New ordinance on costs of proceedings in Vietnam promulgated from July 1, 2025?

New ordinance on costs of proceedings in Vietnam promulgated from July 1, 2025?

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, session XV, passed the 2024 costs of proceedings Ordinance on December 11, 2024, taking effect from July 1, 2025.

This Ordinance regulates certain costs of proceedings; advance payment of costs of proceedings; responsibility for payment, obligation to bear costs of proceedings; budget for paying costs of proceedings as stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Procedure Code, Administrative Procedure Law, and the Law on Organization of the People's Courts.

The determination of costs, advance payment of costs, responsibility for payment, obligation to bear the costs, the budget for costs during the People's Court's consideration and decision to place drug addicts from 12 to below 18 years of age into compulsory rehabilitation facilities and the application of administrative measures shall be implemented according to the provisions of this Ordinance.

Court fees and charges are not within the scope of this Ordinance.

New ordinance on costs of proceedings in Vietnam promulgated from July 1, 2025? (Image from the Internet)

Vietnam: What do the costs of proceedings include?

According to Article 135 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code, the provisions are as follows:

Costs of proceedings

1. costs of proceedings in criminal proceedings include court fees, charges, and costs of proceedings.

2. Court fees include first-instance trial fees, appellate criminal trial fees, first-instance trial fees, and appellate civil trial fees in criminal cases.

3. Charges include charges for copies of judgments, decisions, other documents of the authority conducting proceedings, and other charges as prescribed by law.

4. costs of proceedings include:

a) Costs for witnesses, interpreters, translators, and assigned defense counsels;

b) Costs for expert examination, asset valuation;

c) Other costs as prescribed by law.

Thus, costs of proceedings include the following costs:

- Costs for witnesses, interpreters, translators, and assigned defense counsels;

- Costs for expert examination, asset valuation;

- Other costs as prescribed by law.

Additionally, there are the following costs:

- costs of proceedings in criminal proceedings include court fees, charges, and costs of proceedings.

- Court fees include first-instance trial fees, appellate criminal trial fees, first-instance trial fees, and appellate civil trial fees in criminal cases.

- Charges include charges for copies of judgments, decisions, other documents of the authority conducting proceedings, and other charges as prescribed by law.

Who pays the costs for asset examinations and valuation?

According to Article 24 of Decree 30/2018/ND-CP (supplemented by Clause 8, Article 1 of Decree 97/2019/ND-CP), the provisions are as follows:

Costs for Valuation and Revaluation of Assets

1. Costs for valuation and revaluation of assets are arranged in the annual budget estimates of the authority conducting proceedings. Annually, based on the actual costs of valuation and revaluation, the authority conducting proceedings cooperates with financial agencies at the same level to prepare budget estimates for paying valuation and revaluation costs to be aggregated into their budget level estimates and submitted to competent state agencies for decision in accordance with the law on state budget and allocated to the authority conducting proceedings for payment.

2. Based on the estimates approved by competent authorities, on the basis of dossiers proposing advance payment of funds, payment dossiers for asset valuation and revaluation costs from the Valuation Council, the head of the authority conducting proceedings is responsible for advancing funds, and paying valuation and revaluation costs to the Valuation Council.

The procedures for advance payment and payment of valuation and revaluation costs are implemented according to legal regulations on costs for examination, valuation in proceedings.

3. Based on the requirements and nature of the case, the agency establishing the Valuation Council, the agency submitting to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam the establishment of the Valuation Council, is responsible for using their administrative management funds to support some regular activities of the Valuation Council including travel expenses, professional meetings, surveys, information collection, office supplies procurements, reports on professional explanations, serving the asset valuation work of the Valuation Council. Based on the overall balance, in case of affecting the regular activities of the unit, the agency establishing the Valuation Council, the agency submitting to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam the establishment of the Valuation Council, is responsible for preparing estimates requesting additional funds according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents. The expenditure levels are implemented according to policies stipulated in current legal normative documents, with some expenditure levels applied as follows:

a) Expenditures for market price survey tasks of Valuation Council members and Council support groups are carried out according to the regulations for paying officials conducting statistical surveys with complex in-depth statistical content as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance on budgeting, management, utilization, and settlement of funds implementing statistical surveys and national census.

b) Expenditures for professional meetings, preparing explanatory reports, professional reporting serving the asset valuation work of the Valuation Council is carried out according to regulations on expenses for individuals participating in meetings, workshops, seminars, conferences, press conferences and expenses for synthesis reports, explanatory reports, absorption of feedback in accordance with the Ministry of Finance on budgeting, management, utilization, and settlement of state budget funds ensuring the work of developing legal normative documents and improving the legal system.

Thus, costs for valuation and revaluation of assets are arranged in the annual budget estimates of the authority conducting proceedings.

- Annually, based on actual valuation and revaluation costs, the authority conducting proceedings cooperates with financial agencies of the same level to prepare budget estimates for paying valuation and revaluation costs.

- These are then aggregated into their level's budget estimates and submitted to competent state agencies for decision in accordance with the law on the state budget and are allocated to the authority conducting proceedings for payment.