Author: Vu Mai Trang

BIZCONSULT THAM GIA ĐÓNG GÓP Ý KIẾN THAM LUẬN TẠI HỘI THẢO “LẤY Ý KIẾN GÓP Ý ĐỐI VỚI CÁC DỰ THẢO ÁN LỆ VÀ DỰ THẢO BÁO CÁO NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ PHÁT TRIỂN ÁN LỆ TẠI VIỆT NAM”

“Ngày 09/12/2019, Hội thảo “Lấy ý kiến góp ý đối với các dự thảo án lệ và dự thảo báo cáo nghiên cứu về phát triển án lệ tại Việt Nam” do Tòa án Nhân dân Tối cao phối hợp cùng liên minh Châu Âu trong khuôn khổ chương trình “Tăng cường pháp luật và tư pháp tại Việt Nam” (EU JULE) đã diễn ra tại Hà Nội. Hội thảo được chủ trì bởi PGS.TS Nguyễn Hòa Bình, Bí thư TW Đảng, Chánh án TANDTC, Tham gia Hội thảo còn có các Phó Chánh án TANDTC, Thẩm phán TANDTC, lãnh đạo các đơn vị trực thuộc TANDTC, lãnh đạo các Tòa án tỉnh và các nhà khoa học thuộc các Trường Đại học Luật Hà Nội, Học viện Cảnh sát nhân dân, Hội Luật gia Việt Nam… Về phía UNDP, có sự tham dự của bà Caitlin Wiesen – Trưởng đại diện UNDP tại Việt Nam.

Tại hội thảo, Luật sư Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa – Thạc sĩ Luật Dân sự, Thương mại Cộng hòa Pháp, Luật sư thành viên của Công ty Luật TNHH bizconsult đã đóng góp ý kiến tham luận và đề xuất giải pháp nhằm tiếp tục xây dựng và phát triển án lệ tại Việt Nam. Bà Caitlin Wiesen cho biết UNDP và cộng đồng quốc tế rất quan tâm đến vấn đề công nhận và cho thi hành tại Việt Nam phán quyết của Trọng tài nước ngoài nên họ rất mong trong tương lai gần sẽ có án lệ về lĩnh vực này. Đây cũng là nội dung do bizconsult đề xuất khi trình bày tham luận.
Dự kiến trong thời gian sắp tới, các luật sư tranh tụng của Công ty Luật Bizconsult sẽ quan tâm và cố gắng tham dự các hội thảo, đóng góp ý kiến cho các dự thảo… về các lĩnh vực, vấn đề liên quan đến pháp luật về tố tụng của Việt Nam.”

https://tapchitoaan.vn/bai-viet/thoi-su/hoi-thao-ve-phat-trien-an-le-tai-viet-nam

BIZCONSULT LAW FIRM CONTRIBUTED COMMENTS AT THE CONFERENCE “COLLECTING COMMENTS ON DRAFT LAWS AND DRAFT RESEARCH REPORTS ON CASE LAW DEVELOPMENT IN VIETNAM”

On December 9, 2019, the Conference “Collecting comments on draft laws and draft research reports on case law development in Vietnam” by the Supreme People’s Court in collaboration with the European Union within the framework of the program “Strengthening the law and justice in Vietnam” (EU JULE) took place in Hanoi. The Conference was chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoa Binh, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court. Presenting at the Conference are Deputy Chief Justices of the Supreme People Court, Judges of the Supreme People Court, heads of the SPC’s subordinate units, Chief Justices of the Provincial Courts and experts from Hanoi Law University, The People’s Police Academy, Vietnam Lawyers Association … On the side of UNDP in Vietnam, there is Mrs. Caitlin Wiesen – UNDP Representative in Vietnam.

At the conference, Lawyer Nguyen Trong Nghia – Master of Civil and Commercial Law, Republic of France, Partner of Bizconsult Law Firm contributed comments and proposed solutions for precedents development in Vietnam. According to Mrs. Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP and the international community were very interested in the issue of recognition and enforcement foreign arbitral awards in Vietnam and were looking forward to having a case law in this area in the near future. This content was proposed by bizconsult when delivering the presentation.

