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Legal answers
Guidance on issuing Certificate for Condotel
Answered

On February 14, 2020, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued Official Letter No. 703 / BTNMT-TCQLĐ / ND-CP providing guidance on land use and certification of non-house construction works, including tourist apartment (“Condotel”).
Accordingly, from February 14, 2020, at the time of issuing the above Official Letter, provinces and cities will base on the contents of guidance in the Official Dispatch to review projects to determine land use purposes, the land use term, if eligible, consider granting the certificate. Specifically:
Condotel, tourist villas are defined as tourist accommodation establishments under the provisions of the 2017 Tourism Law, and the land use is determined to be the type of commercial and service land. Accordingly, the maximum duration of land lease is not more than 50 years, for localities with difficult socio-economic conditions, the term shall not exceed 70 years.
For projects with condotel and tourist villas when they are eligible for transfer under the Real Estate Business Law, the certificate of ownership of construction works will comply with the provisions of Article 32 Decree 43/2014 / ND-CP.
Thus, with the issuance of Official Letter No. 703, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has removed the legal obstacles for investment in resort projects in the country, encouraging investors in participating in the field of resort real estate, contributing to the development of tourism services across the country.

A number of new regulations on the auction of used car import duty quotas
Answered

On January 22, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No. 04/2020 / TT-BCT regulating the auction of used car import duty quotas under The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP Agreement). This Circular takes effect from March 5, 2020.
Circular No. 04/2020 / TT-BCT has some main contents as follows:
1. Used cars imported under tariff quotas must comply with the following provisions:
– Being registered for circulation in the exporting country before reaching the Vietnamese border gates according to the provisions of law;
– Meet the rules of origin of goods in the CPTPP Agreement and must have a certificate of origin when carrying out import procedures;
– Meet the law provisions on technical regulations, quality, technical safety and environmental protection for cars, and regulations on automobile import border gates;
– The type of imported cars must conform to the contents of the automobile import business license in accordance with the provisions of law.
2. Import duty quotas for used cars shall be assigned on the basis of an auction in accordance with the law on auction.
3. Traders importing used cars must be licensed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In case of not having this License but participating in auction and winning the auction, the trader must entrust the enterprise with the License to import.
The Circular No. 04/2020 / TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which takes effect on March 5, 2020, will cause the import market in Vietnam to make certain changes.

New regulations on the right to exploit sand and gravel in the river bed
Answered

On February 24, 2020, the Government issued Decree No. 23/2020 / ND-CP stipulating the management of river-bed sand and gravel and the protection of river beds, banks. This Decree takes effect from April 10, 2020.
Accordingly, Decree No. 23/2020 / ND-CP has many strict management regulations related to planning of river sand and gravel areas; exploration, exploitation, gathering, transportation, trading and use of river sand and gravel, specifically as follows:
1. Contents of a planning for the management of river-bed sand and gravel
– Potential resources of sand and gravel in the river bed in the river basin
– Requirements for environmental protection; protecting river beds, banks and beaches; disaster prevention and response to climate change in the region.
– Development planning viewpoints and objectives will guide the exploration, exploitation and use of river-bed sand and gravel in the basin.
– Orientations for exploring and exploiting sand and gravel in river beds in river basins in the planning region on the time, the total volume of licensed exploitation in their respective localities in the planning period.
2. Licensing for exploration, exploitation of river sand and gravel
– Licensing is done through auction of mining rights
– In case the river licensing area is adjacent to two or more provinces, the opinions of all PPCs that the river must pass must be consulted.
– Mining time: from 07:00 am to 05 pm; It is not allowed to exploit at night and it must clearly state the total exploitation time in a year in the permit.
3. Requirements on trading and using river sand and gravel in the transportation process
In the process of transporting sand and gravel in the river, the vehicle owner must bring along invoices and documents proving that the origin of sand and gravel is legal, including information on data, books and vouchers about the information of sand and gravel in transit.
As such, Decree 23/2020 / ND-CP shows the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in concretizing the 2017 Planning Law by defining the content and scope of regional planning for sand and river gravel. At the same time, Decree 23/2020 / ND-CP also has many specific and clear provisions on conditions and responsibilities of enterprises in exploration, exploitation, gathering, transportation, business and use. Use sand and gravel in the river bed. This not only contributes to setting a clear and specific legal framework against the current problem of illegal exploitation of sand and gravel in the river bed, but also creates conditions for this exploitation activity to be effective and avoid waste according to the plan.

