What are 06 changes in the 2025 Law on organizing the local government of Vietnam? Does the merger and change of administrative units at the commune level in Ho Chi Minh City require re-registration of electronic invoice usage information?

What are 06 changes in the 2025 Law on organizing the local government of Vietnam?

On February 19, 2025, the National Assembly passed the 2025 Law on organizing the local government, No. 65/2025/QH15, which took effect on March 1, 2025.

>>> View complete Text of the 2025 Law on organizing the local government...HERE

The 2025 Law on organizing the local government consists of 07 chapters and 50 articles, reducing 01 chapter and 93 articles compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015 to create a legal framework to resolve institutional and policy bottlenecks, enhance decentralization, and empower between central and local governments, promoting the proactivity of local governments.

To be specific: below are some of the prominent new features of the 2025 Law on organizing the local government:

(1) On delineation of authority, decentralization, delegation of authority, and authorization

The law designates 01 chapter on the delineation of authority, delegation of authority, decentralization, and authorization between local governments at various levels with the following new points:

- On the principles of delineation of authority

In Clause 2, Article 11 of the 2025 Law on organizing the local government, 07 principles for delineation of authority are prescribed, including new contents such as:

+ Clearly determining the content and scope of tasks and powers that local governments are entitled to decide, organize the implementation of, and bear responsibility for the outcomes;

+ Ensuring no overlap and redundancy in tasks and powers between agencies and between local governments at various levels;

+ Suiting the capacity and conditions for task execution of local governments at each level; ensuring necessary conditions are provided to agencies, organizations, and individuals tasked with the duties and powers of superior state agencies;

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

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

Simultaneously, to encourage the active and innovative spirit of localities, the law adds a provision stating that “Local governments are proactive in proposing to competent authorities about the delegation of authority and decentralization to competent agencies, organizations, and individuals in the locality to execute tasks and powers suitable to the local conditions and capacity,” as per Clause 3, Article 11 of the 2025 Law on organizing the local government.

- On delegation of authority

Article 12 of the 2025 Law on organizing the local government provides that:

+ Delegation to local governments at various levels must be stipulated in laws or resolutions of the National Assembly;

+ Local governments are autonomous in making decisions, organizing the execution, and bearing responsibility within the scope of tasks and powers delegated to them;

+ Higher-level state agencies, within their tasks and powers, are responsible for checking, inspecting, and supervising the constitutionality and legality in the execution of delegated tasks and powers by local governments at various levels.

- On decentralization

Article 13 of the 2025 Law on organizing the local government prescribes some new points such as:

+ Clearly defining the entities delegating authority and those receiving delegated authority;

+ Stipulating the responsibility of the delegating entity in ensuring conditions for effective decentralization;

+ Entities receiving decentralized tasks are accountable to the law and the delegating entity for the results of the decentralized tasks and powers delegated;

+ Tasks and powers delegated to oneself cannot be further delegated;

+ Regulations on adjusting administrative procedures in cases of decentralization.

- On authorization

Article 14 of the 2025 Law on organizing the local government provides new points such as:

+ Clarifying and expanding the scope of the authorizing entities and those receiving authority;

+ Clearly stipulating the requirements for authorization (authorization must be in writing from the authorizing entity; the document should specify content, scope, duration of authorization);

+ Clearly stipulating the responsibilities of agencies in authorizing and executing authorized tasks;

+ Regulations on the use of seals and forms of documents when executing authorized tasks, and the adjustment of administrative procedures in cases of authorization.

(2) On responsibilities of the People's Councils and People's Committees

Adhering to the principle of "clear person, clear task, clear responsibility" and avoiding overlapping and redundant regulations in tasks and powers among levels of local governments and among local government agencies, the draft 2025 Law on organizing the local government specifically stipulates the responsibilities and powers of People's Councils and People's Committees in each administrative unit as follows:

- Distinguishing tasks and powers among local government levels and between People's Councils and People's Committees at the same level;

- Distinguishing tasks and powers of the collective People's Committee and individual Chairman of the People's Committee in places where local government is organized to increase tasks, powers, and responsibilities for the individual Chairman of the People's Committee;

- Regulations on responsibilities and powers should be generalized, focusing on areas such as financial budget, organizational structure, staffing, inspection activities, and supervision... ensuring adherence to the principles of delineation of authority in Article 11 of the law and ensuring the long-term stability of the law.

(3) On organization and activities of the People's Councils

Compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015, the 2025 Law on organizing the local government follows these directions:

- Retaining the content on the organizational structure of the People's Councils but consolidating it into one article (the 2015 Law was dispersed across separate articles for each type of administrative unit);

- Generalizing the activities of the People's Councils, Standing Committee of the People's Councils, responsibilities, and powers of the Deputies of the People's Councils (detailed contents regarding convening, presiding over meetings, guests, documents, dissemination of information about People's Council sessions, organization, and activities of committees and representative groups of People's Councils,... will be guided in a model activity regulation);

- Amending and supplementing certain regulations to solve practical difficulties and obstacles in the practical organization of law enforcement such as: Not stipulating the Chairman of the People's Committee at the start of the term as a representative of the People's Councils; adding provisions for cases of vacant Chairman of People's Councils, vacant Standing Committee of the People's Councils; adding regulations on the temporary suspension of the position of Vice-Chairman of the People's Councils, heads and deputies of the committees of the People's Councils,...

