Legal Update 07/2026

HIGHLIGHTS

In the field of Business and Trade

• On July 21, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 290/2026/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 06/2013/ND-CP dated January 9, 2013 of the Government regulating the protection of agencies and enterprises.
• On July 23, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 296/2026/ND-CP amends and supplements a number of articles of Decree No. 168/2025/ND-CP dated June 30, 2025 of the Government on business registration.

In the field of Investment and Construction

• On July 6, 2026, the Ministry of Construction issued Decision No. 1171/QD-BXD on the promulgation of internal procedures for resolving administrative procedures in the field of construction quality management; and technical safety inspection of labor within the scope of the Ministry of Construction, implemented by the State Inspection Department for Construction Quality.
• On July 21, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 288/2026/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 122/2021/ND-CP dated December 28, 2021 of the Government stipulating administrative sanctions for violations in the field of planning and investment.

In the field of Land and Housing

• On July 13, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 281/2026/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 123/2024/ND-CP dated October 4, 2024 of the Government regulating administrative sanctions in the field of land.
• On July 28, 2026, the Central Committee issued Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW on the viewpoints and orientations for amending the Land Law and related laws.

In the field of Finance and Banking

• On July 17, 2026, the Ministry of Finance issued several Decisions, including:
• + Decision No. 1911/QD-BTC on the announcement of replaced administrative procedures in the field of tax management within the scope of the Ministry of Finance's management functions.
• + Decision No. 1896/QD-BTC on the announcement of newly issued, adjusted, amended, and supplemented administrative procedures in the field of tax and customs management within the scope of the Ministry of Finance's management functions.
• On July 20, 2026, the Ministry of Finance issued several Decisions, including:
• + Decision No. 1931/QD-BTC on the announcement of amended and supplemented administrative procedures in the field of tax management within the scope of the Ministry of Finance's management functions.
• + Decision No. 1932/QD-BTC on the announcement of amended and replaced administrative procedures in the field of tax and customs management within the scope of the Ministry of Finance's management functions.
• + Decision No. 1933/QD-BTC on the announcement of administrative procedures that have been replaced or abolished in the field of tax management within the scope of the Ministry of Finance's management functions.
• On July 21, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 291/2026/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government stipulating administrative sanctions for violations of tax and invoice regulations, which were amended and supplemented by Decree No. 102/2021/ND-CP dated November 16, 2021 of the Government and Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP dated December 2, 2025 of the Government.
• On July 28, 2026, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 110/2026/TT-BTC, repealing a number of Circulars and Decisions of the Minister of Finance in the field of taxation.

ENTERPRISE - COMMERCE

Decree No. 296/2026/ND-CP, issued by the Government, aims to amend and supplement several articles of Decree No. 168/2025/ND-CP on business registration.

Accordingly, the decree stipulates that the business founder or the business itself must declare and be legally responsible for the legality, truthfulness, and accuracy of the information in the dossier. Furthermore, the owner, shareholders, and members must fully comply with regulations regarding contributed capital and cannot register assets in the name of another person. Provincial business registration agencies are responsible for utilizing available information in the National Business Registration Database and other specialized databases to process procedures, without requiring citizens to submit copies of certificates or approval documents already available in the system. For limited liability companies with 100% state-owned capital, documents regarding the owner's decision may be replaced by a document from a competent authority in accordance with the law on state capital management. Furthermore, the decree tightens regulations on authorization and electronic authentication when carrying out business and household business registration procedures. Both the authorizing party and the authorized party are legally responsible for the authorization and are required to perform electronic authentication via an electronic identity account when establishing a business, changing the legal representative, owner, company members, or founding shareholder information. If an electronic identity account is not yet available, the application must include a copy of a valid Citizen Identity Card, Citizen Identification Card, or passport. For online applications, business and household business registration documents are presented in electronic form or as electronic data with legal validity equivalent to paper copies. The process is carried out on the National Public Service Portal or the National Identification Application, which is standardized. Applicants declare information , digitally sign or sign in person as required, pay fees, and perform electronic authentication to receive an acknowledgment slip and an electronic appointment for results. The processing time for related procedures under some provisions has been shortened from 3 working days to 2 working days to improve the efficiency of public administration. Regarding legal status and dissolution, and business suspension, the decree clearly stipulates the coordination process between the business registration authority and the Court in changing the status when a business enters bankruptcy proceedings, suspension, or cancellation of a bankruptcy declaration. Regarding business suspension, the maximum suspension period for each notification is 12 months, and the total consecutive suspension period does not exceed 24 months. After the suspension period ends, the legal representative must confirm the resumption of business within 5 working days; if violated, the business may have its Business Registration Certificate revoked. Furthermore, the application for dissolution of a non-listed joint-stock company must include a copy of the shareholder register.

