Consolidated Document No. 90/VBHN-VPQH: Law on Handling of Administrative Violations (Consolidated Through April 2026)
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Based on:90/VBHN-VPQH (Luật số 15/2012/QH13) - Government Official Gazette
This explanation was generated by AI and checked by an automated AI review, not by a human expert. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice and may contain errors. Check the official document before you rely on it.
The National Assembly Office has published Consolidated Document No. 90/VBHN-VPQH of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations (Law No. 15/2012/QH13), merging all nine rounds of amendments since 2014, most recently Law No. 88/2025/QH15 (effective July 1, 2025) and upcoming changes taking effect July 1, 2026 under the new Cybersecurity Law and Anti-Drug Law. This is a reference consolidation, not new legislation, but it is the foundational legal basis for every administrative penalty decision a business may face. Key points for SME owners and accountants: fines imposed on organizations are always double the fine imposed on individuals for the same violation. Maximum fine caps are set by sector - for example, accounting, invoices, fees and charges, and national reserves top out at VND 50 million; customs and tax procedures top out at VND 100 million; while tax, independent audit, securities, competition, and personal data protection violations follow their own specialized laws rather than this general cap. The statute of limitations for imposing penalties is generally 1 year, extended to 2 years for violations involving accounting, invoices, fees and charges, securities, and intellectual property, while tax and independent-audit violations follow the limitation periods set in tax administration and independent audit law. The law also sets out five forms of penalty (warning, fine, suspension of licenses/operations, confiscation of exhibits or instrumentalities, and deportation), lists of mitigating and aggravating circumstances, cases where no penalty applies (force majeure, legitimate self-defense, etc.), and prohibited conduct by enforcement officials (harassment, soliciting money, covering up violations). Businesses should keep this consolidated text on hand when dealing with tax, customs, or sector inspectors, since it determines fine levels, limitation periods, and the right to appeal.
Overview
Consolidated Document No. 90/VBHN-VPQH, issued by the National Assembly Office, merges the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations No. 15/2012/QH13 (effective July 1, 2013) with nine amending laws, most recently Law No. 88/2025/QH15 (effective July 1, 2025) and provisions taking effect July 1, 2026 under the new Cybersecurity Law No. 116/2025/QH15 and Anti-Drug Law No. 120/2025/QH15. This is an official consolidated reference text, not a new legal instrument - it does not change the effective dates of the underlying laws.
Core enforcement principles (Article 3)
- Every violation must be detected and handled promptly, within proper authority, transparently and objectively.
- Each violation is penalized only once; where multiple parties jointly commit a violation, each is penalized separately.
- The enforcing authority bears the burden of proving the violation; the accused party may present evidence of innocence directly or through a legal representative.
- Fines imposed on organizations are always double the fine imposed on an individual for the same act.
Statute of limitations (Article 6)
- General limitation period: 1 year.
- A 2-year limitation applies to violations involving: accounting, invoices, fees and charges, insurance business, price management, securities, intellectual property, construction, fisheries, forestry, water resources, oil/gas and mineral activities, environmental protection, atomic energy, land, dikes, press, publishing, import/export goods, prohibited/counterfeit goods, overseas labor management, and complaints/denunciations.
- Tax and independent audit violations follow the limitation periods set out in tax administration law and independent audit law, not this general law.
- If a case is referred from criminal proceedings to administrative handling, the limitation period is extended by an additional year.
Forms of penalty (Articles 21-25)
- Warning (issued in writing, for minor violations or violators aged 14-16).
- Monetary fine.
- Suspension of a license/practicing certificate or suspension of operations (1 to 24 months).
- Confiscation of exhibits or instrumentalities used in the violation.
- Deportation (for foreign nationals).
Maximum fine brackets by sector (Articles 23-24)
General bracket: individuals from VND 50,000 to VND 1 billion; organizations from VND 100,000 to VND 2 billion. Sector-specific caps (organization cap = 2x the individual figure below):
- Up to VND 50 million: accounting, invoices, fees and charges, national reserves, business registration, public asset management.
- Up to VND 75 million: labor, education, road/rail/inland waterway transport, social/health/unemployment insurance.
- Up to VND 100 million: customs and tax procedures, commerce, information technology, telecommunications, cybersecurity.
- Up to VND 200-500 million: prohibited/counterfeit goods, consumer protection, construction, land, real estate business.
- Tax, independent audit, securities, competition, measurement, food safety, and personal data protection follow the caps in their own specialized laws, not the brackets in this law (Article 24.3).
Mitigating/aggravating factors and non-punishable cases
The law lists mitigating circumstances (voluntary remediation, honest confession, etc.) and aggravating circumstances (organized violations, repeat offenses, abuse of position, etc.). No penalty is imposed for acts committed under necessity, legitimate self-defense, unforeseeable events, force majeure, or by a person lacking administrative capacity.
Prohibited conduct by enforcement officials
The law bans harassment, soliciting or accepting money/property from violators, covering up violations, penalizing outside proper authority or procedure, falsifying penalty records, and unlawful interference in handling administrative violations.
Relevance for businesses
This is the framework law behind every administrative penalty decision a business may face, including in accounting, invoicing, tax, and customs matters. Businesses should check any penalty decision against the principles, limitation periods, and fine caps above to protect their right to appeal or litigate.