Bizconsult’s litigation lawyers are paying attention to and attempting to attend other seminars and contribute opinions, ideas to the drafts … on the fields and issues related to the procedural law of Vietnam.

https://tapchitoaan.vn/bai-viet/thoi-su/hoi-thao-ve-phat-trien-an-le-tai-viet-nam

Legal issues on peer-to-peer lending business In Vietnam

Lưu ý: “bài viết này chỉ phát hành tiếng Anh cho tạp chí nước ngoài Asian- Mena Counsel”

By Ha Thi Hai.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has been growing rapidly in Vietnam, along with the develop­ment of financial technology. There are a number of such enterprises using online platforms to con­nect borrowers and lenders, including Tima.vn, Vaymuon.vn, Fungo.vn and Lendbiz.

What is the principal legal framework of Vietnam for P2P lending business?

As a general principle under the Law on Investment of Vietnam, P2P lending is neither a prohibited nor a conditional business line. This is probably the most favourable legal basis for P2P lending to be conducted in Vietnam in the current context.

With no specific regulation promulgating P2P lending, it may be considered as an e-commerce trading platform, with the “buyer, seller” being the borrower and lender, and “goods, services” being lending activity. However, continuous lending for profit is deemed banking activity and is restricted to credit institutions pursuant to Vietnamese laws. On the other hand, it is prohibited by law to take advantage of the name of e-commerce business activities for illegal capital raising from other traders, organisations and individuals. This is probably the reason why almost all P2P lending businesses fail to register as an e-commerce trading platform in Vietnam.

In practice, because P2P lending companies and all other companies in Vietnam have to register their business activities, P2P lending companies in Vietnam mostly register as investment consultancy, information search services via contracts, financial consultancy supporting services, brokerage activities, etc.

In the current context, what legal issues may a P2P lending company in Vietnam be faced with?

First of all, regarding business activities that are not governed by laws and imply potential risks to the society that may not be managed by state agencies, there is a possibility that the Vietnamese state agencies will consider risk-mitigating measures or enact a regulatory framework for the purpose of management. In fact, the State Bank of Vietnam is currently developing a plan to allow a number of companies that have good financial capacity to pilot P2P lending businesses. After that, the State Bank of Vietnam may add P2P lending to the group of conditional business lines to tighten its management.

The second issue relates to loan interest. As there is no governing regulation, the lending interest rate in civil transactions through P2P lending under the Civil Code 2015 shall be agreed by the parties, but must not exceed 20 percent per year of the loan. It is noted that if the interest rate in a civil transaction is five times higher than the maximum interest rate specified in the Civil Code, earns an illegal profit of from VND30 million to under VND100 million or recommits this offence despite the fact that he/she has incurred an administrative penalty or has an unspent conviction for the same offence, it may constitute a crime of usury in civil transactions under the Criminal Code.

The third matter is responsibilities of P2P lending business to the loan. Due to the absence of legal provisions governing the P2P lending business and responsibilities of P2P lending companies, in the current context, the responsibilities of P2P lending company in case the borrower fails to pay the debt based on the civil laws and the agreements signed between the parties, as well as the rules and regulations of the P2P lending platform which are developed and published on their websites. Therefore, if the agreements, rules and regulations are not well prepared, loans are not well managed, KYC appraisal procedure is absent or not reliable enough, it shall easily lead to an increase of bad debts and complaints about the responsibilities of P2P lending companies when bad debts arise.

The fourth is the issue of payment. A number of P2P lending businesses act as payment intermediaries between borrower and lender for the purpose of controlling information of the loan and fee collection. This activity may face the risk of being considered as a payment intermediary business, which must be licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam. The provision of payment intermediary services without a licence of the State Bank of Vietnam may be subject to administrative fines and confiscation of proceeds.

Fifth, regarding anti-money laundering, organisations conducting financial activities are currently required to comply with very strict anti-money laundering regulations by the Law on Anti- Money Laundering. P2P lending activities that have not been governed by anti-money laundering regulations may lead to the risk that the P2P lending business is unable to control money laundering activities that may arise in loan transactions and potential risks from these money laundering activities.

Learning from the lesson of the explosion of uncontrolled P2P lending in China, leading to the collapse of hundreds of P2P platforms in 2018 and the recent trend of redirection of some P2P lending platforms to Vietnam, the Government will issue legal regulations in the coming time to manage, control, prevent risks and other forms of corruption from P2P lending in Vietnam. Therefore, during this time, P2P lending investors need to do research on relevant Vietnamese regulations carefully to orient their business activities and to avoid the risks of violating the laws. Investors may also consider proactively submitting their business plans to the SBV for consideration and approval to legally pilot this business activity.

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Legal issues on peer-to-peer lending business In Vietnam

By Ha Thi Hai.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has been growing rapidly in Vietnam, along with the develop­ment of financial technology. There are a number of such enterprises using online platforms to con­nect borrowers and lenders, including Tima.vn, Vaymuon.vn, Fungo.vn and Lendbiz.

