NEW: Vietnam’s administrative penalties for illegal cross-border transport of goods and currency

Currently, there are no regulations on administrative penalties for illegal cross-border transport of goods and currency, but there is only criminal prosecution for the crime of illegal transport of goods or money across the border specified in Article 189 of the Criminal Code 2015, amended in 2017 of Vietnam, specifically as follows:

Article 189. Illegal transport of goods or money across the border

1. Any person who illegally transports the following goods across the border or between a free trade zone and the domestic market shall be liable to a fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 02 years community sentence or 03 - 24 months' imprisonment:

a) Goods, Vietnamese currency, foreign currencies, rare metals, gemstones assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 or under VND 100,000,000 but the offender has incurred an administrative penalty for the same offense or any of the offenses specified in Article 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196 and 200 hereof or has an unspent conviction for any of the aforementioned offenses, except in the circumstances specified in Article 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 304, 305, 306, 309 and 311 hereof;

b) Relics, antiques or items of historical or cultural value.

…

Moreover, from October 10, 2020, administrative penalties for illegal cross-border transport of goods and currency outside checkpoint areas which is not so serious that criminal prosecution may be brought are officially specified in Article 12 of Decree No. 96/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government as follows:

1. A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit is worth less than VND 10,000,000.

2. A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Committing the violation whose exhibit is worth from VND 10,000,000 to less than VND 50,000,000;

b) Illegal cross-border transport of cultural materials.

3. A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit is worth from VND 50,000,000 to less than VND 100,000,000.

4. A fine ranging from VND 40,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the exhibit is worth at least VND 100,000,000.

5. Additional penalties: Confiscation of the exhibit in the case of the violations mentioned in this Article, except for the case where the remedial measure set out in Clause 6 of this Article has been taken.

6. Remedial measures: The violator is compelled to destroy goods or items detrimental to human, animal and plant health and the environment, and indecent materials if any of the violations mentioned in this Article is committed.

This new regulation helps the sanctioning agency to have a specific handling direction for acts that are not serious enough to be criminally prosecuted for illegally transporting goods and currency across the border.

View more details at the Decree No. 96/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from October 10, 2020, replacing Decree No. 169/2013/NĐ-CP.

Le Hai

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