Vietnam: Fines for violations against regulations on assurance of security and order at port checkpoints

According to Article 9 of the Decree No. 96/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, penalties for violations against regulations on assurance of security and order at port checkpoints are as follows:

1. A fine ranging from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed on:

- a foreign seaman who goes ashore without producing his/her shore pass or license issued to foreign seamen staying overnight on shore; or who fails to go ashore within the time limit specified in the shore pass; or

- a Vietnamese or foreign national who boards a foreign ship or foreign national who boards a Vietnamese ship without producing the license issued by the port border guard for boarding or fails to comply with the regulations set out in the license.

2. A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed:

- on a foreign seaman who goes ashore without his/her shore pass or outside the permitted area specified in the shore pass; or

- a Vietnamese or foreign national that boards a foreign ship or foreign national who boards a Vietnamese ship without the boarding pass; for operating a vehicle to perform side-by-side mooring to a foreign ship without the license issued by the port border guard; or

- for allowing another person to use the shore pass or boarding pass; using another person's shore pass or boarding pass; or

- on an organization or enterprise that receives foreign nationals to the port checkpoint area without notifying the port border guard as prescribed.

3. A fine ranging from VND 2,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed:

- for failure to be subject to or obstruct the inspection or supervision by a specialized agency at the port checkpoint; or

- on a person on board the ship or inland waterway vehicle who is not included in the crew list or list of passengers who have declared and registered their entry into/exit from the port checkpoint; or

- for breaking the seals of border guard documents when the ship is in transit or transshipped; or

- on a seaman or foreign passenger that returns to a ship after completing the entry procedures and leaves the ship or returns inland from a foreign ship when completing the exit procedures without notifying the port border guard.

4. A fine ranging from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed:

- for threatening security and order or inciting, persuading or assisting other persons to threaten security and order in the port checkpoint area; or

- a seaman or passenger who deliberately leaves a ship when the entry procedures have yet to be completed or the exit procedures have been completed; or

- on a foreign passenger in transit who fails to follow the entry procedures when leaving the transit area at the port checkpoint; or

- for operating vessels, inland waterway ships or motor vehicles without the license within the port checkpoint area in the field that has to be licensed; or

- on a master of a Vietnam's ship on an inland route or an inland waterway vehicle entering or leaving the port checkpoint who fails to provide the port border guard with information about the vehicle, goods and security and order-related information upon request; or

- on a vehicle owner, master or authorized person who fails to register the inbound or outbound inland waterway vehicle with the port border guard within the prescribed time limit.

5. A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed:

- for failure to comply with the decision to carry out border guard inspection or supervision of persons and vessels that enter, leave, transit or transship, Vietnamese vessels operating on inland routes, inland waterway vehicles and other Vietnamese and foreign vehicles that leave, enter and operate in the port checkpoint in the cases prescribed by law; or

- for illegally loading and unloading goods onto vessels and inland waterway vessels and from vessels and waterway vehicles within the port checkpoint area; or

- for breaking the seals of weapons, explosive materials and goods when the vessel is in transit or transshipped; or

- for changing any seaman or passenger after completing the electronic border guard procedures for vessels but failing to declare the revisions to electronic border guard documents; or

- on a declarant that insufficiently or inaccurately declares the information prescribed by law on electronic border guard procedures after the deadline for revising the electronic border guard documents; or

- for failure to declare information about weapons, explosive materials and stowaways (if any) as prescribed; or

- on a declarant that fails to request the port border guard to cancel the electronic border guard documents as prescribed with respect to the vessels that have completed the electronic border guard procedures but changes the port checkpoint entry or exit plan.

6. A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on:

- a vehicle owner, master or authorized person who fails to register the inbound or outbound inland waterway vehicle with the port border guard in accordance with regulations; or

- a master or authorized person on board a vessel who fails to take necessary preventive measures and notify the port border guard or specialized agencies when discovering any stowaway; or

- a master or authorized person who lets any seaman or passenger or unauthorized persons disembark from the vessel before completing the entry procedures or after having completed the exit procedures; or

- a vehicle owner or master who let the watercraft anchor within the port waters for more than 24 hours without obtaining permission of the competent authority after the exit procedures have been completed.

View more details at the Decree No. 96/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from October 10, 2020.

Le Vy

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