What is the principal legal framework of Vietnam for P2P lending business?

As a general principle under the Law on Investment of Vietnam, P2P lending is neither a prohibited nor a conditional business line. This is probably the most favourable legal basis for P2P lending to be conducted in Vietnam in the current context.

With no specific regulation promulgating P2P lending, it may be considered as an e-commerce trading platform, with the “buyer, seller” being the borrower and lender, and “goods, services” being lending activity. However, continuous lending for profit is deemed banking activity and is restricted to credit institutions pursuant to Vietnamese laws. On the other hand, it is prohibited by law to take advantage of the name of e-commerce business activities for illegal capital raising from other traders, organisations and individuals. This is probably the reason why almost all P2P lending businesses fail to register as an e-commerce trading platform in Vietnam.

In practice, because P2P lending companies and all other companies in Vietnam have to register their business activities, P2P lending companies in Vietnam mostly register as investment consultancy, information search services via contracts, financial consultancy supporting services, brokerage activities, etc.

In the current context, what legal issues may a P2P lending company in Vietnam be faced with?

First of all, regarding business activities that are not governed by laws and imply potential risks to the society that may not be managed by state agencies, there is a possibility that the Vietnamese state agencies will consider risk-mitigating measures or enact a regulatory framework for the purpose of management. In fact, the State Bank of Vietnam is currently developing a plan to allow a number of companies that have good financial capacity to pilot P2P lending businesses. After that, the State Bank of Vietnam may add P2P lending to the group of conditional business lines to tighten its management.

The second issue relates to loan interest. As there is no governing regulation, the lending interest rate in civil transactions through P2P lending under the Civil Code 2015 shall be agreed by the parties, but must not exceed 20 percent per year of the loan. It is noted that if the interest rate in a civil transaction is five times higher than the maximum interest rate specified in the Civil Code, earns an illegal profit of from VND30 million to under VND100 million or recommits this offence despite the fact that he/she has incurred an administrative penalty or has an unspent conviction for the same offence, it may constitute a crime of usury in civil transactions under the Criminal Code.

The third matter is responsibilities of P2P lending business to the loan. Due to the absence of legal provisions governing the P2P lending business and responsibilities of P2P lending companies, in the current context, the responsibilities of P2P lending company in case the borrower fails to pay the debt based on the civil laws and the agreements signed between the parties, as well as the rules and regulations of the P2P lending platform which are developed and published on their websites. Therefore, if the agreements, rules and regulations are not well prepared, loans are not well managed, KYC appraisal procedure is absent or not reliable enough, it shall easily lead to an increase of bad debts and complaints about the responsibilities of P2P lending companies when bad debts arise.

The fourth is the issue of payment. A number of P2P lending businesses act as payment intermediaries between borrower and lender for the purpose of controlling information of the loan and fee collection. This activity may face the risk of being considered as a payment intermediary business, which must be licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam. The provision of payment intermediary services without a licence of the State Bank of Vietnam may be subject to administrative fines and confiscation of proceeds.

Fifth, regarding anti-money laundering, organisations conducting financial activities are currently required to comply with very strict anti-money laundering regulations by the Law on Anti- Money Laundering. P2P lending activities that have not been governed by anti-money laundering regulations may lead to the risk that the P2P lending business is unable to control money laundering activities that may arise in loan transactions and potential risks from these money laundering activities.

Learning from the lesson of the explosion of uncontrolled P2P lending in China, leading to the collapse of hundreds of P2P platforms in 2018 and the recent trend of redirection of some P2P lending platforms to Vietnam, the Government will issue legal regulations in the coming time to manage, control, prevent risks and other forms of corruption from P2P lending in Vietnam. Therefore, during this time, P2P lending investors need to do research on relevant Vietnamese regulations carefully to orient their business activities and to avoid the risks of violating the laws. Investors may also consider proactively submitting their business plans to the SBV for consideration and approval to legally pilot this business activity.

