6 outstanding policies effective from December 2018

1. Loans for perennial crop planting are subject to principal grace period agreement.

This is a notable content stated by the State Bank in Circular 25/2018/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing Circular 10/2015/TT-NHNN guiding Decree 55/2015/ND-CP on credit policies serving agricultural and rural development.

In case customers borrow to plant, care for, or replant perennial crops, the customer and the credit institution shall agree on a grace period for principal and interest in accordance with the construction stage of the perennial crops.

Accordingly, the grace period is the period from when the credit institution begins to disburse the loan until the customer begins to repay the principal and interest as agreed in the credit contract.

The notice takes effect from December 10, 2018.

2. Three cases where the origin of goods must be checked at the production facility

The inspection and verification of the origin of exported goods at the production facility is carried out according to Circular 39/2018/TT-BCT in the following cases:

- The competent authority of the importing country requests inspection and verification at the production facility when the results of the inspection of records and documents certifying the origin of goods are not sufficient to determine the origin of goods or when there is reason to suspect fraud in the origin of goods;

- Competent domestic agencies and organizations conduct inspection, verification, risk management and combat fraud of goods origin;

- Other domestic authorities request coordination when there is reason to suspect or detect signs of fraud in the origin of goods.

This Circular was issued on October 30, 2018.

3. Adjusting pensions for female workers

The Government has issued Decree 153/2018/ND-CP regulating pension adjustment policies for female employees who start receiving pensions from 2018 to 2021 and have paid social insurance for a period of 20 years to 29 years and 6 months.

The adjustment level will be calculated by the pension level as prescribed by the Law on Social Insurance 2014 at the time of starting to receive pension multiplied by the adjustment rate corresponding to the period of social insurance payment and the time of receiving pension.

Specifically: - If retiring in 2018, the highest adjustment rate is 12.3%; the lowest is 1.08%, depending on the time of social insurance contribution.

- If retiring in 2019, the highest adjustment rate is 9.23%, the lowest is 0.81%, depending on the time of social insurance payment….

The Decree takes effect from December 24, 2018.

4. Five cases are entitled to 100% of medical examination and treatment costs

This is one of the contents stated in Decree 146/2018/ND-CP detailing and guiding measures to implement a number of articles of the Law on Health Insurance.

According to the Decree, 100% support for medical examination and treatment costs is provided for 5 cases, including:

Support 100% of medical examination and treatment costs for people with revolutionary contributions; people receiving monthly social security benefits;

Support 100% of medical examination and treatment costs for poor households, ethnic minorities in difficult and especially difficult areas...;

100% support for medical examination and treatment costs at commune level

Support 100% of medical examination and treatment costs for cases where the cost for one medical examination and treatment is lower than 15% of the basic salary (Currently, the basic salary is 1.39 million VND/month...

For other cases, health insurance benefits are only 80 - 95%.

The Decree takes effect from December 1, 2018.

5. Add more groups of subjects participating in health insurance

The Government has issued Decree 146/2018/ND-CP detailing and guiding measures to implement a number of articles of the Law on Health Insurance.

Accordingly, the Decree has added a group of subjects participating in health insurance paid by employers, including:

- Relatives of workers and defense officials serving in the Army.

- Relatives of police officers serving in the People's Public Security.

- Relatives of people working in other key organizations.

Specifically, relatives of the above groups of subjects include:

- Biological father, biological mother; biological father, biological mother of wife or husband; legal guardian of oneself, of wife or husband.

- Wife or husband.

- Biological and legally adopted children from 6 to under 18 years old; biological and legally adopted children from 18 years old and above if still attending high school.

The Decree takes effect from December 1, 2018.

6. From the 2018 - 2019 school year, one more case is exempted from tuition fees.

This is information from Decree 145/2018/ND-CP amending and supplementing Decree 86/2015/ND-CP on the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees and tuition exemption and reduction policies until 2020 - 2021.

The new decree adds one more case of tuition exemption, in addition to the 15 cases previously stipulated in Decree 86/2015/ND-CP.

Specifically, from the 2018 - 2019 school year (from September 1, 2018), tuition fees will be exempted for 5-year-old kindergarten children in extremely disadvantaged areas with parents or caregivers or children residing in extremely disadvantaged communes and villages in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, especially disadvantaged communes in coastal and island areas.

The Decree takes effect from December 1, 2018.