(4) On organization and activities of the People's Committees

Compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015, the 2025 Law on organizing the local government prescribes in the following directions:

- Providing a general regulation on the organizational structure of the People's Committees consisting of a Chairman, Vice-Chairmen, and members; delegating the Government to specify;

- Generalizing contents and activities of the People's Committees (detailed contents about convening, presiding over meetings, guests, documents, providing meeting information of People's Committees, responsibilities of Vice-Chairmen and Members of People's Committees,... will be guided in a model activity regulation);

- Clearly regulating contents that the People's Committees must discuss and decide on and those that can be authorized to the Chairman of the People's Committees for decision-making.

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

Compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015, the new law has renamed and reordered Chapter 2 about the organization of administrative units, the establishment, dissolution, merging, division of administrative units, adjustment of boundaries, and renaming of administrative units to ensure compliance with the 2013 Constitution.

The law stipulates several principles for the organization of administrative units, conditions for establishing, dissolving, merging, dividing, and adjusting administrative unit boundaries.

Besides, compared to the Law on organizing the local government 2015, the 2025 Law on organizing the local government provides a general approach to the procedures for establishment, dissolution, merging, dividing, adjusting boundaries of administrative units, and delegates the Government to specify the construction, solicitation of citizen opinions, surveys, appraisal of projects for establishment, dissolution, merging, dividing, adjusting boundaries of administrative units, ensuring flexibility and meeting practical requirements.(6) On transitional provisions

Inheriting the provisions of the Law on Organization of Local Governments 2015, the Law on Organization of Local Governments 2025 continues to stipulate “The regulation of the tasks and powers of local governments and local government agencies in legal documents must comply with the provisions of this Law, ensuring that state power is effectively controlled” in Article 11 of the Law on Organization of Local Governments 2025.

However, in the context of a legal system with many existing issues that do not ensure consistency with the principles outlined in this Law, the Law has stipulated transitional provisions as follows:

- For specialized laws not yet aligned with the principles of authority delineation, decentralization, and delegation in this Law, a review and amendment must be conducted within 2 years from the effective date of the Law on Organization of Local Governments 2025 to ensure compliance.

- To promptly promote the delegation and decentralization for local governments in some priority and urgent areas, the Government is authorized to issue legal documents to redefine the tasks and powers of local governments and adjust related regulations pending the amendment and supplementation of laws, ordinances, and resolutions of the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, and periodically report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; if related to the laws or resolutions of the National Assembly, then report to the National Assembly at the nearest session.

What are 06 changes in the 2025 Law on organizing the local government of Vietnam? (Image from Internet)

Vietnam: What is the organization of local governments when merging administrative units at the same level?

Based on Article 41 of the Law on Organization of Local Governments 2025, the provisions are as follows:

- In the case where multiple administrative units merge into 01 new administrative unit at the same level, the representatives of the People's Council of the old administrative units will form the People's Council of the new administrative unit and continue to operate until the end of the term, unless the new administrative unit does not organize a local government level.

- The first session of the People's Council in the new administrative unit as stated in clause 1 of this Article is convened by a convenor appointed by the Standing Committee of the People's Council at the direct higher level among the representatives of the People's Council of the new administrative unit, and for the provincial level, it will be appointed by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly to convene and preside until the People's Council elects the Chairman of the People's Council of the new administrative unit.

- The People's Council of the new administrative unit as stated in clause 1 of this Article elects the positions of the People's Council, the People's Committee according to the provisions of Article 34 of the Law on Organization of Local Governments 2025 and will operate until a new term of the People's Council is elected.

Does the merger and change of administrative units at the commune level in Ho Chi Minh City require re-registration of electronic invoice usage information?

According to Official Dispatch 108/CTTPHCM-TTHT in 2025 of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department guiding the change of administrative boundaries following Resolution No. 1278/NQ-UBTVQH15 as follows:

Should taxpayers whose official addresses fall within the scope of administrative boundary changes based on Resolution No. 1278/NQ-UBTVQH15 dated November 14, 2024, of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly regarding the reorganization of commune-level administrative units during the period of 2023-2025 in Ho Chi Minh City find their addresses on the Business Registration Certificate no longer appropriate, they are urged by the Tax Department to promptly contact the business registration authority to update their address. Concurrently, for electronic invoices, businesses are requested to re-register the usage information of the invoices according to Form 01/ĐKTĐ-HĐĐT issued together with Decree 123/2020/ND-CP of the Government of Vietnam, ensuring that the enterprise's address content on the electronic invoice matches the address on the Business Registration Certificate as required.

Additionally, clause 4 Article 15 of Decree 123/2020/ND-CP also provides as follows:

Registration and change of registration information for electronic invoice usage

...

4. In the case of a change in information registered for electronic invoice usage in clause 1 of this Article, enterprises, economic organizations, other organizations, households, and individual businesses must change information and resubmit it to the tax authority according to Form No. 01/ĐKTĐ-HĐĐT Appendix IA issued together with this Decree via the General Department of Taxation's electronic portal or via organizations providing electronic invoice services, except in cases of ceasing the use of electronic invoices as prescribed in clause 1, Article 16 of this Decree. The electronic portal of the General Department of Taxation receives the registration form for information changes, and the Tax Authority implements it according to the provisions in clause 2 of this Article.

...

In the case where taxpayers' official addresses fall within the scope of administrative boundary changes based on Resolution No. 1278/NQ-UBTVQH15 in 2024 concerning the reorganization of commune-level administrative units in Ho Chi Minh City from 2023-2025, with the address information on their Business Registration Certificate being outdated, the Tax Department suggests that businesses re-register the electronic invoice usage information and ensure that the business's address content on the electronic invoices correctly matches the address on the Business Registration Certificate.

Thus, enterprises must re-register the electronic invoice usage information after changing commune-level administrative units in Ho Chi Minh City and ensure that the address content of the enterprise on the electronic invoice matches the address on the Business Registration Certificate.