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LEGAL UPDATE – NOVEMBER 2019 – INSURANCE BUSINESS LAWS

NEW REGULATIONS ON INSURANCE BUSINESS LAWS

By Nguyen Thu Trang

Legal Assistant

Law on Insurance Business, after nearly 20 years of implementation, has brought positive effects to the development of economy and society in Vietnam. In order to meet the commitments in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Law No. 42/2019/QH14 dated 14 June 2019 on amendment and supplement of a number of articles of Law on Insurance Business and Law on Intellectual Property (“Law No. 42”) was ratified by the National Assembly. Law No. 42 will officially take effect from 1 November 2019, in which some notable provisions on insurance business are as follows:

1. Supplement of regulations on insurance auxiliary service

This type of insurance business is newly stated by laws, in particular, insurance auxiliary service is an integral part of insurance business activities, implemented by insurance enterprise, insurance brokerage enterprise, other organizations and individuals for profit purpose. This service consists of 5 activities: insurance consultancy, insurance risk assessment, actuarial analysis, insurance loss assessment and insurance claim assistance.

According to Clause 2, Article 3 of Law No. 42, insurance auxiliary service is supplemented to List of conditional business lines specified in Annex 4 of the amended Law on Investment.

2. Supplement of regulations on provision of insurance auxiliary service

Insurance consultancy as an independent insurance auxiliary service is different from insurance products sale consultancy implemented by insurance agents and insurance brokerage enterprise under current Law on Insurance business, therefore, Law No. 42 supplements definition and provides conditions for qualifications of individual who provides insurance consultancy service in of Clause 4, Article 1 Law No. 42 (Clause 1, Article 93b). Accordingly, in addition to conditions for legal capacity, individual who provides insurance auxiliary service is required to have bachelor’s degree or higher majoring in insurance or bachelor’s degree or higher in another major and a certificate of training in insurance consultancy.

Moreover, organization providing insurance auxiliary services is required to fulfill the conditions for legal status of entity and conditions for individual providing insurance auxiliary service as stated in of Clause 4, Article 1 Law No. 42 (Clause 2, Article 93b) above.

In order to create conditions for organizations and individuals currently engaging in insurance auxiliary service to have time to fulfill the conditions for provision of that service and to ensure the sanctions, Clause 1, Article 4 of Law No. 42 states that such organizations and individuals shall have 1 year to meet the above conditions.

3. Professional liability insurance to be mandatory when providing insurance auxiliary service

Clause 4, Article 1 Law No. 42 (Clause 3, Article 93a) states that individuals providing insurance consultancy service is obliged to purchase professional liability insurance for provision of insurance consultancy service; insurance auxiliary service providers shall also purchase professional liability insurance in accordance with each type of insurance auxiliary service.

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BẢN TIN PHÁP LÝ – THÁNG 11, 2019 – LUẬT KINH DOANH BẢO HIỂM

QUY ĐỊNH MỚI VỀ LUẬT KINH DOANH BẢO HIỂM


Nguyễn Thu Trang
Trợ lý pháp lý

Luật Kinh doanh bảo hiểm, sau gần 20 năm thi hành, đã có những tác động tích cực đối với sự phát triển kinh tế – xã hội của đất nước. Để đáp ứng cam kết tại Hiệp định Đối tác Toàn diện và Tiến bộ xuyên Thái Bình Dương (CPTPP), Quốc hội đã thông qua Luật số 42/2019/QH14 ngày 14/06/2019 sửa đổi, bổ sung một số điều của Luật Kinh doanh bảo hiểm, Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ (“Luật số 42”). Luật số 42 sẽ chính thức có hiệu lực thi hành từ ngày 01/11/2019, trong đó một số nội dung đáng chú ý liên quan đến kinh doanh bảo hiểm như sau:

1. Bổ sung quy định về dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm

Đây là loại hình kinh doanh bảo hiểm mới được quy định, cụ thể, dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm là một bộ phận cấu thành của hoạt động kinh doanh bảo hiểm, do doanh nghiệp bảo hiểm, doanh nghiệp môi giới bảo hiểm và tổ chức, cá nhân khác thực hiện nhằm mục đích sinh lợi. Dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm bao gồm 5 hoạt động: tư vấn bảo hiểm, đánh giá rủi ro bảo hiểm, tính toán bảo hiểm, giám định tổn thất bảo hiểm và hỗ trợ giải quyết bồi thường bảo hiểm.

Dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm cũng được bổ sung vào Danh mục ngành, nghề đầu tư kinh doanh có điều kiện tại Phụ lục 4 Luật Đầu tư sửa đổi theo quy định tại Khoản 2, Điều 3 Luật số 42.

