LEGAL NEWS LETTER DECEMBER, 2021

LEGAL NEWSLETTER
December/2021

Dear Value Clients and Partners,

ADK Vietnam Lawyers would like to introduce to you the December 2021 Legal Newsletter with the following main contents:

1. Legal Spotlight

1.1. Reducing 37 fees and charges from 01 January 2022 to the end of 01 July 2022

On 24 December 2021, the Ministry of Finance has just issued Circular No. 120/2021/TT-BTC stipulating the collection of several fees and charges to support and remove difficulties for those affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.

Accordingly, 37 fees and charges will be reduced by 10% to 50% compared to the current regulations from 01 January 2022 to the end of 01 July 2022. Some notable fees and charges are as follows:

- 50% reduction of fees on the establishment and operation license of banks and non-banking credit institutions;

- 50% reduction of fees on construction investment project appraisal and basic design appraisal;

- 20% reduction of fees on registration of secured transactions, providing information on secured transactions by movable property (except for aircraft), seagoing vessel;

- 50% reduction of fees on granting protective certificates and certificates of registration of industrial property rights transfer contracts; applying for protection of intellectual property rights.

In which, the Ministry of Finance has added 3 fees and charges to the list of reduced fees and charges for the first 6 months of 2022, including (i) 50% reduction of fee on the issuance of the certificate of technical safety and environmental protection for motor vehicles and special-use motorcycles, (ii) 50% reduction of fee on inland waterway reporting, (iii) 20% reduction of fee on radio frequency using for the terrestrial mobile service.

1.2. Regulations on goods labeling for export goods

On 09 December 2021, the Government issued Decree No. 111/2021/ND-CP amending Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP on goods labels. This Decree takes effect from 15 February 2022.

The Decree has recognized additional subjects of application including export goods.

“Article 2. Subjects of application

This Decree applies to organizations and individuals producing and trading goods in Vietnam; organizations and individuals exporting and importing goods; state agencies; related organizations and individuals.”

Accordingly, the labeling instructions for exported goods are as follows:

- Labels of exported goods shall be labeled according to the provisions of the law of importing country.

- In case the origin of goods is shown on the label of exported goods, the exporting organization or individual shall determine and record the origin of their goods by themselves.

- The labeling must be honest, accurate and comply with the provisions of the law on the origin of exported goods or international commitments to which Vietnam is a party.

- Labels do not show images and content related to sovereignty disputes and other sensitive content that may affect security, politics, economy, society, diplomatic relations and fine customs of Vietnam.

1.3. The revised Criminal Procedure Code 2021 takes effect from 01 December 2021

The Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 02/2021/QH15 promulgated by the National Assembly takes effect from December 1, 2021. The Law has recorded three (03) notable new points as follows.

- Abolish the regulation that only prosecutes at the request of the victim for crimes of infringing upon industrial property rights.

- Supplementing grounds for temporary suspension of criminal cases settlement. Accordingly, adding force majeure reason due to natural disasters or epidemics is the basis for suspending the criminal case in the stages of prosecution, investigation and prosecution of the accused.

- Supplementing the responsibility of the commune police in the preliminary examination and verification when receiving crime reports.

2. Featured Articles of ADK Lawyer in December

- The article "Has the voice of minority shareholders been more heard?". The article analyzes the mechanism to ensure the rights of minority shareholders according to the provisions of the Enterprise Law and practical application.

- The article "Are the employee’s rights guaranteed when the labor contract is invalid?" will provide employees with a more comprehensive and clear view of their rights in case the labor contracts with the employer are declared invalid.

To read the above articles in more detail, please visit our website at: https://adk-lawyers.com/en/legal-articles

3. Some prominent legal documents take effect from January 2022

No.	Text name	Date issued	Date of Effective
LEGAL
1	Amended Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 2020	13/11/2021	01/01/2022
2	Law on Environmental Protection 2020	17/11/2020	01/01/2022
3	Law on Vietnam Border Guard 2020	11/11/2020	01/01/2022
4	Law on Drug Prevention and Control 2021	30/3/2021	01/01/2022
5	Law on Vietnamese Guest Workers	13/11/2020	01/01/2022
DECREE
1	Decree 85/2021/ND-CP of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of the Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP dated 16 May 2013 of the Government on e-commerce	25/9/2021	01/01/2022
2	Decree 99/2021/ND-CP of the Government on management, payment and settlement of projects using public investment capital	11/11/2021	01/01/2022
3	Decree 95/2021/ND-CP of the Government amending Decree 83/2014/ND-CP on petrol and oil trading	01/11/2021	02/01/2022
4	Decree 98/2021/ND-CP of the Government on the management of medical equipment	12/11/2021	01/01/2022
CIRCULAR
1	Circular 88/2021/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance guiding the accounting regime for business households and individuals	11/10/2021		01/01/2022
2	Circular 16/2021/TT-NHNN of the State Bank providing for the purchase and sale of corporate bonds by credit institutions and foreign bank branches	10/11/2021		15/01/2022
3	Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance guiding the Law on Tax Administration and Decree 126/2020/ND-CP guiding the Law on Tax Administration	29/9/2021		01/01/2022
4	Circular 120/2021/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the collection of several fees and charges to support and remove difficulties for those affected by the Covid-19 epidemic	24/12/2021		01/01/2022
RESOLUTION
1	Resolution 33/2021/QH15 of the National Assembly on the online trial organization	12/11/2021		01/01/2022