Compilation of New Policies Effective from Mid-September

1. Issuance of 39 new state audit standards

This content is stipulated in Decision 02/2016/QD-KTNN System of state audit standards issued by the State Auditor General.

The state audit standards system includes 39 state audit standards and a list of terms used within the state audit standards system.

Decision 02/2016/QD-KTNN comes into effect from September 15, 2016, replacing Decision 06/2010/QD-KTNN, Decision 01/2014/QD-KTNN, Decision 02/2014/QD-KTNN, Decision 03/2014/QD-KTNN, and Decision 04/2014/QD-KTNN.

1. Payment of housing allowance discrepancies in salary

Circular 124/2016/TT-BTC provides guidelines for the payment of housing allowance discrepancies for civil service housing when the renting of commercial housing incurs higher expenses than that of civil service housing, effective from September 19, 2016.

The tenant must pay a rent amount not exceeding 10% of their current salary at the time of renting, and the procedure for paying the remaining difference is as follows:

- Based on the decision regarding commercial housing rent for civil service housing as per Clause 2, Article 25 of Decree 99/2015/ND-CP, the managing agency of the tenant will send a document to the civil service housing management agency to determine the rent payable and the difference between the rent and the actual amount to be paid.- The amount of the difference paid by the state budget will be included in the annual expenditure estimate of the unit.- Following the approved estimate, the managing agency will pay the difference monthly according to the salary payment schedule as regulated.

1. Exemption and reduction of export tax (XK) on environmentally friendly products

The exemption and reduction of export tax for environmentally friendly products and products from recycling and waste treatment activities as per Decree 19/2015/ND-CP is implemented as per Circular 128/2016/TT-BTC. According to this:

- Exempt export tax for products listed in the export tariff and certified with the Vietnamese Green Label;- Reduce 50% of the export tax rate for products from recycling and waste treatment activities listed in the export tariff certified by the competent state authority as per Clause 2, Article 44 of Decree 19/2015/ND-CP;- If products are not listed in the export tariff, declare the corresponding code in the preferential import tariff as per Circular 182/2015/TT-BTC and state the export tax rate as 0%;- If export tax has been paid in excess, it will be handled as per Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC.

See detailed content in Circular 128/2016/TT-BTC effective from September 23, 2016.

1. Policy on legal aid for the poor

Decision 32/2016/QD-TTg regarding the policy on legal aid (TGPL) and support for participation in legal proceedings for the poor and ethnic minorities in specially difficult areas for the period 2016 - 2020 comes into effect from September 22, 2016.

The support activities for the above-mentioned subjects include:

- Providing support in litigious cases with complex or typical nature (as guided by the Ministry of Justice).- Supporting tuition fees for public employees of the state TGPL centers in localities with poor districts and communes, to be eligible for lawyer training courses with a commitment to return to work for at least 02 years post-training.- Public communication on TGPL in poor localities and particularly difficult communes, including:- Establishing a TGPL hotline;- Creating and broadcasting TGPL sections and columns in both Vietnamese and ethnic languages on local radio stations;- Organizing communication campaigns on TGPL at grassroots levels.

See the support levels for the above activities in Decision 32/2016/QD-TTg, replacing Decision 52/2010/QD-TTg and Decision 59/2012/QD-TTg.

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