2. Bổ sung quy định về cung cấp dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm

Tư vấn bảo hiểm với tư cách là một dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm độc lập có sự khác biệt so với việc tư vấn bán sản phẩm bảo hiểm do đại lý bảo hiểm và doanh nghiệp môi giới bảo hiểm thực hiện theo Luật Kinh doanh bảo hiểm hiện hành, do đó, Luật số 42 đã bổ sung khái niệm và quy định điều kiện về trình độ chuyên môn của cá nhân cung cấp dịch vụ tư vấn bảo hiểm tại Khoản 4, Điều 1 Luật số 42 (Khoản 1 Điều 93b). Theo đó, ngoài điều kiện về năng lực hành vi dân sự, cá nhân cung cấp dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm phải có văn bằng đại học trở lên về chuyên ngành bảo hiểm hoặc văn bằng từ đại học trở lên về chuyên ngành khác và chứng chỉ về tư vấn bảo hiểm.

Bên cạnh đó, tổ chức cung cấp dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm cũng phải đáp ứng đầy đủ các điều kiện về tư cách pháp nhân và điều kiện đối với cá nhân cung cấp dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm nêu trên theo quy định tại Khoản 4, Điều 1 Luật số 42 (Khoản 2 Điều 93b).

Nhằm tạo điều kiện cho tổ chức, cá nhân đang hoạt động phụ trợ bảo hiểm có thời gian chuẩn bị để đáp ứng các điều kiện cung cấp dịch vụ và đảm bảo chế tài thực hiện, Khoản 1, Điều 4 Luật số 42 đã quy định thời hạn 1 năm để tổ chức, cá nhân cung cấp dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm đáp ứng các điều kiện trên.

3. Bắt buộc mua bảo hiểm trách nhiệm nghề nghiệp khi cung cấp dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm

Khoản 4, Điều 1 Luật số 42 (Khoản 3 Điều 93a) quy định cá nhân cung cấp dịch vụ tư vấn bảo hiểm phải mua bảo hiểm trách nhiệm nghề nghiệp cho việc cung cấp dịch vụ tư vấn bảo hiểm; tổ chức cung cấp dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm cũng phải mua bảo hiểm trách nhiệm nghề nghiệp phù hợp với từng loại hình dịch vụ phụ trợ bảo hiểm.

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BẢN TIN PHÁP LÝ – THÁNG 11, 2019 – NGHỊ ĐỊNH 75/2019

NHỮNG QUY ĐỊNH MỚI VỀ XỬ PHẠT VI PHẠM HÀNH CHÍNH TRONG LĨNH VỰC CẠNH TRANH

Nguyễn Tú Oanh – Trợ lý luật sư

Nhìn chung, Nghị định 75/2019 ban hành đã đáp ứng và tương thích với những thay đổi, điểm mới tại Luật cạnh tranh 2018 như sau:Ngày 26/09/2019, Chính Phủ đã ban hành Nghị định số 75/2019/NĐ-CP (“Nghị định 75/2019”) quy định về xử phạt vi phạm hành chính trong lĩnh vực cạnh tranh, chính thức có hiệu lực vào ngày 01/12/2019 và thay thế Nghị định số 71/2014/NĐ-CP ngày 21/07/2014 (“Nghị định 71/2014”).

Đối tượng áp dụng của Nghị định 75 tương tự với Luật cạnh tranh 2018. Theo đó, Nghị định 75/2019 áp dụng cả đối với cơ quan, tổ chức, cá nhân trong nước và nước ngoài có liên quan. Trường hợp tổ chức nước ngoài vi phạm Luật cạnh tranh 2018 có thể bị xử phạt theo quy định tại Nghị định 75/2019.

Nghị định 75/2019 quy định chi tiết hành vi vi phạm cạnh tranh hơn so với Nghị định 71/2014. Cụ thể, hành vi vi phạm hành chính về cạnh tranh theo Nghị định 75/2019 gồm: (i) Hành vi vi phạm quy định về thỏa thuận hạn chế cạnh tranh; (ii) Hành vi vi phạm quy định về lạm dụng vị trí thống lĩnh thị trường, lạm dụng vị trí độc quyền; (iii) Hành vi vi phạm quy định về tập trung kinh tế; (iv) Hành vi vi phạm quy định về cạnh tranh không lành mạnh; và (v) Hành vi vi phạm quy định pháp luật về cạnh tranh khác.