INVESTMENT - CONSTRUCTION

Decree No. 288/2026/ND-CP was issued by the Government

To amend and supplement a number of articles of Decree No. 122/2021/ND-CP regulating administrative sanctions in the field of planning and investment.

This document focuses on adjusting penalties related to violations concerning the declaration of registration documents for businesses, branches, representative offices, and business locations. Specifically, Article 1 amends Article 43 of the original decree, applying a fine of VND 30,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 for the act of making untruthful or inaccurate declarations in the establishment, change, or dissolution documents of businesses, branches, representative offices, and business locations. It also expands the scope of penalties to include information about beneficial owners or information used to identify beneficial owners of businesses. In addition, Article 2 amends Article 44 regarding violations of the deadline for registering changes to the content of the business registration certificate and related notices, with penalties divided into several levels based on the number of days overdue. A warning is applied for overdue cases from 1 to 10 days; the fine increases progressively from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for overdue cases from 11 to 30 days; from VND 30,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 for overdue cases from 31 to 90 days; and from VND 50,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 for overdue cases of 91 days or more. Specifically, the failure to register changes is punishable by a fine of VND 30,000,000 to VND 70,000,000, while the failure to update information on beneficial owners for businesses established before July 1, 2025, at the time of the most recent registration of changes is punishable by a heavy fine of VND 70,000,000 to VND 100,000,000, along with remedial measures requiring registration of changes or updating of information as prescribed. Regarding violations in the initial preparation of establishment documents, Article 3 adds a new point to Article 46, addressing the failure to declare information about beneficial owners at the time of registration and requiring businesses to supplement this information. Furthermore, Article 4 amends Article 48, stipulating penalties for violations of reporting, information provision, and compliance with requests from business registration authorities. Incomplete or untimely reporting or provision of information is punishable by a fine of VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000; a fine of VND 40,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 applies to failure to temporarily suspend/terminate business activities in conditional investment sectors as required or failure to register changes to the business name that infringe on industrial property rights. A fine of VND 50,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 will be applied to the act of failing to report, failing to provide information as requested, or providing false or inaccurate information (including information about the beneficial owner), along with measures to compel the submission of a valid report. The Decree also amends and supplements Articles 52 and 65 through Articles 5 and 6 to tighten internal management of enterprises and cooperatives. Accordingly, a fine of VND 40,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 will be imposed for the act of not fully recording the information of capital contributors and shareholders in the registration book, not maintaining enterprise documents including the list of beneficial owners, or allowing the enterprise to cease operations for one year without notifying the business registration authority and the tax authority. The enterprise will also be required to rectify the situation by fully recording and maintaining these documents. For cooperatives, the act of not establishing, updating, and maintaining the register of official members and associate members will be subject to a fine of VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000, along with measures to compel compliance.

LAND - HOUSING

Decree No. 281/2026/ND-CP, issued by the Government

Amends and supplements several articles of Decree No. 123/2024/ND-CP regulating administrative sanctions in the field of land.

This document supplements the principle of determining violations within special administrative zones by applying corresponding penalties from local authorities at the ward or commune level, and also stipulates that spouses who share land use rights will be penalized as if they were a single individual in case of violation. In addition, the decree also standardizes new remedial measures such as: requiring the restoration of the original condition of the land or boundary markers, re-implementing administrative procedures related to land, and requiring the return of altered, falsified, or counterfeit documents that have been used. Regarding regulations on illegal gains and registration of changes, illegal gains are determined in monetary terms and are obtained by organizations and individuals committing violations in the land sector from the use of land after the violation. These gains must be paid into the state budget, including a mechanism for equal distribution if multiple parties are involved, and deductions from amounts previously paid to the state budget. Specifically, a fine of VND 2,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 is stipulated for the act of failing to register land use changes as prescribed in the Land Law, except for cases of acquiring land use rights for investment projects through agreements on land use rights acquisition. In addition, remedial measures in handling administrative procedures have also been adjusted to require re-execution, cancellation of incorrect resolution results, or the return of forged or altered documents. The decree also adjusts the authority to impose penalties and the inspection and auditing duties of functional agencies to ensure consistency. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level, the Head of the specialized inspection team , and positions within the People's Public Security and People's Army are specifically defined regarding their authority to impose fines, suspend consulting services for a period of 3 months, and issue administrative violation reports for violations related to forest land, security land, and national defense land. At the same time, the decree abolishes, replaces, or supplements a number of phrases, points, and clauses in articles related to inspection, auditing, and the authority of state management agencies from the central to local levels.

FINANCE - BANKING

Government Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP dated July 16, 2026

Stipulates administrative penalties for violations related to crypto assets and the crypto asset market.

