In this month’s Issue:
- MARITIME
- LABOR
- REAL ESTATE
- INFRASTRUCTURE
- STATE ENTERPRISES
- ARBITRATION
· MARITIME
Administrative offences in the maritime sector: Decree No. 48 dated 21 June 2011
This Decree defines administrative offences in the maritime sector and provides for applicable, forms of penalties, levels of fines, remedy measures as well as authority and procedures for imposing the relevant penalties. Any organization or individual having committed an administrative violation in the maritime sector shall be subject to a penalty in accordance with the provisions of Decree 48 and with any other relevant laws addressing the relevant administrative offences.
· LABOR
Levels of minimum wages: Draft decree (for approval and entry into force in October 2011) 1
The minimum wage rates to apply to employees undertaking non-skilled works under normal working conditions should be as follows: VND$1,900,000 per month applicable in enterprises operating in Area I; VND$1,730,000 per month applicable in enterprises operating in Area II; VND$1,550,000 per month applicable in enterprises operating in Area III; VND$1,400,000 per month applicable in enterprises operating in Area IV.
· REAL ESTATE
Implementation of the Law on Non-agriculture Land Use Tax: Decree No. 53 dated 1st July 2011
Based on Decree No. 53, the following situations shall subject to relevant taxation:
1. Residential land, production and business of non-agriculture land (including land for constructing industry zone; land as ground to build business and production facilities; land for exploitation, mining as ground to process minerals; land for producing construction materials and ceramics etc.); and
2. Agriculture land used by individuals and organizations for the purpose of business.
· INFRASTRUCTURE
Support policy for the development of wind power projects: Decision No. 37 of the Prime Minister dated 29 June 2011
On the basis of the Decision No. 37, wind power projects may be entitled, subject to certain conditions, to the following incentives: exemption from
import duties on goods used to create fixed assets of the relevant project and to serve for the operations of the project; reduced rates on and exemptions from corporation income tax; and exemption from land use fee and land lease fee. Decision No. 37 seems also to initiate developments of feed-in tariff arrangements, with provisions fixing purchase price for power generated by the relevant (compensation rate of 1.614 VND per kWh, excluding VAT and adjustable based on the VND/USD exchange rate).
· STATE ENTERPRISES:
Conversion of 100%State owned enterprises into joint stock companies: Decree No 59 dated 18 July 2011
Pursuant to Decree 59, State owned enterprises shall comply with the certain conditions to be able to engage in an equitization process. The relevant enterprise (i) shall not be listed as an enterprises required to remain under 100% State ownership, (ii) shall maintain a certain level of State ownership into the relevant enterprise’s capital after the privatization process and re-evaluation of the value of the enterprise’s capital and (iii) shall admit entrance of a maximum of 3 strategic investors into the capital of the enterprise.
· ARBITRATION
Implementation of the Law on Commercial Arbitration: Decree No. 63 providing guidance on a number of articles of the Law on Commercial Arbitration dated 18 July 2011
Decree 63 requires the name of any Arbitration Center (“AC”) requesting licensing in Vietnam to (i) be written in Vietnamese, (ii) contain the words “Arbitration Center”, (iii) not be identical to or/and confusingly similar with the name of any other AC which would have already been issued and establishment license, (iv) not violate the historical traditions, culture, morality and fine customs of the Vietnamese nation. In the case of an AC with a foreign language name, such name shall be translated word by word from Vietnamese into foreign languages, and shall not be identical to or/and confusingly similar with the name of any other organizations operating in Vietnam.
An AC may be withdrawn its establishment license or operating registration certificate in the following cases:
1. Act of violation fined by an administrative sanction;
2. Non implementation of any operation determined in the Charter of the AG and/or in the establishment license within five (05) consecutive years from the date of issuance of the operating registration license;
3. Non registration at the local Department of Justice where the AC is based within a 30 day timeline starting from the date of issuance of the establishment license; and
4. Non amendment of the Charter for compliance with the Law on Commercial Arbitration within 12 months from the date of entry into force of the Law (01 January 2011).
