Vietnam issues the Law on organizing the local government 2025: What are the regulations for the organizational structure of the Tax Department of Vietnam from March 1, 2025?

Vietnam issues the Law on organizing the local government 2025

On February 19, 2025, the Law on organizing the local government 2025 of the National Assembly, no. 65/2025/QH15, was passed and took effect from March 1, 2025.

>>> See details Full text of the Law on organizing the local government 2025...HERE

According to Article 1 of the Law on organizing the local government 2025...Download, from March 1, 2025, the administrative units of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will include:

- Province, centrally-run city (hereinafter collectively referred to as provincial level);

- District, district-level town, city under province, city under a centrally-run city (hereinafter collectively referred to as district level);

- Commune, ward, commune-level town (hereinafter collectively referred to as commune level);

- Special administrative-economic units established by the National Assembly.

Based on geographical conditions, population, socio-economic development requirements, national defense, and security assurance, district-level administrative units on islands and archipelagos (hereinafter collectively referred to as islands) may not organize commune-level administrative units.

Vietnam issues the Law on organizing the local government 2025 (Image from the Internet)

What are highlights of the 2025 Law on organizing the local government of Vietnam?

The Law on organizing the local government 2025 consists of 07 chapters and 50 articles, reducing 01 chapter and 93 articles compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2019), aiming to create a legal framework addressing institutional and policy bottlenecks, enhancing decentralization between central and local governments, promoting local government initiative according to the motto.

Below are some key highlights of the Law on organizing the local government 2025:

(1) Regarding authority delineation, decentralization, empowerment, and delegation

The law stipulates one chapter on authority delineation, empowerment, decentralization, and delegation between different levels of local governments with the following new points:

- Regarding the principles of authority delineation (Article 11): The law stipulates 07 principles of authority delineation (clause 2, Article 11), including new contents such as:

+ Clearly identifying the content and scope of tasks and powers that the local government is authorized to decide, organize, and be responsible for the results;

+ Ensuring no overlap or duplication of tasks and powers among agencies and local government levels;

+ Suitability to the capability and conditions for performing the tasks of local government levels; agencies, organizations, and individuals assigned to perform tasks and powers of higher-level state agencies are ensured the necessary conditions to perform tasks and powers;

+ Ensuring power control; the responsibility of inspection and supervision by higher-level state agencies;

+ Meeting the local governance requirements; applying science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation, etc.

Moreover, to encourage the proactive and creative spirit of localities, the law adds a provision: “Local governments are authorized to proactively propose to competent agencies regarding empowerment and decentralization to competent agencies, organizations, and individuals in the locality to perform tasks and powers in accordance with the capability and practical conditions of the locality” (clause 3, Article 11 of the Law on organizing the local government 2025).

- Regarding empowerment

In Article 12 of the Law on organizing the local government 2025, it is stipulated that:

+ Empowerment to local governments at all levels must be prescribed in the law, resolutions of the National Assembly;

+ Local governments have autonomy in decision-making, enforcing, and self-responsibility within the scope of tasks and powers empowered;

+ Higher-level state agencies within the scope of their tasks and powers have the responsibility to inspect, examine, and supervise the constitutionality and legality in the local governments’ implementation of empowered tasks and powers.

- Regarding decentralization

In Article 13 of the Law on organizing the local government 2025, some new points are specified as follows:

+ Clearly defining the subject of decentralization and the recipient subject of decentralization;

+ Specifying the responsibilities of the decentralizing agency to ensure the conditions to implement decentralization;

+ The agency receiving decentralization is responsible before the law and the decentralizing agency for the results of implementing decentralized tasks and powers;

+ Decentralized tasks and powers received cannot be further decentralized;

+ Regulations on administrative procedure adjustments in the case of implementing decentralization.

- Regarding delegation

In Article 14 of the Law on organizing the local government 2025, compared to the previous law, the new points include:

+ Clarifying and expanding the scope of delegating subjects and the receiving subjects of delegation;

+ Clearly stipulating the requirements of delegation (delegation must be by the document of the delegating agency; the document must clearly define the content, scope, and duration of delegation);

+ Clearly defining responsibilities of agencies in delegating and performing delegated tasks;

+ Regulations on the use of seals and forms of documents when performing delegated tasks, and adjustments of administrative procedures in the case of delegation.

(2) Regarding the tasks of People's Councils and People's Committees

Implementing the principle of "clear persons, clear responsibilities, clear tasks" and avoiding overlapping, duplicative regulations on tasks and powers among different levels of local government and among local government organizations, the draft Law on organizing the local government 2025 specifically stipulates the tasks and powers of People's Councils and People's Committees in each administrative unit direction:

- Delineation of tasks and powers among different levels of local government and among People's Councils and People's Committees at the same level;

- Delineation of tasks and powers of the Collective People's Committee and the Chairperson of the People's Committee where local governments are organized in the direction of increasing the tasks, authority, and responsibilities for the Chairperson of the People's Committee;

- Specifying tasks and powers in a general direction, focusing on areas of finance, budgeting, organizing apparatus, staff, inspection, supervision... ensuring conformity with the principles of authority delineation in Article 11 of the law and ensuring the long-term stability of the law.

