New policies into effect from late February 2016

1. Militia training and drilling duration:

From February 22, 2016, the Circular No. 02/2016/TT-BQP providing for training, practice, drilling, contest or sport competition programs for militia is going to enter into force. The Circular provides the following contents:

Militia officer’s regular training lasts for:

- 05 days/year for full-time officers or dual-duty officers who are tasked with national defence and military affairs at centrally-governed Ministries or agencies.  

- 07 days/year for officers of the military commands at the communal level, or those of grassroots-level state agencies or organizations; full-time officers, or dual-duty officers tasked with national defence affairs at state agencies, organizations, or officers of militia battalions, companies; officers of air defence and artillery militia platoons; officers of militia naval battalions or groups. 

- 05 days/ year for officers of militia platoons or squads, commanders of militia hamlet units, commanders of air defence battery or artillery, commanders of engineering, scouting, communicating, chemical defence and medical militia squads; commanders of coast militia platoons or squads.

Militiamen’s regular training lasts for:

- 15 days for 1st-year militiamen.

- With regard to 2nd-year through 4th-year militiamen and those subject to extension of duration for their obligations to serve in the militia:

+ 12 days for militiamen of mobile security detachments, coast militiamen, air defence, artillery, engineering, scouting, communicating, chemical defence, medical militiamen.

+ 07 days for immobile security militiamen.

+ 60 days for standing militiamen.

2. Guidance on granting loans to develop ancillary industries

From February 22, 2016, the Circular No. 01/2016/TT-NHNN on guidance on granting loans for development of ancillary industries will begin its effect. This Circular expressly provides for the followings:

- Policies on granting of loans for projects on manufacture of ancillary industrial products which are given priority over others to be developed.

- Loaning principles

- Debt categorization, setting-aside of provisions and risk treatment.

- Liabilities of borrowers.

- Liabilities of credit institutions, foreign bank branches.

- Liabilities of affiliations of the State Bank of Vietnam.

3. Documents required to apply for the Health Certificate for exported food 

Subject to the Circular No. 52/2015/TT-BYT , documents submitted to apply for the Health Certificate for an exported food shipment include:

- Application form stipulated in the Annex 08 hereto.

- Test result of each item of the exported food shipment (authenticated original or duplicate) 

- Product label sample (the copy authenticated by an organization or individual).

- Business registration certificate, Certificate of fulfillment of food safety conditions (except otherwise stipulated in paragraph 1 Article 12 of the Decree No. 38/2012/ND-CP) or Notice of Acknowledgement of the Declaration of Conformity or Confirmation of Declaration of Conformance to Food Safety Regulations (the copy authenticated by an organization or individual).

The Circular No. 52/2015/TT-BYT enters into force from February 23, 2016. 

4. Reduction in duty on certain environmental merchandise

On January 13, 2016, the Ministry of Finance introduced the Circular No. 05/2016/TT-BTC on adapting preferential import duty rates imposed on several APEC environmental goods of the heading No. 84.19 and 84.21 in the preferential import duty schedule.

Accordingly, preferential import duty rates imposed on water heater, filtering and purifying machinery and apparatus for liquids mentioned below will be reduced in the range of 10% to 5%:

- Subheading 8419.19.10 – Household type.- Subheading 8419.19.10 – Other.- Subheading 8421.21.11 – Filtering machinery and apparatus for domestic use.- Subheading 8421.21.19 – Other.
- Subheading 8421.21.23 – Not electrically operated.

The Circular No. 05/2016/TT-BTC will enter into force from February 27, 2016.

5. Expenditure on electoral activities

Pursuant to the Circular No. 06/2016/TT-BTC in effect from February 29, 2016, expenditure on election of deputies of the 14th National Assembly and delegates of the all-level People's Council of the 2016 – 2021 tenure will be budgeted for the following activities: 

- Construction of documents including instructions on election activities; reports and documents relating to electoral activities.

- Printing of election-related documents and publications.

- Establishment, update and operation of the election information website of the National Election Commission.

- Maintenance of election security, order, information, propaganda, guidance and campaign. 

- Seminars on launch of election activities, online seminars, negotiation seminars, elector seminars, elector seminars, election campaign seminars, training seminars, activity reporting seminars, performance review and rewarding seminars. 

- Tasks of directing, providing instructions on, inspecting and overseeing election activities.

- Tasks of meeting citizens, handling complaints or accusations; supervising complaints or accusations concerning the election.

- Election-related administrative activities.

Read Article 3 of the Circular No. 06/2016/TT-BTC for more details about levels of expenditure on the abovementioned electoral activities.