Knowledge base

President To Lam issued Order No. 02/2026/L-CTN promulgating the Law on Hanoi Capital, which was passed by the 16th National Assembly at its First Session on 23 April 2026. This is an administrative order confirming the law's enactment and does not directly contain tax, financial, or commercial provisions. The order was signed on 26 April 2026 and published in Official Gazette No. 284 on 26 May 2026.

Decree 69/2026/ND-CP, issued on March 6, 2026 and effective from April 20, 2026, amends Decree 106/2025/ND-CP on administrative penalties for fire prevention, firefighting and rescue (PCCC) violations. It clarifies which parties can be penalized (including organizations assigned to manage a facility, and tenants or borrowers of housing), adds a rule that repeated violations of the same act at one facility are treated as a single violation with an aggravating factor rather than multiple separate fines, and sets out how violations are handled when processed electronically. For businesses, the decree adjusts several specific fine brackets: 6 to 8 million VND for staff performing fire safety duties without a training certificate; 20 to 25 million VND for failing to maintain required fire-safety distances between buildings; and 30 to 40 million VND for failing to install fire-resistant materials, doors, or partitions as required. It also adds a new remedial measure requiring businesses to purchase mandatory fire and explosion insurance if their coverage is insufficient, and sets suspension periods of 1 to 12 months depending on the severity of the violation. The decree also overhauls penalty authority across police, border guards, forest rangers, fisheries inspectors, coast guard, and inspectorates, and adds enforcement powers for specialized state management agencies (Departments of Construction, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Environment, the Insurance Supervisory Authority, and the Vietnam Register). Businesses operating fire-risk premises (factories, warehouses, offices, apartment buildings, commercial establishments) should review their fire-safety documentation, mandatory fire insurance coverage, and firefighting equipment ahead of the April 20, 2026 effective date to avoid fines or forced suspension of operations.

Circular 17/2026/TT-BKHCN from the Ministry of Science and Technology (effective April 16, 2026) issues a Model Charter for Science, Technology and Innovation Development Funds set up by ministries, central agencies, and provincial People's Committees. It is essentially an internal governance document, setting out how these state funds operate: their structure (Management Council, Executive Agency, Control Board), funding sources, procedures for funding or commissioning science and technology tasks, and risk-management mechanisms. For businesses, particularly those doing R&D, technology application, or technology transfer, the notable point is that these funds can provide grant funding and interest-rate subsidies for technology innovation, and operate a co-financing mechanism - businesses participating in tasks with commercialization potential must contribute part of the funding, with the co-financing share rising as the technology matures. This can be a potential funding channel to support a company's R&D activities. That said, the Circular does not create any new tax, invoicing, labor, or customs obligation for businesses - it is purely a rule governing the internal organization and management of state science funds. Businesses interested in applying for science and technology funding should watch for the specific Charter issued by the relevant ministry or provincial fund to learn the application procedures.

Resolution 109/NQ-CP, dated April 16, 2026, updates, supplements and replaces Resolution 41/NQ-CP (March 11, 2026), issuing the Government's Action Program to implement the 14th Party Congress Resolution and Central Conclusion 18-KL/TW (April 2, 2026) on the 2026-2030 five-year plan for socio-economic development, national finance, public debt borrowing and repayment, and medium-term public investment, tied to the 'double-digit' growth target. The Resolution takes effect from its signing date. For businesses and investors, three points stand out. First, on institutional reform: the Government commits to shifting decisively from 'pre-inspection' to 'post-inspection' oversight, cutting administrative procedures and business conditions to a minimum, and digitizing processes end to end, with a target of placing Vietnam's investment environment among ASEAN's top 3 and the world's top 30 by 2028. Second, on tax and budget policy: the Government sets out to build a modern, transparent, tax-neutral system that does not use tax policy to deliver social welfare goals; it also bars localities from granting tax exemptions, reductions or incentives beyond what current tax law allows, while giving the Government authority to proactively adjust taxes and fees in emergencies. FDI attraction policy will shift from tax-incentive-led approaches toward results-based incentives. Third, on capital markets: the plan pushes to grow the stock and corporate bond markets to reduce reliance on bank lending, and to expand foreign ownership limits in sectors that do not affect national security. This is a strategic policy document that serves as the basis for ministries, localities, and state corporations to draft their own detailed action programs (due by April 20, 2026); it is not itself a law or regulation with direct binding effect on businesses. Specific changes to taxes, fees, and administrative procedures will be implemented through separate legal instruments going forward.

