Does the delay in sending the decision sanctioning administrative violation ensure the validity of that decision?
What are the contents of decisions on administrative sanctions?
Pursuant to Clause 1 Article 68 of the Law On handling Administrative Violations 2012 of Vietnam on the contents of decisions on administrative sanctions:
- Decisions on administrative sanctions must include the main content as follows:
+ Location, date of making decisions;
+ Legal foundations for promulgating decisions;
+ Records of administrative violations, results of verification, written explanation of violating individuals, organizations or records of explanation meeting and other documents (if any);
+ Full name, position of decider;
+ Full name, address, occupation of violators or name, address and the full name and title of the legal representative of violating organizations (supplemented by Point dd Clause 72 Article 1 of Amendments and Supplements to certain articles of Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 2020 of Vietnam);
+ Acts of administrative violations; extenuating circumstances, aggravating circumstances;
+ Articles, Clauses of applied legal documents;
+ The principal sanctioning form; additional sanctioning forms, remedial measures (if any);
+ Rights of complains, initiate lawsuits against decisions on administrative sanction;
+ Effect of decisions, time limit and place of implementation of decisions on administrative sanction, places for fine payment;
+ Full name, signatures of the persons who make decisions on administrative sanctions;
+ Responsibility for executing decisions on administrative sanctions and the coercion in case individuals, organizations are not voluntarily sanctioned.
The delay in sending the decision sanctioning administrative violation
How long does it take to issue administrative sanction decisions?
Pursuant to Clause 34 Article 1 of Amendments and Supplements to certain articles of Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 2020 of Vietnam on limitation periods for issuance of administrative sanction decisions:
- Limitation periods for issuance of administrative sanction decisions shall be regulated as follows:
+ For the cases or matters not covered by points b and c of this clause, the limitation period for issuing a sanction decision shall be 07 working days from the date of making a written record of administrative violation; For cases or matters where files thereof must be transferred to persons having sanctioning authority, the limitation period for issuing a sanction decision shall be 10 working days from the date of making a written record of administrative violation, except as prescribed in clause 3 of Article 63 of this Law;
+ As for cases and matters in which individuals or organizations request explanations or verification of relevant facts and details specified in Article 59 herein, the limitation period for issuance of a sanction decision shall be 1 month from the date of making and issuing an administrative violation record;
+ As for cases and matters covered by point b of this clause, if they are extremely serious, involve complicated facts and details, need more time to carry out further verification and collection of evidence, the limitation period for issuance of a sanction decision shall be 02 months from the date of making and issuing an administrative violation record.
- If persons having authority to sanction administrative violations, involved individuals and organizations defer issuing sanction decisions after expiry of the limitation period through their fault, they shall be sanctioned under laws.
Does the delay of sending the decision sanctioning administrative violation ensure the validity of that decision?
Pursuant to Article 70 of the Law On handling Administrative Violations 2012 of Vietnam on sending decisions sanctioning administrative violation for execution:
“Article 70. Sending decisions sanctioning administrative violation for execution
Within 02 working days, as from the day of issuing decisions sanctioning administrative violation with making records, competent persons having issued such sanctioning decisions must send to sanctioned individuals or organizations, agencies collecting fines and other relevant agencies (if any) for execution.
The decisions sanctioning administrative violation may be handed directly or through post in an assurance form and notifying to sanctioned individuals thereof.
In case a decision is handed directly but violated organization or individual deliberately does not receive such decision, competent person shall make record thereof with certification of local authority and it is considered that the decision has been handed.
For cases when sending through post in an assurance form, if within 10 days, since the sanctioning decision has been sent through post for the third time and be returned because violating individual or organization deliberately does not receive it; the sanctioning decision has been posted at the residence place of sanctioned individual, head office of sanctioned organization or there are grounds for presuming that the violator evades receiver of sanctioning decision, in such cases, it is considered that the decision has been handed.”
The above regulations just mention sending decisions but not mention sending them late. Therefore, according to the writer's point of view, the delay in sending the decision sanctioning administrative violation will not affect the validity of that decision (the sanctioning decision is still legally valid). However, if this delay affects the execution of the sanctioned person, the appropriate adjustment can be considered to ensure the violator's rights and obligations to pay the fine.
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