Highlights of Legal Documents for Last Week in Vietnam (from September 3, 2023, to September 8, 2023)

1. Increasing Fines for Selling Unhygienic Street Food in Vietnam

On September 4, 2018, the Government of Vietnam passed Decree 115/2018/ND-CP, replacing Decree 178/2013/ND-CP, prescribing the administrative penalties for violations related to food safety.

New penalty levels shall be imposed on violations of food safety conditions in street food business in Vietnam:

A fine from 500 thousand VND to 1 million VND (instead of 300-500 thousand VND) shall be imposed on the following violations:

- Selling food without tables, cabinets, shelves, or equipment;

- Food is not covered to avoid dust contamination; has insects or harmful animals;

- Not using gloves when directly handling cooked food or ready-to-eat meals.

A fine from 1 - 3 million VND (instead of 500 thousand VND to 1 million VND) shall be imposed on the following violations:

- Using unsanitary water to prepare food;

- Using packaging that does not ensure food safety;

For more details, refer to Decree 115/2018/ND-CP effective from October 20, 2018.

2. Forms for Labor Utilization Plan in Enterprise Equitization in Vietnam

Circular 07/2018/TT-BLDTBXH on the process for building labor utilization plans during enterprise equitization includes the following forms:

- The list of employees, the representative of the enterprise's capital in other enterprises at the time of enterprise valuation (Form No. 1);

- The list of employees, the representative of the enterprise's capital in other enterprises continuing to be used (Form No. 2);

- The list of employees, the representative of the enterprise's capital in other enterprises retiring (Form No. 3);

- The list of employees, the representative of the enterprise's capital in other enterprises terminating labor contracts (Form No. 4);

- The list of employees, the representative of the enterprise's capital in other enterprises who cannot be arranged for work and must terminate labor contracts (Form No. 5);

- The list of employees to share the remaining balance of the reward fund in cash (Form No. 6);

- The list of employees, managers, and controllers to share the remaining balance of the welfare fund in cash (Form No. 7);

- Persons eligible to buy shares at preferential prices (Form No. 8);

- The list of representatives for households contracting to buy shares at preferential prices (Form No. 9);

- The list of employees and managers of secondary enterprises buying shares at preferential prices (Form No. 10);

- The list of representatives for households contracting secondary enterprises to buy shares at preferential prices (Form No. 11).

Circular 07/2018/TT-BLDTBXH is effective from September 15, 2018.

3. New Forms for Handling Civil Matters in Vietnam

Resolution 04/2018/NQ-HDTP was adopted by the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court in Vietnam on August 9, 2018, and is effective from October 1, 2018.

It regulates 33 forms used in the process of accepting and handling civil matters at the People's Court, such as:

- Application for handling civil matters (Form No. 01-VDS);

- Application for withdrawing the request to handle civil matters (Form No. 02-VDS);

- Confirmation receipt of the application to handle civil matters (Form No. 03-VDS);

- Notice of modification, supplementation of the application to handle civil matters (Form No. 04-VDS);

- …

Simultaneously, Resolution 04 abolishes forms No. 92, 93 promulgated together with Resolution 01/2017/NQ-HDTP.

4. Additional Cases Subject to Workforce Reduction from October 15, 2018 in Vietnam

From October 15, 2018, Decree 113/2018/ND-CP adds several cases of officials and public employees in the workforce, and officials and public employees in communes receiving salaries from the state budget,... subject to workforce reduction. To be specific:

- Officials and public employees who are leaders or managers no longer holding their positions due to organizational restructuring as decided by competent authorities, voluntarily implement workforce reduction, and are approved by their direct management agencies;

- Failing to meet education standards as stipulated for their current positions and no other suitable positions are available, and retraining cannot be arranged to standardize professional skills;

- Having a field of study not suitable for their current positions leading to restricted ability to complete assigned tasks, and no other jobs can be arranged;

- Having 02 consecutive years at the time of workforce reduction consideration, with one year classified as completing tasks and one year not completing tasks but no other suitable job can be arranged.

For more details, refer to Decree 113/2018/ND-CP amending and supplementing Decree 108/2014/ND-CP on workforce reduction policy.

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