AND DIFFICULT TO USE

This is a new content in the Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP dated May 28, 2020 of the Ministry of Justice on detailing a number of articles of the Law on Civil Status and the Government’s Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015, detailing a number of articles of, and measures to implement, the Law on Civil Status.

Specifically, the determination of a child’s family name, ethnicity and naming for a child must comply with the law and the requirement to preserve Vietnam’s national identity, fine cultural customs and traditions; the name must not be too long and difficult to use.

In case where the parent fails to reach an agreement on the child’s family name, ethnicity and native place when carrying out birth registration, the child’s family name, ethnicity and native place shall be determined according to customary practices, but must be the father's or mother's family name, ethnicity and native place.

Remarkably, in case of requesting for a marital status certificate for marriage registration for a person with the same gender or with a foreigner at a foreign representative mission in Vietnam, the civil status registration agency shall refuse to settle it.

Besides, the Ministry of Justice specify that in case where the male and female partners cohabited as husband and wife without marriage registration, then gave birth and the child is living with the father, when the father carries out parent and child recognition registration but fails to contact the mother, the mother’s opinion shall not be required in the parent and child recognition registration declaration.

This Circular takes effect on July 16, 2020.