Notable new policies of Vietnam to be effective as of the start of May 2023

1. Vietnam to amend regulation on high school graduation exam

On March 24, 2023, the Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam promulgated Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT on amendments to regulations on high school graduation exam enclosed with Circular No. 15/2020/TT-BGDDT amended by Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BGDDT.

- According to Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT, candidates may bring the following items into the exam room:

+ Pens, pencils, compasses, erasers, rulers, and slide rules;

+ Calculator without text composing function and memory cards;

+ Geographic atlas of Vietnam for Geography paper;

(Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT no longer prescribes recording and transmitting devices that have the function of information recording and can only receive and transmit audio and visual signals with the support of other devices).

- According to Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT, an exam registration dossier for a candidate who has finished the high school program in the year of the exam includes:

+ 2 identical exam registration applications;

+ A master register or certified copy from the master register or authenticated copy extracted from the master register or copy enclosed with the master register (collectively referred to as “copies”) of the high school academic transcript or the continuing education academic transcript at the high school level or the assessment report of continuing education self-study student granted by the headmaster of a general school for comparison;

+ Types of certificates valid to receive prioritization or incentive benefits (if any);  

+ Photo files (or 2 4x6 photos in case of registration via online methods), taken within 6 months before submitting the dossier.

(Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT no longer requires copies of permanent residence books for incentives or privileges;

Instead, candidates must submit photo files (or 2 4x6 photos in case of registration via online methods), taken within 6 months before submitting the dossier.)

See more details in Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGDDT of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, which comes into force as of May 9, 2023.

2. New regulation of Vietnam on statistical reporting period of Home Affairs Authorities

On March 23, 2023, the Minister of Home Affairs of Vietnam promulgated Circular No. 2/2023/TT-BNV on regulations on statistical reports of Home Affairs Authorities.

According to the Circular, statistical reporting periods are based on the solar calendar:

- Annual statistical reports: from 1st day of the 1st month of the statistical reporting period to the last day of the 12th month of that period.  Specifically:

+ The statistical reporting period for commendation and emulation is from December 1 of the preceding year to November 30 of the following year.

+ The statistical reporting period for other fields is from January 1 of the reporting year to December 31 of the same year.

- Statistical reports by working terms: from the 1st day of the working term subject to statistical reports to the last day of that term.

- Other statistical reports:

+ If other statistical reports are necessary for the implementation of requirements for state management, a management agency shall request such reports in writing, specifying the time, deadline, and criteria for statistical reports and other requirements (if any) and present such request to the Minister of Home Affairs of Vietnam for approval.

+ Irregular statistical reports are prepared to assist the Minister of Home Affairs of Vietnam in collecting information other than the statistical information collected and summarized according to regulations on periodic statistical reports.

Circular No. 2/2023/TT-BNV of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam comes into force as of May 10, 2023.

3. New regulation of Vietnam on fines for state audit-related offences

On February 28, 2023, the Standing committee of the National Assembly of Vietnam promulgated Ordinance No. 04/2023/UBTVQH15 on the imposition of fines for administrative violations against regulations on state audit.

According to the Ordinance, fines for state audit-related offences are as follows:

- The maximum fine for an administrative violation in state audit sector imposed upon an individual is 50.000.000 VND.

- The maximum fine for an administrative violation in state audit sector imposed upon an organization is 100.000.000 VND.

- The fines prescribed in Chapter II of Ordinance No. 04/2023/UBTVQH15 are imposed for administrative violations committed by individuals. The fine imposed upon an organization is twice as much as that imposed upon an individual for committing the same administrative violation.

- The maximum fines the persons specified in Article 16 of Ordinance No. 04/2023/UBTVQH15 may impose are for state audit-related offences committed by individuals; the maximum fine such a person may impose upon an organization is twice as much as that imposed upon an individual.

Ordinance No. 04/2023/UBTVQH15 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of Vietnam comes into force as of May 1, 2023.

4. New regulation of Vietnam on methods for selecting investors in road traffic service works

On March 7, 2023, the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam promulgated Circular No. 01/2023/TT-BGTVT on guidelines for preparation, approval, and disclosure of list of projects; methods and criteria of bid and proposal evaluation in bidding for investors in road traffic service works.

According to the Circular, guidelines for methods for selecting investors in road traffic service works are as follows:

- International competitive bidding shall be carried out if the road traffic service works fully satisfy the requirements in Article 15 of Law on Procurement.

- National competitive bidding shall be carried out when:

+ The business line of the project is not granted market access in accordance with investment laws.

+ The project is bidded for by at least 2 investors satisfying preliminary requirements for capacity and experience and there are no foreign investors applying for project execution or satisfying preliminary requirements for capacity and experience in accordance with Point a Clause 1 Article 10 of Circular No. 01/2023/TT-BGTVT;

+ The project involves national security and defense as decided by the Prime Minister of Vietnam in accordance with request of the competent authority and consent of the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam with regard to national defense requirements or consent of the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam with regard to security requirements.

Circular No. 01/2023/TT-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam comes into force as of May 1, 2023.

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