Suspension and termination of operation of the foreign cultural institutions in Vietnam

According to Decree No. 126/2018/ND-CP of Vietnam’s Government, the foreign cultural institution and their branches in Vietnam shall be suspended within a period of time according to the Decision of the Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism, if they:

- Commit fraud in order to receive approval for their establishment and operation.

- Violate the law regulations on culture and be subjected to administrative penalties leading to suspension of operation.

- Other cases according to the law regulations.

The foreign cultural institution and their branches can receive a permit for resuming their operations if they eliminate the violations.

Procedures, methods, handling period and authority to suspend the operation are prescribed as follows:

- After the suspension period ends, the foreign cultural institution and their branches can send a written notification about the results of eliminating the violations to the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism in person or by post to request for the resuming of operation (if the notification is written in a foreign language, it must be attached with a translated document in Vietnamese).

- Within 30 working days, from the date on which such written notification is received, the Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism shall permit the foreign cultural institution and their branches to resume their operations. If the application is refused, he shall provide explanations in writing.

According to Decree No. 126/2018/ND-CP, the operations of foreign cultural institution shall be terminated if:

- The foreign cultural institutions and their branches in Vietnam shall terminate their operation themselves as requested by the foreign party.

- The operations of foreign cultural institution and their branches in Vietnam shall be terminated if such institution and branches fall into one of the following cases:

+ The validity period specified in the Registration Certificate, license and Establishment Certificate expires, but the institution and branches do not complete the procedures for extension according to the regulations of this Decree.

+ They do not operate within 12 months after receiving the Registration Certificate, license and Establishment Certificate.

+ The suspension period specified in the Suspension Decision expires, but they do not eliminate the violations causing such suspension.

+ They violate the regulations in clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree and are subjected to administrative penalties, which involve depriving the right to use Registration Certificate, license and Establishment Certificate, or being criminally convicted.

- The branches shall terminate their operations if the operation of foreign cultural institution is terminated.

Within 45 working days, from the date on which the operation is terminated, the legal representative of the foreign cultural institution shall complete all related procedures according to Vietnam’s lawsoft, including:

+ Paying debts, taxes, salaries, social insurances, rents;

+ Liquidating assets, contracts;

+ Returning the Registration Certificate, license, Establishment Certificate and stamps to the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

In special cases, the above period can be extended but shall not exceed 60 working days.

More details can be found in Decree No. 126/2018/ND-CP of Vietnam’s Government, which takes effect from November 05, 2018.

-Thao Uyen-

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