Prohibiting the huissier to repeat the act as “buying and selling real estate”
Answered

On January 8, 2020, the Government issued Decree 08/2020 / ND-CP on the organization and operation of the huissier (This is original name in French, full name “Huissier de Justice”).
Accordingly, the remarkable content is the regulation on banning huissiers from committing acts equal to “buying and selling real estate.” Details according to Clause 4, Article 37 of Decree 08/2020:
“Article 37. Cases that are not recognized by real behavior/event confirmation letter

4. Confirming the contents and signing of contracts and transactions prescribed by law within the scope of notarization and authentication activities; certifying the accuracy, legality and non-social morality of the translation of papers and documents from Vietnamese into foreign languages ​​or from foreign languages ​​into Vietnamese; confirm the signature and copy true to the original. ”
  Thus, real estate transactions through manual paper will not be legally valid despite being bailed out by the huissier. Because, under the provisions of the 2013 Land Law, it is imperative that a contract of transfer, gift, mortgage, or capital contribution with land use rights, land use rights and assets attached to land must be notarized or certified. , except for cases of real estate business specified at Point b, Clause 3, Article 167 of the 2013 Land Law.
It can be seen that, Decree 08/2020 prohibits huissiers from redistributing property in cases where hand-in-hand property buyers and sellers are completely consistent with reality, contributing to preventing real estate transactions. In contravention of the law, people will say no to buying real estate with hand papers to avoid damage to themselves and related legal risks.
Decree 08/2020 takes effect from February 24, 2020.

Additional cases of exempting license tax from February 25, 2020
Answered

On February 24, 2020, the Government issued Decree No. 22/2020 / ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 139/2016 / ND-CP dated October 4, 2016 on license tax.
Accordingly, adding 03 subjects will be exempted from new license tax, including:
Exempting license tax in the first year of establishment or production and business (from January 1 to December 31) for:
+ Newly established organizations (to be granted new tax identification numbers and new enterprise identification numbers);
+ Households, individuals and groups of individuals that are first engaged in production and business activities;
Exempting license tax for 03 years from the date of issuance of the first business registration certificate for small and medium-sized enterprises transferred from business households;
Waiver of license tax for the entire operation process of public general education institution and public preschool education institution.
During the license tax exemption period, if the above-mentioned organizations, households, individuals, groups of individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises establish branches, representative offices and business locations, these locations license tax are also exempted for the duration of organizations, households, individuals, groups of individuals, small and medium-sized businesses are exempt from license tax.
Branches, representative offices, business locations of small and medium-sized enterprises (exempted from licensing fees as prescribed in Article 16 of the Law on Support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) established before February 25 / In 2020, the time of license tax exemption for branches, representative offices and business locations is calculated from February 25, 2020 until the end of the time when small and medium enterprises are exempt from licensing fees.
It can be said that the new points in Decree 22/2020 / ND-CP on cases of exemption from new license tax have created opportunities for businesses, reduced input costs, promoted the development of newly established businesses, small and medium enterprises, business households, individuals, groups of individuals, especially the education sector. This Decree officially takes effect from February 25, 2020.

Supplement locations that is not permitted to consume wine and beer
Answered

On February, 24th 2020, the Government issued Decree No.24/2020/NDD-CP stipulating a number articles of Law on prevention of wine, beer harm. This Decree takes effect from the issued date.
Before issued this Decree, at Article of Law on prevention of wine, beer harm 2019 specified locations that is not permitted to consume wine and beer, including locations:
Health facilities;
Education facilities during teaching, studying and working time;
Parenting and entertainment facilities or areas for juvenile;
Detention facilities, compulsory education facilities, reformatories, detention facilities for prisoners and other detention facilities.
Social protection facilities
Working place of state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, public non-business units during working hours, except for permitted locations trading wine and beer.
Public locations under regulation of Government.
Public locations is stipulated at Article 3, Decree NO 24/2020/ND-CP, as specifically:
Park, except restaurants which are granted license for wine and beer business in park area before this Decree taking effect.
Bus stop station;
Movie theaters; Opera Houses; Culture and Sport facilities during time of holding public activities under use purpose, function of these areas, except cuisine, culture festival which is permitted to consume wine and beer.
Issuance of Decree No.24/2020/ND-CP is necessary. It shows that the Vietnamese State is making best effort to reduce wine, beer use and control its harm that can be affected to social, especially reduction of accident cases. Besides, Decree No. 24/2020/ND-CP also contains important significance during changing wine and beer consuming habit.