Ngoài chi tiết về hành vi vi phạm cạnh tranh, Nghị định 75/2019 còn nêu chi tiết các tình tiết tăng nặng, tình tiết giảm nhẹ (trước đây được quy định tại Điều 85 Nghị định 116/2005/ND-CP). Trong đó các tình tiết giảm nhẹ chủ yếu phát sinh từ việc tự nguyện khai báo, khắc phục vi phạm, vi phạm do bị ép buộc hoặc bị lệ thuộc, vi phạm lần đầu. Ngược lại, tình tiết tăng năng áp dụng đối với vi phạm có tổ chức, vi phạm nhiều lần, tái phạm, cố ý che dấu hành vi vi phạm…

Nghị định 75/2019 đã sửa đổi, bổ sung quy định về mức phạt tiền tương ứng với các quy định được thay đổi tại Luật cạnh tranh 2018. Cụ thể, Nghị định 75/2019 quy định từng mức phạt riêng tối đa cho từng hành vi vi phạm thỏa thuận hạn chế cạnh tranh; lạm dụng vị trí thống lĩnh thị trường, vị trí độc quyền; và tập trung kinh tế và dựa trên tổng doanh thu của doanh nghiệp có hành vi vi phạm trên thị trường liên quan trong năm tài chính liền kề trước năm thực hiện hành vi vi phạm. Điều này giúp các cơ quan có thẩm quyền xác định mức phạt đối với từng hành vi một cách chính xác về bản chất cũng như thuận tiện cho việc áp dụng.

Một điểm thay đổi đáng chú ý nữa là mức phạt tối đa cho hành vi vi phạm quy định về cạnh tranh không lành mạnh theo quy định tại Nghị định 75/2019 tăng hơn 10 lần so với Nghị định 71/2014, cụ thể là tăng từ 200 triệu VNĐ lên đến 2 tỷ VND. Sự thay đổi này cho thấy sự quan tâm của các nhà làm luật đối với hành vi cạnh tranh không lành mạnh, cũng như ý định kiểm soát/hạn chế các vi phạm về cạnh tranh không lành mạnh trên thị trường.

Đáp ứng theo các điều khoản mới của Luật cạnh tranh 2018, Nghị định 75/2019 đã bổ sung thêm hành vi vi phạm và mức phạt tiền đối với hành vi cung cấp thông tin, vận động, kêu gọi, ép buộc hoặc tổ chức để doanh nghiệp thực hiện hành vi hạn chế cạnh tranh, cạnh tranh không lành mạnh. Theo đó, hình thức xử phạt chính cho hành vi này có thể lên đến 50 triệu VNĐ, ngoài ra đối tượng vi phạm còn bị áp dụng một số hình thức xử phạt bổ sung và biện pháp khắc phục hậu quả là buộc cải chính công khai.

Cơ quan có thẩm quyền xử phạt các hành vi vi phạm pháp luật cạnh tranh là Ủy ban Cạnh tranh Quốc gia, Thanh tra hoặc Chánh thanh tra Bộ Công thương, trong đó Ủy ban Cạnh tranh Quốc gia là cơ quan mới được thành lập trên cơ sở hợp nhất Cục Cạnh tranh và Bảo vệ người tiêu dùng với Hội đồng Cạnh tranh.

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MONTHLY LEGAL UPDATE – NOVEMBER 2019 – DECREE 75/2019

NEW REGULATIONS ON THE PENALTIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS AGAINST COMPETITION LAWS

By Nguyen Tu Oanh
Legal Assistant

On 26 September 2019, the Government has promulgated the Decree No. 75/2019/ND-CP (the “Decree 75/2019”) on the penalties for administrative violations against regulations on competition which shall take effect from 01 December 2019 and replace the Decree No. 71/2014/NĐ-CP dated 21 July 2014 (the “Decree 71/2014”).

In general, the Decree 75/2019 has met the demand on and been consistent with the changes and new points in the Law on competition 2018 as follows:

The applicable subject of the Decree 75/2019 is similar to that one in the Law on competition 2018. Accordingly, Decree 75/2019 is applied for any relevant domestic and foreign authorities, organizations and individuals. It means that if a foreign organization violates the Law on competition 2018, the organization may be imposed a penalty under the Decree 75/2019.

The provisions in Decree 75/2019 on administrative violations against regulations of the competition law are more detailed than the same in Decree 71/2014. Particularly, the administrative violations against regulations of the competition law under the Decree 75/2019 including: (i) Violations against regulations on anti-competitive agreements; (ii) Violations against regulations on the abuse of dominant position or exclusive position; (iii) Violations against regulations on economic concentrations; (iv) Violations against regulations on unfair competition; (v) Violations against other provisions in the competition law.