The scope of this Decree covers violations, forms of penalties, penalty levels, remedial measures, authority to draw up violation reports, and authority to impose penalties, based on the pilot implementation under Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP. The applicable subjects are domestic and foreign organizations and individuals committing violations, as well as agencies and individuals with the authority to impose penalties. The main forms of punishment include warnings and fines. In addition, supplementary penalties may be applied, such as revoking the license to provide market trading services for a specified period, suspending the offering, issuance, provision of services, or trading of crypto assets for a specified period, along with confiscation of infringing items and means. Mandatory remedial measures include canceling or correcting information, returning illegal profits, removing the website/software/trading system, canceling the offering/issuance and refunding investors, or returning an amount equivalent to the value of the confiscated or disposed of items. The maximum fine for organizations is VND 200,000,000 and for individuals is VND 100,000,000. The statute of limitations for administrative penalties is generally one year, except in cases referred by judicial authorities, in which case it may be extended by one year. Regarding specific violations, the Decree applies different fines to each group of violations. For the offering and issuance of crypto assets, the fine ranges from VND 70,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 for acts such as violating foreign ownership, providing inaccurate and misleading information, offering to the wrong target audience, failing to meet the required conditions, or failing to publish the prospectus as prescribed. For the organization of trading markets, the fine ranges from VND 70,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 for violations related to information disclosure, failure to cease operations or liquidate assets when a license is revoked, providing services/advertising without a license, or operating outside the scope of the license. Regarding the responsibilities of organizations providing crypto asset services, the Decree stipulates penalties ranging from a warning (for failure to disseminate knowledge) to fines from VND 30,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 for violations such as: failure to publicly disclose service procedures/price lists, delayed information disclosure, failure to verify investor identity, failure to manage customer assets separately, failure to ensure information technology system security, or violations of advertising information security responsibilities. Regarding regulations on transactions and money transfers, domestic investors who conduct transactions without going through a licensed organization or who trade assets intended for foreign investors will be fined from VND 30,000,000 to VND 100,000,000. Foreign investors and banks that violate regulations on opening, closing, or using specialized accounts, or are late in reporting income and expenses, will be fined from VND 30,000,000 to VND 100,000,000. The illegal collection, storage, exchange, sale, or public disclosure of cryptographic asset account data/information is punishable by a fine of VND 150,000,000 to VND 200,000,000. Acts of obstructing inspections, concealing, or destroying documents are punishable by a fine of VND 50,000,000 to VND 150,000,000. In particular, violations of regulations on anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of weapons of mass destruction are punishable by fines ranging from VND 80,000,000 to VND 200,000,000, depending on the severity. Regarding the authority to impose penalties and enforce regulations, the Decree clearly defines the authority to impose penalties and draw up administrative violation reports for officials in the Securities sector, the State Bank of Vietnam, the People's Police , and the Chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees. The Decree also provides detailed guidance on the process of applying suspension of operations, remedial measures, and the mechanism for imposing administrative penalties in the electronic environment. Decree 284/2026/ND-CP takes effect from September 1, 2026, until Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP expires, and also specifies transitional provisions and the implementation responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance and related agencies.

TAXES - FEES

Decree No. 291/2026/ND-CP, issued by the Government

Aims to amend and supplement several articles of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP regulating administrative penalties for violations related to taxes and invoices (which has been amended and supplemented by Decree No. 102/2021/ND-CP and Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP).

Specifically, Article 1 of the decree amends and supplements point d, clause 3, Article 5, thereby clearly stipulating that violations concerning the provision of information for the purpose of information exchange under Vietnamese law, international treaties, or international agreements on taxation that fall under the penalties stipulated in the new Article 19a will not be subject to penalties under Articles 14, 15, and 19 of this decree. In Article 2, the decree adds Section 3 and Article 19a after Section 2 of Chapter II, specifically regarding administrative tax violations related to the provision of information for the purpose of information exchange. A fine of VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 applies to the act of providing information requested by the tax authority more than 5 days after the deadline. Fines ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 apply to providing inaccurate or incomplete information as requested. Specifically, fines from VND 50,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 are imposed for more serious offenses, including: failure to provide information within 15 days of the deadline (or the extended deadline); or collusion or cover-up by taxpayers to prevent tax authorities from collecting and verifying information for the purpose of information exchange as stipulated by law and international treaties. Along with these fines, mandatory remedial measures include requiring the provision of complete and accurate information for the corresponding violations. In addition, Article 3 of the decree adds the phrase "Article 19a" to several related provisions on the authority to impose penalties and legal procedures in Clause 6 of Article 2; points a and d of Clause 4 of Article 7; point b of Clause 3 and point b of Clause 5 of Article 32; points b and d of Clause 1 and points c and d of Clause 2 of Article 33; as well as Clause 1 of Article 35, in order to ensure consistency in the application of the law in handling violations.