Legal News No. 07/2020
Answered

Conditions for goods to apply Vietnam’s particularly preferential import tax rates
Answered

On January 5, 2020, the Government issued Decree 07/2020 / ND-CP on Vietnam’s special preferential import tariff schedules to implement the ASEAN-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement during the period. 2019 – 2022.
Accordingly, imported goods eligible for special preferential import tax rates (AHKFTA) must meet the following four conditions:
1. Being on the Special Preferential Import Tariff promulgated together with this Decree;
2. Being imported from countries which are members of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement – Hong Kong, China;
3. Being transported directly from exporting countries according to the provisions of the AHKFTA Agreement and the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Specifically:
(i) Goods transported directly from an exporting member country to an importing member country; or
(ii) Goods are transported through one or more other member countries or through a non-member country and meet the following conditions:
– Transited goods are needed for geographical reasons or due to transport requirements;
– Goods not engaged in commercial transactions or consumed there;
– The goods have not undergone any processing or other processing other than unloading and reloading or any other operations necessary to preserve them in good condition.
4. Meet the rules of origin and have a certificate of origin (C / O) form of AHK under the provisions of the AHKFTA Agreement and the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
This Decree takes effect from February 20, 2020. Particularly for customs declarations of imported goods registered from June 11, 2019 to before February 20, 2020, if all conditions for enjoying the special preferential import tax are fully met In this Decree and if tax has been paid at a higher rate, the customs office will handle the overpaid amount in accordance with the law on tax administration.

Scope of professional activities for medical examination and treatment practitioners
Answered

On December 30, 2019, the Minister of Health issued Circular No. 35/2019 / TT-BYT providing the scope of professional activities for medical examination and treatment practitioners. This Circular takes effect from March 1, 2020.
Accordingly, the Circular prescribes the scope of professional activities for medical examination and treatment practitioners who have been granted practicing certificates. The scope of professional practice of practitioners is the professional technique that practitioners practice as prescribed. As follows:
– Scope of professional activities of practitioners
+ Practitioners being physicians with professional practice scope of medical examination and treatment are allowed to perform the professional techniques specified in Appendix I promulgated together with the Circular and provide first aid and emergency care, according to monitor, care and treat the patient until the patient is transferred to another medical examination and treatment facility in case of exceeding professional capacity.
+ Practitioners being physicians with professional practice scope of specialized medical examination and treatment are allowed to perform specialized techniques of the respective specialty specified in Appendix II promulgated together with the Circular and first aid. , first aid, emergency care, monitoring, care and treatment of patients until they are transferred to other medical examination and treatment establishments.
– Scope of professional activities of preventive medicine doctors: Practitioners who are preventive medicine doctors are allowed to examine, detect and handle common diseases; initial management of some emergencies in the community.
– Scope of professional activities of physicians: Practitioners who are physicians at the commune level are allowed to participate in first-aid, general medical examination and treatment according to the provisions of Joint Circular No. 10/2015 / TTLT. -BYT-BNV dated May 27, 2015 of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Home Affairs stipulating codes and standards of professional titles of physicians, preventive medicine doctors and physicians.
– Scope of professional activities of nurses, midwives, technicians: Practitioners who are nurses, midwives, and technicians are allowed to perform the scope of their respective professional activities specified in the Circular Circular No. 26/2015 / TTLT-BYT-BNV dated October 7, 2015 of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Home Affairs defining codes and criteria for occupations of nursing, midwifery and medical technology.
In addition, in medical examination and treatment facilities, the person in charge of professional and technical matters must base on the scope of professional activities stated in the practicing certificate, diploma, certificate or certification and the capacity of the person. practicing as a doctor to assign the medical practitioner in writing to perform specific technical specialties at medical examination and treatment establishments under their charge.
This Circular stipulates the scope of professional activities for medical examination and treatment practitioners in order to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment and ensure safety for patients.

Classifying cooperatives by capital size
Answered

On February 19, 2020, the Ministry of Planning and Investment issued Circular 01/2020 / TT-BKHDT on guidelines for classification and evaluation of cooperatives. This Circular takes effect from April 1, 2020.
According to Circular 01/2020 / TT-BKHDT, Co-operatives can be divided according to 04 criteria: According to products and services provided to members; By member size; According to the size of the total capital; and By industry. Specifically, according to the total capital sources, cooperatives are classified into:
1. A micro-capital cooperative is a cooperative with a total capital of under VND 1 billion;
2. Small-sized cooperatives are those with a total capital of between VND 1 billion and under VND 5 billion;
3. Medium-sized cooperatives are those with a total capital of between VND 5 billion and under VND 50 billion;
4. Large-scale cooperatives are those with a total capital of VND 50 billion or more.
Circular 01/2020 / TT-BKHDT was issued with the purpose of expressing the true nature of cooperatives in accordance with the Law on Cooperatives. In addition, ensuring cooperatives in accordance with the characteristics of the industry and the field of production and business activities.