(3) Regarding the organization and operation of People's Councils

Compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015, the Law on organizing the local government 2025 has regulations in the direction:

- Retaining the content regarding the organizational structure of the People's Councils but merging it into one article (the 2015 law placed it in separate articles for each type of administrative unit);

- Providing an overview of the activities of the People's Councils, Standing Committee of the People's Councils, tasks, and powers of People's Councils Representatives (detailed content regarding convening, presiding over sessions, guests, documents, providing information about People's Councils meetings, organizing and operating of the committees, delegates' groups of the People's Councils... will be guided by a sample activity regulation);

- Amending and supplementing some regulations to address practical implementation difficulties such as: Not requiring the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the beginning of the term to be a People's Council representative; supplementing regulations on the case of vacant Chairperson of People's Councils, vacant Standing Committee of People's Councils; supplementing regulations on temporary suspension of the position of Vice Chairperson, Head, and Deputy Head of the People's Councils Committees.

(4) Regarding the organization and operation of People's Committees

Compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015, the Law on organizing the local government 2025 stipulates in the direction:

- Providing an overview of the organizational structure of People's Committees, including the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and members; delegating the Government to specify details;

- Outlining the contents and activities of People's Committees (detailed content regarding convening, presiding meetings, guests, documents, information provision about People's Committees meetings, responsibilities of the Vice Chairperson and People's Committees members... will be guided by a sample activity regulation);

- Clearly defining the content that People's Committees must discuss and resolve, and the content People's Committees can delegate to the Chairperson for decision.

(5) Regarding the organization of administrative units, establishment, dissolution, merging, division of administrative units, adjustment of administrative boundaries, and renaming of administrative units

Compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015, the new law has changed the chapter name and sequence of Chapter 2 organization of administrative units, establishment, dissolution, merging, division of administrative units, adjustment of administrative boundaries, and renaming administrative units to ensure conformity with the 2013 Constitution.

The law stipulates several principles for organizing administrative units, conditions for establishment, dissolution, merging, division of administrative units, and adjustment of administrative boundaries.

Additionally, compared to the 2015 law, the new law outlines a generalized approach to the procedure, process of establishment, dissolution, merging, division, adjustment of administrative boundaries of administrative units, and assigns the Government to specifically regulate the construction, public opinion collection, survey, assessment of the establishment project, dissolution, merger, division, and adjustment of administrative boundaries of administrative units, ensuring flexibility and meeting practical requirements.(6) Regarding Transitional Provisions

Inheriting the provisions of the 2015 Law, the Law continues to stipulate that "The regulation of tasks and powers of local government, agencies of local government in legal normative documents must comply with the provisions of this Law, ensuring that state power is effectively controlled" (Article 11).

However, in the context of a legal system with many entanglements that do not ensure consistency with the principles in this Law, the Law has set out transitional provisions as follows:

- For specialized laws that are not in accordance with the principles of authority allocation, decentralization, and delegation as stipulated in this Law, within 2 years from the effective date of this Law, they must be reviewed and amended, supplemented to fit accordingly;

- To promptly promote decentralization and delegation to local governments in some priority and urgent areas, the Government is tasked with issuing legal normative documents within its competence to redefine the tasks and powers of local government and adjust related provisions concerning the execution of tasks and powers of local governments to ensure consistent application during the period before the revision, supplementation of laws, ordinances, resolutions of the National Assembly, and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, and periodically report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; in case it particularly relates to laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, a report to the National Assembly at the nearest session is required.

What are the regulations for the organizational structure of the Tax Department of Vietnam from March 1, 2025?

Based on Clause 2, Article 3 of Decision 381/QD-BTC 2025, the organizational structure of the Tax Department is prescribed as follows:

Organizational Structure

...

2. Local Tax Sub-departments are organized into 20 regions. The name, headquarters, and managed areas of the Regional Tax Sub-departments are specified in the Appendix attached to this Decision.

Regional Tax Sub-departments have legal entity status, their own seal, are assigned management codes by the tax authorities, and can open accounts at the State Treasury according to the legal regulations.

Regional Tax Sub-department I has no more than 19 offices, Regional Tax Sub-department II has no more than 16 offices. The other Regional Tax Sub-departments have an average of no more than 13 offices.

3. District Tax Teams, including those at district-level towns, provincial cities, centrally-run cities, and inter-district Tax Teams (commonly referred to as District Tax Teams) belong to the Regional Tax Sub-department.

District Tax Teams have legal entity status, their own seal, are assigned management codes by the tax authorities, and can open accounts at the State Treasury according to the legal regulations.

The number of District Tax Teams does not exceed 350 units.

...

Thus, the organizational structure of the Tax Department at the local level is defined as follows:

- Local Tax Sub-departments are organized into 20 regions. The name, headquarters, and managed areas of the Regional Tax Sub-departments are as follows:

- Regional Tax Sub-departments have legal entity status, their own seal, are assigned management codes by the tax authorities, and can open accounts at the State Treasury according to legal regulations.

- Regional Tax Sub-department 1 has no more than 19 offices, Regional Tax Sub-department 2 has no more than 16 offices. The other Regional Tax Sub-departments have an average of no more than 13 offices.