Circular 04/2026/TT-BKHCN, issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology on February 27, 2026 and effective from April 15, 2026, amends a series of technical regulations on measurement and product quality. It covers four main groups of changes. First, it resets the requirements for scales used in gold trading: scales must have accuracy suited to the gold weight being measured (per a verification scale interval table) and must carry a valid verification certificate. It also sets a table of maximum allowable measurement error by gold weight bracket, plus a formula for weights not listed. This matters directly for gold shops and jewelry/gold-ware trading businesses. Second and third, the Circular amends two national technical regulations, one for LED lighting products (QCVN 19:2019/BKHCN) and one for children toy safety (QCVN 03:2019/BKHCN), requiring conformity-certification testing to be performed only by a designated or recognized testing organization. The LED provision itself expires on June 1, 2026. Fourth, the Circular reissues the full list of Group-2 measuring instruments (roughly 69 categories, from taximeters and various scales to fuel dispensers, water meters, electricity meters, and EV charging meters) along with control measures and specific verification cycles per instrument type (6 to 72 months). It also repeals one provision in the regulation on household electrical installation equipment. Gold traders, LED and toy manufacturers/importers, and businesses that operate listed measuring instruments (gas stations, water and power utilities, taxi operators, etc.) should review their calibration and verification schedules against the new cycles before the effective date.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has issued Consolidated Document No. 23/VBHN-BCT (certified March 30, 2026), merging Circular No. 11/2016/TT-BCT with three rounds of amendments (Circular 03/2024/TT-BCT, 38/2025/TT-BCT, and 15/2026/TT-BCT) that set out the form templates used for licensing procedures for Representative Offices and Branches of foreign traders in Vietnam. The document does not introduce new substantive licensing conditions; it consolidates the 14 currently valid forms (applications, licenses, activity reports, and termination notices). The most significant practical change is a shift in licensing authority. Since July 1, 2025, the power to receive and process applications for issuing, re-issuing, adjusting, and extending Branch establishment licenses, as well as handling Branch termination, has been decentralized from MOIT down to the provincial People's Committee where the Branch is headquartered (previously handled directly by MOIT). Branch license applications (Forms MD-5, MD-6, MD-7) must now be submitted to the provincial People's Committee rather than to MOIT. Provincial People's Committees must also report annually to MOIT before February 28 using the newly added Form BC-4. Foreign traders that already operate, or plan to establish, a Representative Office or Branch in Vietnam should use this consolidated form set for any new filing, submit Branch-related applications to the provincial People's Committee rather than MOIT, and ensure that license information is updated on the MOIT web portal (www.moit.gov.vn) within 15 days of any issuance, re-issuance, adjustment, extension, or revocation.

Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has issued Consolidated Circular No. 24/VBHN-BCT (dated March 30, 2026), merging Circular 12/2018/TT-BCT with four subsequent rounds of amendments (2019, 2023, 2025, and 2026) into a single, up-to-date reference. It implements the Law on Foreign Trade Management and Decree 69/2018/ND-CP, sparing import-export businesses from having to cross-check multiple separate circulars. The consolidated text covers four areas: (1) the list of banned used consumer goods, medical devices, and vehicles by HS code; (2) the list of goods temporarily suspended from temporary-import-for-re-export and transshipment trading; (3) application forms, reporting templates, and the licensing agency (MOIT's Import-Export Department) for Certificates of Free Sale (CFS), temporary import-re-export licenses, temporary-import-re-export business codes, and transit permits; and (4) the import tariff-rate quota mechanism covering four goods: refined and raw sugar, salt, raw tobacco material, and poultry eggs. For businesses importing the four tariff-rate-quota goods, the circular sets out the licensing process (dossiers submitted to the Import-Export Department at 54 Hai Ba Trung Street, Hanoi, with a 10-working-day processing window from the date quotas are allocated) and a mandatory quarterly reporting obligation due before the 10th of the first month of the following quarter. The most recent change took effect April 10, 2026 (under Circular 15/2026/TT-BCT), which revised administrative decentralization procedures and replaced several forms. Licenses and certificates issued before each amendment's effective date remain valid through their original expiry.

This is a consolidated text (No. 20/VBHN-BCT, dated March 30, 2026) of Circular No. 38/2025/TT-BCT on decentralizing administrative procedures across fields managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), updated through its most recent amendment, Circular No. 15/2026/TT-BCT (effective April 10, 2026). The core change reallocates licensing and certification authority between central MOIT departments (the Industrial Safety and Environment Department, the Chemicals Department, the Innovation, Green Transition and Industrial Promotion Department, and others) and provincial People's Committees, in line with Vietnam's shift to a two-tier local government model that has eliminated the district level. The amendments span many technical fields: industrial explosives and explosive precursors, occupational safety and health, LPG (gas) trading, oil and gas safety, hydropower dam and reservoir safety, chemicals and dangerous goods transport, product and goods quality, commercial inspection, energy-saving labeling, food safety under MOIT's jurisdiction, representative offices and branches of foreign traders, multi-level marketing consumer protection, and e-commerce website registration. The general pattern is that many licensing procedures move from provincial Departments of Industry and Trade or central-level departments to provincial People's Committees. For businesses operating in these regulated sectors, the practical takeaway is that the office receiving applications, renewals, or reissuances of licenses may have changed as of April 10, 2026, so companies should confirm the correct authority before filing. Licenses and certificates already issued before this date remain valid until their stated expiry, and applications submitted before the effective date continue to be processed under the rules in force when they were filed. This is primarily a change in which government office handles a given license, not a new tax, accounting, or invoicing obligation.

