Vietnam: 05 things officials and public employees absolutely must not do during the Lunar New Year 2021

1. Presenting and giving Tet gifts to leaders at all levels in any form

According to Section 4 of the Directive No. 48-CT/TW dated December 09, 2020 of the Secretariat of the Central Executive Committee on the celebration of Tet in 2021, in order to prepare well the conditions to serve the people to welcome the new year 2021 and have a happy spring, to welcome the healthy, safe, economical Lunar New Year, to creating a spirit of excitement right from the first year of implementing the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress and the resolutions of the Party congresses at all levels, the Secretariat proposes not to organize visits and wishes for Tet to superiors and leaders at all levels; it is strictly forbidden to give Tet gifts to leaders at all levels in any form; do not go to pagodas or festivals if not assigned; do not use the state budget, vehicles, public property in contravention of regulations on festival activities, entertainment; etc.

Note: According to Clause 2 Article 10 of the Decree No. 63/2019/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, a fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for giving public property inconsistently with regulations (using public property as gifts inconsistently with regulations on giving of gifts promulgated by competent authorities).

2. Drinking alcohol, beer right before or during working hours

According to Clause 5 Article 5 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcoholic Beverages of Vietnam, consumption of alcoholic beverages during working and learning hours and break time by officials, public employees and employees working for organizations, officers, enlistees, non-commissioned officers, soldiers and persons working for People's Armed Force, and students is one of prohibited acts.

Moreover, Article 5 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcoholic Beverages of Vietnam also stipulates prohibited acts such as inciting, persuading and forcing another to consume alcoholic beverages; operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol; etc.

Note: According to the Decree No. 100/2019/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government on administrative penalties for road traffic offenses and rail transport offenses, fines for operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol are specified as follows:

3. Must not by all means receive the gifts

According to Article 25 of the Decree No. 59/2019/NĐ-CP elaborating on a number of Articles and the measures for implementation of the Law on Anti-Corruption of Vietnam, the office holding agencies, organizations, units or individuals must not by all means receive the gifts from the agencies, organizations, units or individuals involved in their work or under their management.

Note: If unable to reject, the agencies, organizations or units must follow as follows:

- If the gifts are cash or financial instruments, the heads of agencies, organizations or units must take over, preserve and turn it into the government budget as per law.

- If the gifts are goods or products, the heads of agencies, organizations or units must take over, preserve and proceed to:

+ Determine the price of the gifts based on the price provided by the giver (if any) or the price of similar products on the market. If the price of the gifts cannot be determined, the competent agencies may be required to evaluate the price;

+ Decide to sell and publicly sell the gifts as per law;

+ After taking into account the cost of disposal, the proceeds minus cost will be transferred to the government budget within 30 days from the day on which the gifts are sold.

- If the gifts are services such as domestic or overseas sightseeing, travel, medical, education and training, internship, practice and other services, the heads of the agencies, organizations or units must inform the corresponding service providers of not using the gifted services.

- If the gifts are animals, plants, raw or fresh food and other products difficult to preserve, the heads of the agencies, organizations or units based on the current situation and comply with regulations and law on handling confiscated material evidence in administrative sanctions to handle the gifts within their competence or report to the competent agencies for further consideration and solutions.

5. Do not enter the casino to gamble in any form

According to the Directive No. 26/CT-TTg dated September 05, 2016 of the Prime Minister of Vietnam on strengthening discipline in state administrative agencies, in order to strengthen discipline, administrative discipline, create a clear change, improve the service quality and reputation of the Government and authorities at all levels to the People, organizations and businesses, ensure the strictness in law enforcement and strengthen the people's trust, the Prime Minister directs to strictly prohibit the use of alcohol, beer and alcoholic beverages during working hours, lunch breaks of working days, on-call days; do not enter the casino to gamble in any form.

Note: According to Clause 4 Article 23 of the Decree No. 167/2013/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, a fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the acts of gambling organization as follows:

- Enticing, inciting or gathering people for illegal gambling;

- Using home or accommodation or other means and locations to organize the gambling;

- Illegally placing gambling or electronic game machine;

- Organizing illegal betting activities;

Moreover, illegal gambling can also be prosecuted for penal liability under Article 321 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam on gambling.

Le Vy

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