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

1. Vietnam to amend regulations on loan interest rates as of September 1, 2023

This is a content of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN on amendments to Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN on lending transactions of credit institutions and/or foreign bank branches with customers, effective as of September 1, 2023.

Vietnam to amend regulations on loan interest rates as of September 1, 2023

A credit institution and its customer shall agree on the interest rate depending on capital demands and supplies on the market, loan demands, and creditworthiness of customers, except for cases where the State Bank of Vietnam stipulates regulations on maximum interest rates as follows:

If the customer has been rated transparent and healthy in its financial status by the credit institution, the credit institution and the customer shall agree on the interest rate on short-term loan in VND which shall not exceed the maximum lending interest rate decided by SBV’s Governor over periods of time in order to meet certain demands for borrowed fund as follows:

- Loans taken out to support the agricultural and rural development sector under the Government’s regulations on credit policies for agricultural and rural development;

- Loans taken out to implement the export business plan in accordance with the Law on Commerce and its instructional documents;

- Loans taken out to finance business activities of small and medium-sized enterprises under the Law and the Government’s regulations on support for development of small and medium-sized enterprises;

- Loans taken out to develop ancillary industries under the Government’s regulations on development of ancillary industries;

- Loans taken out to finance business operations of enterprises that apply high technologies included in the List of prioritized high technologies approved by the Prime Minister of Vietnam and other high-tech enterprises under the provisions of the Law on High Technology and its instructional documents.

2. Vietnam to raise the standard of preferential allowances for revolutionary contributors

On July 21, 2023, the Government of Vietnam promulgated Decree No. 55/2023/ND-CP on amendments to Decree No. 75/2021/ND-CP on allowances and preferential benefits for revolutionary contributors.

According to the Decree, the standard of preferential allowances for revolutionary contributors is 2.055.000 VND.

This standard shall be the basis for calculating the allowances and preferential benefits for revolutionary contributors and their relatives. Any allowance following the standard prescribed in Decree No. 55/2023/ND-CP shall be adjusted when the standard is adjusted and rounded to thousands of VND.

Decree No. 55/2023/ND-CP of the Government of Vietnam comes into force as of September 5, 2023.

Allowances and preferential benefits for revolutionary contributors according to Appendixes I, II, III, and IV enclosed with Decree No. 55/2023/ND-CP and allowances prescribed in Article 8 Appendix VI enclosed with Decree No. 75/2021/ND-CP shall be implemented as of July 1, 2023.

3. Specific labor policies for aviation personnel in Vietnam

This is a content of Circular No. 23/2023/TT-BGTVT on specific labor policies and discipline for aviation employees, effective as of September 1, 2023.

- Aviation personnel may apply specific labor policies according to labor laws and civil aviation laws.

- Employers shall not appoint aviation personnel titles to employees who are aviation personnel violating labor discipline or having served penalties in criminal cases for 5 years from:

+ Any effective decision on labor discipline for cases of violations prescribed in Point a, dd, e, g Clause 2 Article 5 of Circular No. 23/2023/TT-BGTVT;

+ Conviction expungement in any criminal case.

4. New regulation of Vietnam on requirements for online auction website

On July 3, 2023, the Government of Vietnam promulgated Decree No. 47/2023/ND-CP on amendments to Decree No. 62/2017/ND-CP guiding the Law on Property Auction, effective as of September 1, 2023.

According to the Decree, requirements for the online auction website are as follows:

- Publicity, transparency, and unrestricted access to information.

- The time displayed on the online auction website is the actual time and standard time in the online auction.

- Stable and continuous operation of at least level 3 according to laws to ensure the safety of the information system by levels.

- Satisfaction of requirements for the connection, integration, and sharing of data via the integrated platform and national data sharing; requirements for technical infrastructure and information technology standards.

- Mandatory professional functions that:

+ Allow individuals and organizations to register auction accounts. Each individual and organization may only register one account to participate in auctions and bids.

+ Ensure the safety and confidentiality of the information of bidders, accounts, bid placing, and bids placed by particular identification codes.

+ Publicly and truthfully display the bids placed by bidders; recording information and accessing transaction history, bids placed at auctions, bid withdrawal, and other necessary information during the organization of auctions on the online auction website.

+ Continuously display the highest bid placed by a bidder in case of ascending price auction or the starting price or decreased price in case of descending price auction throughout the auction for bidders to view; eligible bidders not participating in the auction;

+ Ensure that bidders cannot submit applications for auction participation after the submission period ends or place bids after the auction ends.

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