Recently, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 98/2020/ND-CP regulating administrative penalties in commercial activities, production, trading of counterfeit goods, banned goods, and consumer protection. From January 1, 2021, debt collection business activities will be fined up to 160 million VND.
Article table of contents
From January 01, 2021, operating debt collection service will be fined up to 160 million VND (Illustrative photo)
Pursuant to Article 7 of Decree 98/2020/ND-CP, a fine of from 60 million to 80 million VND shall be imposed on the act of operating services in sectors or trades prohibited from business investment. Moreover, point b, clause 4, Article 4 of this Decree stipulates that if an administrative violation is committed by an organization, the fine shall be doubled in comparison to that imposed on an individual.
According to Article 6 of the Investment Law 2020 (effective January 01, 2021), there are 8 sectors and trades prohibited from business investment, including:
- Trading in narcotic substances specified in Annex I of this Law;
- Trading in chemicals and minerals specified in Annex II of this Law;
- Trading in specimens of wild plant and animal species originating from natural exploitation specified in Annex I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; specimens of endangered, precious, and rare wild plant, forest plant, and aquatic species originating from natural exploitation specified in Annex III of this Law;
- Prostitution business;
- Buying, selling humans, human tissues, bodies, organs, and fetuses;
- Business activities related to human cloning;
- Manufacturing and trading in firecrackers;
- Debt collection service.
Thus, based on the above regulations, from January 01, 2021, the Investment Law 2020 officially takes effect, if any organization operates a debt collection service, it will be fined up to 160 million VND. Additionally, the organization providing debt collection services will have all infringing articles confiscated and will be required to return any illegal profits obtained through their violation acts.
It can be observed that the Investment Law 2020 has removed the debt collection service from the list of sectors or trades with conditional business investment access and officially transferred it to the list of sectors and trades prohibited from business investment. Therefore, organizations and individuals must adhere to the legal provisions appropriately.
Ty Na
