Recently, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 98/2020/ND-CP prescribing penalties for administrative violations against regulations on commerce, production and trade in counterfeit and prohibited goods, and protection of consumer rights. From January 01, 2021, debt collection services providers will be fined up to 160 million VND.
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Vietnam: From January 01, 2021, debt collection services providers will be fined up to 160 million VND (Illustrative photo)
Under Article 7 of Decree 98/2020/ND-CP, a fine ranging from 60 million to 80 million VND shall be imposed for providing services included in the list of banned business lines.
Under point b, clause 4, Article 4 of this Decree, 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 banned business lines in Vietnam, including:
a) Business in narcotic substances specified in Appendix I hereof;
b) Business in chemicals and minerals specified in Appendix II hereof;
c) Business in specimens of wild flora and fauna specified in Appendix 1 of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; specimens of rare and/or endangered species of wild fauna and flora in Group I of Appendix III hereof;
d) Prostitution business;
dd) Human trafficking; trade in human tissues, corpses, human organs and human fetuses;
e) Business activities pertaining to asexual human reproduction;
g) Trade in firecrackers.
h) Provision of debt collection services.
Thus, under the above regulations, from January 01, 2021, debt collection services providers in Vietnam will be fined up to 160 million VND. Additionally, the debt collection services providers will have all exhibits and instrumentalities used for committing the violation confiscated and must return any illegal profits obtained through their violations.
The Investment Law 2020 has removed the debt collection service from the list of conditional business lines and officially transferred it to the list of banned business lines. Therefore, organizations and individuals must adhere to the legal provisions appropriately.
Ty Na