Besides detailing violations against regulations of the competition law, Decree 75/2019 also sets forth the mitigating and aggravating circumstances into particulars (as stipulated previously in Article 85 of the Decree No. 116/2005/ND-CP). In which the mitigating circumstances mainly come from the voluntary in declaration, remedy for violations, the violations due to coercion or dependence on others, first-time violations. In contrary, the aggravating circumstances are applied for the organized violations, violation which has been committed for more than once or repeated, the deliberate concealment of violations…

The Decree 75/2019 has amended, supplemented the regulations on fines which are consistent with the changed provisions in the Law on competition 2018. Particularly, Decree 75/2019 stipulates separate maximum fines for each violation against regulations on anti-competitive agreements; regulations on the abuse of dominant position or exclusive position; and regulations on economic concentrations and the fine is calculated based on total turnover of the violating enterprise earned from the relevant market in the preceding fiscal year in which the violations are made. This provision helps competent authorities to define the fine amount to each violation accurately on its nature as well as to be easier for the application of fines to violations.

Another noteworthy point is the maximum fine to the violations against regulations on unfair competition under the Decree 75/2015 is increased ten times in comparison with the same in the Decree 71/2014, specifically it grew from VND 200,000,000 to VND 2,000,000,000. Such change shows the attention of the legislators to violations against regulations on unfair competition and their intention in controlling/restricting these violations on the market.

To satisfy new regulations of the Law on competition 2018, Decree 75/2019 has added provisions on the violations and fines to actions of providing information for or mobilizing, inciting, coercing or enabling enterprises to engage in anti-competition or unfair competition activities. Accordingly, the main penalty to the violations could be up to VND 50,000,000, additionally the violating entities may be imposed other additional penalties and remedies such as the public correction of information.

The competent authorities for deciding penalties to violations are National Competition Committee, Inspections or the chief Inspector of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, of which National Competition Committee is a new authority established by the mergence between Competition and Consumer Authority and Competition Committee.

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Use of public property as payment in build-transfer projects

Lưu ý: “bài viết này chỉ phát hành tiếng Anh cho tạp chí nước ngoài Asian- Mena Counsel”

By Huynh Hoang Sang.

The Government recently promulgated Decree No.69/2019/ND-CP on the utilisation of public property for making payment to investors upon execution of construction projects in the form of build-transfer contracts (BT Contract) (Decree 69/2019). Decree 69/2019 replaced Decision No. 23/2015/QD-TTg (Decision 23) and takes effect from October 1, 2019.

In the past, Decision 23 allowed the State to make payment only by land funds to investors executing construction investment projects in the form of build-transfer (BT Project). Otherwise, Decree 69/2019 provides that the State could expend the public property including (i) land funds; (ii) land, houses and other assets on land; (iii) infrastructure assets used for the national interest, public interest; and (iv) other types of public properties (according to the Law on management and use of public property). The expansion of the extent of public properties under Decree 69/2019 is reasonable and in line with the Law on management and use of public property 2017 and further adaptable to the need of BT Projects. Besides that, proceeds from public properties auctions could also be used to pay investors for execution of BT Projects in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and Law on State Budget. The expansion of subject of properties used for payment to investors undertaking BT Projects will provide more tools for payment in such projects and encourage the development of BT Projects in the future.

The use of public property for payments to investors undertaking BT Projects is implemented under the principle of parity — the value of the BT Project is equivalent to the value of public properties expenditure. Accordingly, the value of public property shall be determined based on market price as per the regulations at the time of payment and the value of the BT Project shall be determined based on the result of the auction. In case the value of the paid land funds is larger than the value of the BT Project, investors shall pay the difference to the State budget. Otherwise, if the value of the paid land funds is smaller than the value of the BT Project, the State shall choose to pay the difference in cash or through land funds at the time of finalisation of the BT Project.

Decree 69/2019 provides the valuation method and payment schedule for each type of public properties. However, payment made from the public properties as mentioned above always requires an approval from the Prime Minister.
One noteworthy point in Decree 69/2019 is that the payment through land funds for investors shall be enforced in two methods as follows: (i) allocating land with collection of land use fees or (ii) leasing land with collection of a one-off lump sum payment of rent for the entire lease term. The land fund paid for investors includes non-clearance lands or land with completion of clearance. Noting that the use of land with completion of clearance for making payment to investors must be reported by Provincial People Committee (PC) to the Prime Minister for considering and deciding before the issuance of the decision on in-principal approval of the BT Project.

