New policies effective from January 2021

Prohibition of debt collection services

The Investment Law 2020, effective from January 1, 2021, prohibits the following activities: Trading in narcotics and certain chemicals and minerals listed in the law's appendix; trading in specimens of endangered wild plants and animals; prostitution; trafficking in humans, tissues, corpses, body parts or human fetuses; business activities related to human asexual reproduction; and trading in fireworks.

In particular, this law officiallyban on debt collection services.

The 2020 Investment Law also reduces the number of conditional business investment sectors to 227, while adding many sectors and occupations with investment incentives as well as adding forms of investment incentives and special investment support.

People buying domestic cars will not be exempted from 50% registration fee from January 1.

Applying the new early retirement policy

Decree No. 143 of the Government amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 108 on staff streamlining policy has added a number of policies such as early retirement.

Accordingly, the subject of staff reduction if the age is lower than the maximum 5 years and lower than the minimum 2 years compared to theretirement age, with 20 years or more of social insurance contributions, will enjoy retirement benefits according to regulations, without having the pension rate deducted due to early retirement.

At the same time, this group is also subsidized 3 months salary for each year of early retirement; subsidized 5 months salary for the first 20 years of work with full social insurance payment. From the 21st year onwards, for each year of work with social insurance payment, they are subsidized 1/2 month salary.

Subjects of staff reduction who are 2 years younger than the retirement age and have 20 years or more of social insurance contributions will be entitled to pension benefits according to regulations and will not have their pension rate deducted due to early retirement.

New regulations on retirement age

Decree 135 of the Government regulating retirement age takes effect from January 1.

Accordingly, the decree clearly states that the retirement age of workers in normal working conditions is 60 years and 3 months for men and 55 years and 4 months for women. After that, it will increase by 3 months for men every year until they reach 62 years old in 2028, and by 4 months for women until they reach 60 years old in 2035.

The Decree also stipulates that workers can retire at a lower age (but not more than 5 years older than the retirement age) if they have 15 years or more of experience doing heavy, dangerous, or toxic work.

Workers who have worked for 15 years or more in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions; have a working capacity reduction of 61% or more... are also eligible for early retirement.

The prosecutor has the right to conduct criminal examination.

From January 1, the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Judicial Expertise officially takes effect.

According to the new law, public forensic technical expertise organizations include the Institute of Criminal Science of the Ministry of Public Security; the Criminal Technical Department of the provincial police; the Criminal Technical Expertise Department of the Ministry of National Defense and the Technical Expertise Department of the Supreme People's Procuracy.

In particular, the procuracy's appraisal department conducts appraisal of sound and images from electronic data. The Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Procuracy will prescribe the functions, tasks, and organizational structure of the criminal appraisal department under his unit to submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee for approval. This is a new point compared to the old appraisal law.

Buying domestic cars is no longer exempt from 50% registration fee

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic caused the Vietnamese economy to face great challenges. In May 2020, the Government issued Resolution 84 on tasks and solutions to continue to remove difficulties for production and business, promote disbursement of public investment capital and ensure social order and safety in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

One of the notable provisions is50% reduction in registration feeswhen registering domestically produced or assembled cars to stimulate consumption.

The regulation clearly states that "from June 28 to December 31, the registration fee collection rate is equal to 50% of the collection rate prescribed in Decree No. 20/2019 of the Government and current resolutions of the People's Council, or current decisions of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities on local registration fee collection rates".

However, from the first day of 2021, this policy will officially expire. People buying domestic cars will not be exempted from 50% of registration fees from January 1.

The 2021 registration fee level will be reapplied according to Decree No. 20 of the Government and current resolutions of the People's Council, or current decisions of the Provincial People's Committee on local registration fee levels.

People are allowed to shoot fireworks during holidays and birthdays.

This notable content is mentioned in Decree 137/2020/ND-CP of the Government on the management and use of fireworks, effective from January 11, 2021.

According to Article 17 of this Decree, people with full civil capacity (18 years old, not mentally ill, etc.) are allowed to use fireworks in cases such as holidays, New Year, birthdays, weddings, conferences, openings, etc. However, when using fireworks, they can only buy fireworks from organizations and businesses licensed by the Ministry of National Defense to produce and trade fireworks.

The Decree also clearly explains that fireworks are different from explosive fireworks. The type of fireworks that people can use is a product that is manufactured, handcrafted or industrially produced... creating sound, light and color effects in space but does not cause explosions (Article 3, Decree 137/2020/ND-CP).

Tet bonus may not be in cash

From January 1, 2021, the 2019 Labor Code officially took effect. The new Labor Code has expanded the concept of bonuses not only in money but also in other forms. Specifically, Article 104 of the new Code stipulates bonuses instead of bonuses like the 2012 Labor Code.

Bonus is the amount of money or property or in other forms that the employer rewards the employee based on the production and business results and the employee's level of work completion.

The bonus regulations are decided by the employer and publicly announced at the workplace, after consulting with the employee representative organization at the workplace where there is an employee representative organization at the workplace. Thus, the 2019 Labor Code does not require employers to give Tet bonuses, bonuses on other holidays, etc. to employees.