Administrative violation is an act of fault committed by an individual or organization, violating the provisions of the law on state management that is not a crime and, according to the provisions of the law, must be subject to administrative sanctions.
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Is there any criminal liability imposion for failing to pay administrative fines in Vietnam? (Illustrative image)
Clause 1, Article 78 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 states: "Within 10 days from the date of receipt of the sanction decision, the fined individual or organization must pay the fine at the State Treasury or transfer it to the State Treasury account mentioned in the sanction decision, except for cases where the fine is paid as prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article. If the deadline is missed, enforcement measures will be applied to execute the sanction decision, and for each day of late payment, the individual or organization violating will have to pay an additional 0.05% of the total unpaid fine."
However, the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 anticipates situations where one cannot afford to pay the fine or the fine amount is too large to be paid immediately and provides provisions for such cases:
1. Payment of fines in installments in Vietnam
Payment of fines in installments is applied under the following conditions:
- The fine is 20,000,000 VND or more for individuals and 200,000,000 VND or more for organizations;
- The individual or organization is experiencing significant economic hardship and has submitted a request to pay in installments. The individual's request must be verified by the People's Committee of the commune where they reside or the organization they study or work with. The organization’s request must be verified by the directly managing tax office or the superior organization.
Note: The time limit for paying fines in installments does not exceed 6 months from the effective date of the sanction decision; the fine can be paid in a maximum of 3 installments. The first installment must be at least 40% of the total fine amount.
2. Reduction or exemption of fines in Vietnam
Individuals fined 3,000,000 VND or more who are experiencing sudden and significant economic hardship due to natural disasters, catastrophes, fires, epidemics, terminal illness, or accidents, with confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune where they reside or the organization they study or work with, can be considered for a reduction or exemption of the remaining fine amount stipulated in the sanction decision.
Note: A request for reduction or exemption of the remaining or full fine must be submitted to the issuer of the sanction decision.
3. Postponement of fine execution in Vietnam
Fine execution can be postponed in cases where the individual fined 3,000,000 VND or more is experiencing significant, sudden economic hardship due to natural disasters, catastrophes, fires, epidemics, terminal illness, or accidents, with confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune where they reside or the organization they study or work with.
Note: The individual must submit a request to postpone the execution of the sanction decision to the agency that issued the sanction decision. The postponement period does not exceed 3 months from the date of the postponement decision.
4. Enforcement of the sanction decision by coercion
- Coercive enforcement of the sanction decision is applied when the fined individual or organization does not voluntarily comply with the sanction decision as stipulated in Article 73 of this Law.
- Measures of coercion include:
- Deduction of a portion of the salary or income, deduction from the violating individual's or organization's account;
- Seizure of assets equivalent in value to the fine amount for auction;
- Collection of money or other assets held by other individuals or organizations on behalf of the fined individual or organization in case they try to transfer assets after violation.
- Mandated implementation of remedial measures as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 28 of this Law.
Thus, if there is no money to pay the administrative fine, one of the above methods will be applied and there will be no criminal liability for not paying the administrative fine. However, if the fine is not too large, the violator should comply and pay within the deadline to avoid penalties. If the fine amount is too large, consider paying in installments or submit a request for reduction or exemption.
Le Hai
