To provide the most prompt and rapid information to our esteemed customers and members, Lawnet would like to inform the important Decrees on penalties for administrative violations related to Customs – Import and Export, Taxes – Fees – Charges, Journalistic – Publishing that will take effect in December 2020 in Vietnam.
Article table of contents
Vietnam: 03 important Decrees on penalties for administrative violations effective on December 2020 (Illustrative image)
1. Decree 128/2020/ND-CP on penalties for administrative violations related to customs in Vietnam
On October 19, 2020, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 128/2020/ND-CP on penalties for administrative violations related to customs. Some notable contents of this Decree include:
- Only 04 cases in which penalties for administrative violations related to customs are exempt from December 10, 2020:
1. The cases in which penalties are not imposed according to Article 11 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012.
Customs authority or other competent authorities must be notified of the goods and vehicles that are imported to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam due to an unexpected event or force majeure event; such goods and vehicles must be removed from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the event is over.
2. Cases in which the additional declaration is permissible within the time limit specified in Clause 4 Article 29 of the Customs Law 2014.
3. Cases in which customs declarants comply with guidelines and decisions of tax authorities and/or competent authorities on determination of their tax liabilities.
4. Cases in which goods sent to Vietnam are not conformable with the contract as prescribed in Article 39 of the Commercial Law 2005 (except for goods banned from import, goods suspended from import, counterfeit goods, and waste which are not included in the List of waste permitted for import as production materials) but have been notified in writing (with reasons clearly specified) and enclosed with relevant documents by the consignor, the carrier and the consignee or legal representative of such consignor, carrier and consignee to the Director of the Sub-department of Customs where goods are stored before the customs declaration is registered.
- New regulations on the prescriptive time limits for imposing penalties for administrative violations related to customs:
+ Prescriptive time limits for imposing penalties for violations against tax administration:
- The prescriptive time limit for imposition of penalties for tax evasion that is not liable to criminal prosecution, understatement of tax payable or overstatement of tax eligible for refund, remission or cancellation is 05 years from the day on which the violation is committed;
- After the aforementioned prescriptive time limits expire, the taxpayer will not incur penalties but still has to fully pay the outstanding tax, the evaded tax, the incorrectly reduced, exempted or refunded tax plus (+) late payment interest that has accrued over the last 10 years before the day on which the violation is discovered.
+ The prescriptive time limits for imposing penalties for other customs violations is similar to that in Article 6 of the Law on Penalties for Administrative Violations 2012, except for the above cases.
- Increase the penalties for administrative violations related to customs: a fine equal to the amount of evaded tax if no aggravating circumstances are found; every aggravating circumstance that is found will cause the fine to increase by 20% but not exceeding 03 times the evaded tax as prescribed in Article 14 of Decree 128/2020/ND-CP.
More details may be found in Decree 128/2020/ND-CP effective from December 10, 2020.
2. Decree 125/2020/ND-CP on administrative penalties for tax or invoice-related violations in Vietnam
Recently, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 125/2020/ND-CP on administrative penalties for tax or invoice-related violations. Notably, 03 important new points in administrative penalties for tax or invoice-related violations in Vietnam are as follows:
- Increase fines for colluding with and shielding taxpayers from evading taxes in Vietnam (Article 19 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP)
- Fines ranging from VND 6,000,000 to VND 16,000,000 shall be imposed forcolluding with and shielding taxpayers from evading taxes, failing to execute decisions on enforcement of tax-related administrative actions, except the act of failing to withdraw and remitting money from taxpayers’ accounts as provided in Article 18 herein;
- These fines apply to organizations. Fines for individuals are ½ of those for organizations.
=> The maximum fine for individuals is 8,000,000 VND, and for organizations is 16,000,000 VND. For colluding with and shielding taxpayers from evading taxes, the fines in Decree 125/2020/ND-CP have increased 1.6 times compared to those in Decree 129/2013/ND-CP.
- It can be fined 3 times the evaded tax amount from the first-time evasion (Clause 5 Article 17 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP). Specifically, a fine of 3 times the evaded tax amount is imposed on taxpayers conducting any of the acts specified in Clause 1 Article 17 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP with three or more aggravating circumstances. Decree 125/2020/ND-CP does not stipulate the number of violations, so it can be understood that a fine of 3 times the evaded tax amount can be imposed right from the first violation if there are three or more aggravating circumstances.
- A new form of penalty for overdue invoice cancellation or destruction. Article 27 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP has, for the first time, introduced penalties for overdue invoice cancellation or destruction. This will help limit the acts of overdue invoice cancellation or destruction. If overdue, a fine of up to 8,000,000 VND can be imposed.
Details may be found in Decree 125/2020/ND-CP effective from December 5, 2020.
3. Decree 119/2020/ND-CP on penalties for administrative violations in journalistic and publishing activities in Vietnam
On October 07, 2020, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 119/2020/ND-CP on penalties for administrative violations in journalistic and publishing activities. One notable content of this Decree is the significant increase in fines for publishing sensational and clickbait information.
According to Article 8 of Decree 119/2020/ND-CP, for acts of publishing sensational and clickbait information in newspapers, newsletters, or special publications, fines range from 5,000,000 to 200,000,000 VND depending on the level of violation for organizations; for individuals, the fine is 1/2 of that for organizations. Currently, these fines under Article 8 of Decree 159/2013/ND-CP range from 200,000 VND to a maximum of 100,000,000 VND.
Above are 03 important legislative documents on administrative penalties effective in December with notable contents related to Customs - Import & Export, Tax - Fees - Charges, and Journalistic - Publishing in Vietnam.
Thuy Tram