In contrast, in terms of non-clearance lands, based on (i) approved plan 1/500 or 1/2000 and (ii) request from competent authorities who signed the BT Contract, the Provincial PC shall commit with investors in writing on the use of land funds for the payment to the BT Project. In such case, investors should pay attention to the advance payment for compensation, clearance expenses under the approved plan on compensation and clearance, and such advance payment amount shall be put in the price of the BT Contract. One critical thing to note is that the advance payment amount shall not be accounted for loan interest charges in capital mobilisation of the BT Project. After receiving the deposit, the State shall implement compensation and clearance works as per the approved plan. In this situation, investors should expect that the compensation and clearance works may take a long time and, in the worst case, may be long-term delayed, hence the capital cost of the BT Project may be materially affected due to the non-interest in loan of capital mobilisation of the BT Project from the advance payment amount.

The time of payment for the BT Project shall be calculated from the date the authorities issue a decision on land allocation, land lease or property transfer to the investor. The handing-over of public properties for payment to the investor shall be enforced after the BT Project is completed or under the schedule determined by the authorities in accordance with the Law on investment and construction.

Under this new and favourable regulation, we think that BT Projects in Vietnam will not only be developed steadily but also attract more investor interest from across the region.

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Use of public property as payment in build-transfer projects

By Huynh Hoang Sang.

The Government recently promulgated Decree No.69/2019/ND-CP on the utilisation of public property for making payment to investors upon execution of construction projects in the form of build-transfer contracts (BT Contract) (Decree 69/2019). Decree 69/2019 replaced Decision No. 23/2015/QD-TTg (Decision 23) and takes effect from October 1, 2019.

In the past, Decision 23 allowed the State to make payment only by land funds to investors executing construction investment projects in the form of build-transfer (BT Project). Otherwise, Decree 69/2019 provides that the State could expend the public property including (i) land funds; (ii) land, houses and other assets on land; (iii) infrastructure assets used for the national interest, public interest; and (iv) other types of public properties (according to the Law on management and use of public property). The expansion of the extent of public properties under Decree 69/2019 is reasonable and in line with the Law on management and use of public property 2017 and further adaptable to the need of BT Projects. Besides that, proceeds from public properties auctions could also be used to pay investors for execution of BT Projects in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and Law on State Budget. The expansion of subject of properties used for payment to investors undertaking BT Projects will provide more tools for payment in such projects and encourage the development of BT Projects in the future.

The use of public property for payments to investors undertaking BT Projects is implemented under the principle of parity — the value of the BT Project is equivalent to the value of public properties expenditure. Accordingly, the value of public property shall be determined based on market price as per the regulations at the time of payment and the value of the BT Project shall be determined based on the result of the auction. In case the value of the paid land funds is larger than the value of the BT Project, investors shall pay the difference to the State budget. Otherwise, if the value of the paid land funds is smaller than the value of the BT Project, the State shall choose to pay the difference in cash or through land funds at the time of finalisation of the BT Project.

Decree 69/2019 provides the valuation method and payment schedule for each type of public properties. However, payment made from the public properties as mentioned above always requires an approval from the Prime Minister.
One noteworthy point in Decree 69/2019 is that the payment through land funds for investors shall be enforced in two methods as follows: (i) allocating land with collection of land use fees or (ii) leasing land with collection of a one-off lump sum payment of rent for the entire lease term. The land fund paid for investors includes non-clearance lands or land with completion of clearance. Noting that the use of land with completion of clearance for making payment to investors must be reported by Provincial People Committee (PC) to the Prime Minister for considering and deciding before the issuance of the decision on in-principal approval of the BT Project.

In contrast, in terms of non-clearance lands, based on (i) approved plan 1/500 or 1/2000 and (ii) request from competent authorities who signed the BT Contract, the Provincial PC shall commit with investors in writing on the use of land funds for the payment to the BT Project. In such case, investors should pay attention to the advance payment for compensation, clearance expenses under the approved plan on compensation and clearance, and such advance payment amount shall be put in the price of the BT Contract. One critical thing to note is that the advance payment amount shall not be accounted for loan interest charges in capital mobilisation of the BT Project. After receiving the deposit, the State shall implement compensation and clearance works as per the approved plan. In this situation, investors should expect that the compensation and clearance works may take a long time and, in the worst case, may be long-term delayed, hence the capital cost of the BT Project may be materially affected due to the non-interest in loan of capital mobilisation of the BT Project from the advance payment amount.

The time of payment for the BT Project shall be calculated from the date the authorities issue a decision on land allocation, land lease or property transfer to the investor. The handing-over of public properties for payment to the investor shall be enforced after the BT Project is completed or under the schedule determined by the authorities in accordance with the Law on investment and construction.

Under this new and favourable regulation, we think that BT Projects in Vietnam will not only be developed steadily but also attract more investor interest from across the region.

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