Legal penalties for buying, selling, or renting e-wallets
This takes effect from February 9, 2026
Under Clause 3, Article 31 of Decree 340/2025/ND-CP, the Vietnamese Government will tighten regulations on the trading and leasing of electronic wallets. Violators may face administrative fines of up to VND120 million (US$4,611).
Specific violations and penalties
Fines ranging from VND50 million to VND100 million apply to the following actions:
- Disclosing or providing information about e-wallet balances and customer payment transactions in violation of legal regulations.
- Opening or maintaining anonymous or impersonated e-wallets.
- Buying, selling, renting, leasing, borrowing, or lending e-wallets.
- Stealing or colluding to steal e-wallet information, involving between 1 and fewer than 10 e-wallets.
Regulation of the gold market
Under Decree No. 340/2025/ND-CP, which regulates administrative penalties in the monetary and banking sector, authorities will strengthen the management of gold trading activities, particularly the production and trading of gold bullion without proper authorization. The regulation takes effect from February 9, 2026.
Pursuant to Clause 8, Article 28 of the decree, organizations and individuals that produce or trade gold bullion without a license, export or import gold materials or gold bullion without a license issued by a competent state authority, or engage in other gold-related business activities without the legally required authorization, shall be subject to administrative fines ranging from VND300 million to VND400 million.
In addition to monetary penalties, Clause 9 of Article 28 stipulates that violators shall also face supplementary sanctions, including the confiscation of the entire quantity of gold involved in the violation.
No penalties for late submission of tax declaration dossiers
Late submission of tax declaration dossiers shall not be subject to administrative penalties when the re-submission is required due to a change in the tax declaration period. This provision takes effect from February 14, 2026.
According to Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 373/2025/ND-CP, in cases where a taxpayer has previously declared taxes on a quarterly basis but later no longer meets the conditions for quarterly declaration and is required to switch to monthly declaration, the taxpayer must re-submit tax declaration dossiers on a monthly basis for the periods that were previously declared quarterly and fulfill the corresponding tax obligations, including any late-payment interest, in accordance with regulations.
However, in such cases, the taxpayer shall not be subject to administrative sanctions for the late submission of tax declaration dossiers for those dossiers that must be re-filed as a result of the change in the tax declaration period.
Violators of copyright will receive administrative penalties
Administrative penalties shall be imposed for violations of copyright and related rights under Decree No. 341/2025/ND-CP, issued by the Government, which takes effect from February 15, 2026. The decree sets out specific acts that constitute administrative violations in the field of copyright and related rights, along with corresponding penalty levels.
Under the decree, acts that infringe upon an author’s right to be named or to have their real name or pseudonym indicated on a work when the work is published or used shall be subject to administrative fines ranging from VND1 million to VND30 million.
Acts that infringe upon the right to perform a work before the public shall be subject to fines ranging from VND20 million to VND50 million.
Acts that infringe upon the right to broadcast or otherwise communicate a work to the public shall be subject to administrative fines ranging from VND30 million to VND50 million.
Acts that infringe upon the right to reproduce a work shall be subject to fines ranging from VND5 million to VND100 million.
Similarly, acts that infringe upon the right to reproduce sound recordings or video recordings shall be subject to administrative fines ranging from VND5 million to VND100 million.
Mandatory skip option for online video ads after 5 seconds
Online video advertisements must allow users to skip or close the advertisement after no more than five seconds, in accordance with Decree No. 342/2025/ND-CP, which details several provisions of the Law on Advertising and takes effect from February 15, 2026.
Under the decree, for online advertising activities involving moving image sequences or video formats, the maximum waiting time before viewers are permitted to skip or close an advertisement is five seconds.
Advertisers are also required to ensure that advertisements can be closed with a single user interaction and must not use fake close buttons or design close icons that are difficult to identify or distinguish.
In addition, the decree stipulates that viewers must not be forced to wait in order to close advertisements presented in the form of static images.
Employees must receive health checkups prior to work assignment
Under Circular No. 56/2025/TT-BYT, workers are required to undergo a health examination before being assigned to work, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health 2015. This regulation takes effect from February 15, 2026.
Specifically, pursuant to Article 5 of Circular No. 56/2025/TT-BYT, employers are responsible for organizing health examinations for employees in several cases. These include conducting health checks before assigning employees to work, before transferring employees to jobs or occupations that are heavier, more hazardous, or more dangerous, and when employees return to work after undergoing treatment and recovery following occupational accidents or occupational diseases.
Employers are also required to arrange health examinations when employees resume work, except in cases where the employee has already been assessed by a Medical Assessment Council for the degree of work capacity impairment.
In cases where an employee has already undergone a periodic health examination and has been issued a valid health certificate that remains within its validity period, only specialized medical examinations shall be conducted as required.
