Policies on insurance, investment and trade coming into force from June 01

1. Employer’s social insurance contribution rates official reduced

As of June 01, 2017, the Government’s Decree No. 44/2017/ND-CP stipulating the compulsory social insurance contribution rates to the fund for occupational accident and disease insurance will officially come into force.

According to this Decree, the compulsory social insurance contribution rates to the fund for occupational accident and disease insurance covered by the employers will be reduced by half compared to the rates defined in Article 4 of the Decree No. 37/2016/ND-CP. Specific contribution rates:

- 0.5% of the salary funds for the employees specified in Points a, b, c, d, dd and h Clause 1 Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance (except for the domestic workers).

- 0.5% of the statutory pay rate applied to the employees specified in Point e Clause 1 Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance.

Such contribution rates are temporary and may be adjusted from January 01, 2020 depending on the balance on the fund for occupational accident and disease insurance by the Government.

The Decree No. 44/2017/ND-CP has also repealed the regulations of Article 4 and Clause 1 Article 34 of the Decree No. 37.

2. Amendments to the Certificate of eligibility for construction activities

This is one of the contents of the Decree No. 42/2017/ND-CP promulgated by the Government to amend the Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP on the management of construction projects.

According to the Decree No. 42/2017/ND-CP, an organization shall obtain the Certificate of eligibility for construction activities when engaging in the following fields:

- Construction survey; Construction planning development;

- Design and assessment of construction design;

- Construction project planning and inspection; Project management consultancy;

- Construction execution; Construction supervision;

- Construction inspection; Construction cost management.

Moreover, this Decree no longer requires consistency of the contents of the Certificate of eligibility for construction activities and the contents of the business registration or the decision on establishment by the competent authority.

3. Guidance on simple prepackaged goods labeling

The Government replaced the Decree No. 89/2006/ND-CP with the Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP defining the goods labels on April 14, 2017.

According to the Decree No. 43, the simple prepackaged goods means the goods to be packaged without witness of the consumers but easily opened for physical inspection purpose.

For the goods to be packaged simply, goods in bulk which are food additives, chemicals, without commercial packages sold directly to consumers, the sellers shall provide the following information on labels:

- Name of the goods.

- Expiration date.

- Safety warning (if any).

- Name and address of the entity responsible for the goods.

- Instructions for use.

4. 2016 Law on Children officially coming into force

In addition, the 2016 Law on Children will also be effective from June 01, 2017 with the following highlights:

- Children have the inviolable right to privacy and keep personal and family secrets, all are for the best interests of children.

- The Government shall establish an active national telephone exchange system and procedures for receiving and processing information, reports on child abuse and threats of child abuse.

- Families, teachers and caregivers of children shall teach children how to protect themselves on the Internet.

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