Vietnam’s regulations on fundraising by religious organizations

According to Decree No. 162/2017/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, religious organizations shall organize the fundraising to carry out religious activities, practice folk beliefs and do charity work on a voluntary basis in accordance with relevant regulations of soft law.

The representative or management of a religious organization shall notify the competent authority of the fundraising. The notification shall specify purpose, location, methods and time for the fundraising; methods for managing and using collected property.

The power to receive notification:

- 05 working days before the fundraising, the folk religious establishment, religious organization or religious affiliate shall send a notification to the People’s Committee of the commune where the fundraising is conducted in case it is conducted within a commune;

- 10 days before the fundraising, the folk religious establishment, religious organization or religious affiliate shall send a notification to the People’s Committee of the district where the fundraising is conducted in case it is conducted outside a commune but within a district or provincial or central-affiliated city;

- 15 days before the fundraising, the folk religious establishment, religious organization or religious affiliate shall send a notification to the People’s Committee of the province where the fundraising is conducted, regarding the remaining cases.

Note: The fundraising by a folk religious establishment, religious organization or religious affiliate shall be recorded in a public and transparent manner. The collected property must be managed and used for the purposes included in the notification and serve religious activities, practice of folk beliefs and charity work.

Besides, it is not allowed to take advantage of the name of a folk religious establishment, religious organization or religious affiliate to conduct fundraising for personal gain or for illegal purposes.

Decree No. 162/2017/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government takes effect from January 01, 2018.

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