Penalties for administrative violations in Vietnam

Penalties for administrative violations in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Sanctioning forms and application principles in Vietnam

Article 21 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 amended in 2020 stipulates the sanctioning forms and application principles in Vietnam as follows:

- Forms of administrative sanctions include:

(1) Warning;

(2) Fines;

(3) Stripping off the right to use permits, professional practice certificates in a definite term; or suspension of operation in a definite term;

(4) Confiscating material evidences, means of administrative violation used to commit administrative violations (hereinafter called material evidences, means of administrative violation);

(5) Expulsion;

Note:

- Sanctioning forms specified in (1), (2) shall be defined and applied as principal sanctioning forms.

Sanctioning forms specified in (3) (4) (5) may be specified as additional sanctioning forms or principal sanctioning forms.

- A main sanction must be imposed, or one or multiple supplementary sanctions enclosed may be imposed, for each administrative violation.

Supplementary sanctions may accompany main sanctions, except the cases specified in clause 2 of Article 65 in the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012

2. Warning in Vietnam

In Article 22 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 amended in 2020, warnings are provided as follows:

Warning shall be applied to individuals and organizations that commit minor administrative violations, with extenuating circumstances and shall be applied warning form according to the regulations, or to all acts of administrative violations committed by minors aged between full 14 and fewer than 16. Warning shall be decided in writing.

3. Fines in Vietnam

Article 23 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 amended in 2020 stipulates fines as follows:

- The fine levels in sanctioning administrative violations range from VND 50,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 for individuals, VND 100,000 to VND 2,000,000 for organizations, except for those regulated in Clause 3, Article 24 the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012.

For urban areas of central cities, the fine levels may be higher, but not exceeding 02 times compared with the common levels applied for the same violations in the fields of road traffic; environmental protection; security, order and social security.

- The Government shall regulate the frame of fine levels or fines for specific administrative violations according to one of the following methods, but the highest fine frame does not exceed the maximum fine level specified in Article 24 the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012:

+ Defining the minimum, the maximum fines;

+ Defining the number of times, the percentage of the value and quantity of violation goods, material evidences, violated subjects or revenue, interest earned from acts of administrative violations.

-  Based on types of acts, fine brackets or penalty amounts specified in the Government's Decrees and specific local socio-economic management requirements:

People's Councils of centrally-affiliated cities shall have the right to decide fine brackets or specific penalty amounts for violations in the domains specified in Clause 1 of this Article but not exceeding the maximum penalty amounts for the respective fields specified in Article 24 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012.

- The specific penalty amount for an act of administrative violation is the average of amounts within the fine bracket imposed for that act; if there is any extenuating circumstance, the penalty amount may be reduced but not lower than the minimum limit of the fine bracket; if there is any aggravating circumstance, the penalty amount may be increased, but not exceeding the maximum limit of the fine bracket.

4. Definite deprivation of the right to use licenses, professional practice certificates or suspension of operation in definite time in Vietnam

Article 25 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 amended in 2020 stipulates the definite deprivation of the right to use licenses, professional practice certificates or suspension of operation in definite time as follows:

- The definite deprivation of the right to use licenses or professional practice certificates shall apply to individuals and organizations that have seriously violated the activities written in the licenses, professional practice certificates.

While being deprived of the right to use licenses and/or professional practice certificates, individuals and organizations must not carry out activities prescribed in the licenses or professional practice certificates.

- The suspension of operation in definite time is the sanctioning form that is applied for individuals, organizations committing acts of administrative violations in the following cases:

+ Partly suspension of operation causing serious consequences or practically causing serious consequences to the life, human health, environment for facilities manufacturing, trading and supplying services being required to possess licenses according to the law regulations.

+ Partly or entirely suspension of manufacturing, trading, supplying services or other activities causing serious consequences or practically causing serious consequences to the life, human health, environment and order, social safety, that are required to possess licenses according to the law regulations.

The time limit for forfeiture of the rights to use licenses, practicing certificates, or suspension of specific activities imposed as a penalty for an act of administrative violation is the average of total time length of the time frame for such forfeiture or suspension of penalty for that act; if there is any extenuating circumstance, the time limit for such forfeiture or suspension may be reduced, but not lower than the minimum limit of the time frame for such forfeiture or suspension; if there is any aggravating circumstance, the time limit for such forfeiture or suspension may be increased, but not exceeding the maximum limit of the time frame for such forfeiture or suspension.

5. Confiscation of material evidences and means used for commission of administrative violations in Vietnam

In Article 26 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 amended in 2020, the confiscation of material evidences and means used for commission of administrative violations is as follows:

Confiscating material evidences and means used to commit administrative violations means the requisition of things, money, goods and/or means directly involved in the administrative violations into the State fund; applied for serious administrative violations due to the intentional fault of individuals, organizations.

6. Expulsion in Vietnam

Article 27 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 amended in 2020 stipulates expulsion as follows:

Expulsion means compelling foreigners who have committed acts of administrative violations in Vietnam to leave the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Ngoc Nhi

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