On March 25, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No. 15/2026/TT-BCT, amending Circular No. 38/2025/TT-BCT on delegating authority to handle administrative procedures in sectors under the Ministry's management. The Circular takes effect on April 10, 2026. The main changes are: (1) adjusting authority to issue, reissue, and amend industrial explosives licenses for research/testing organizations or companies holding a Group 1 mineral-operation license; (2) adding a new procedure allowing provincial People's Committees to approve safety management documents (safety management program, risk assessment report, emergency response plan) for oil and gas facilities in their locality, with a 20-working-day appraisal period followed by a 5-working-day approval period; (3) reassigning permit authority for transporting dangerous goods: the Chemicals Agency now handles Class 5 and Class 8 goods, while provincial People's Committees handle Class 1 (excluding industrial explosives), 2, 3, 4, and 9; (4) simplifying the cigarette and cigar import reporting procedure by replacing the specific receiving-agency name with the general term «Licensing Agency» and removing the fixed email-submission requirement; (5) updating the province/city codes used for foreign representative offices and branches to follow the current administrative unit list; (6) clarifying a six-step process for provincial People's Committees to conduct legal-knowledge examinations for multi-level marketing. The Circular mainly applies to businesses operating in industrial explosives, oil and gas, dangerous goods transport, tobacco trading, foreign representative offices/branches, and multi-level marketing. Licenses and certificates issued before April 10, 2026 remain valid until their stated expiry, and complete applications submitted before that date continue to be processed under the prior rules. This is a procedural/administrative circular that does not create new tax, accounting, or invoicing obligations, so it has limited direct impact on most small and medium businesses outside the sectors listed above.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No. 07/2026/TT-BCT dated 24 February 2026 amending Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BCT on importing cigarettes and cigars. Only tobacco manufacturing enterprises with 100% state capital, designated by the Ministry, may import cigarettes and cigars under the state-trade mechanism, and they must conduct imports directly without delegating to other traders. The Circular also transfers licensing authority from the Ministry's Import-Export Department to the 'Licensing Authority' (i.e., the provincial People's Committee where the trader is headquartered), reflecting administrative decentralization reforms. Automatic import registration applications must be submitted in person at the provincial People's Committee or via postal or online services. The Circular takes effect from 10 April 2026.

Decree 116/2026/ND-CP, effective April 8, 2026, amends a broad set of administrative procedures under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It affects businesses operating in printing, pay television/radio broadcasting, copyright and related-rights registration, internet services and domain name registration, video game publishing, cinema, and karaoke/dance hall services. Key changes include shortened processing timelines for many licensing procedures (for example, approval of pay-TV channel registration certificates drops from 24 to 20 working days, and several internet and mobile-content procedures are also shortened), simplified documentation when authorities can retrieve applicant information directly from the National Population Database or the National Business Registration Database (removing the need to submit identity or business registration copies separately), and replacement or repeal of numerous forms and provisions across Decrees 60/2014, 06/2016, 144/2020, 17/2023, 76/2023, 147/2024, 131/2022, and 54/2019. Businesses in these specific sectors should review the updated filing procedures, forms, and processing deadlines to avoid delays. Applications submitted before the effective date continue to be processed under the prior rules.

On April 7, 2026, the Government issued Resolution 16/2026/NQ-CP setting out special mechanisms and policies to resolve difficulties for legacy Build-Transfer (BT) investment projects signed before the Law on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Investment took effect, referred to as "transitional BT projects". The Resolution applies only to a fixed list of projects named in two appendices, covering Ministry of National Defense facilities and infrastructure works in a number of provinces including Bac Ninh, Ca Mau, Dak Lak and others. The core content sets out payment procedures for investors under several scenarios. Where the contract complied with the law at the time of signing, the competent authority continues paying via state budget funds or via land and public-asset swaps as originally agreed in the signed contract. Where contract terms were non-compliant due to a state-agency error, the two parties may agree to amend the contract and continue, provided the project is operating effectively and has caused no loss or corruption. Where continuation is not feasible, the contract is terminated early and the state pays the investor based on the construction value confirmed by the State Audit. The Resolution also addresses how to handle mismatches between the estimated and actual value of land used for payment, how to reimburse investors for site-clearance costs they advanced, and when land prices are determined for calculating land-related financial obligations. The Resolution takes effect from its signing date (April 7, 2026) through December 31, 2027, and assigns the Ministry of Finance and competent authorities (ministries, provincial People's Committees) to implement it and report periodically to the Prime Minister. Because its scope is limited to the specific list of BT projects in the appendices, this document does not directly affect most small and medium enterprises, accountants, or typical foreign investors - it mainly concerns large infrastructure investors with long-standing disputes with state agencies over previously signed BT contracts.