Vietnam Legal New on price law under Decree 78 and 85 in 2024

On June 19, 2023, the National Assembly voted to pass the Price Law (amended), effective from July 1, 2024. This is an important Law project, having a wide impact on many sectors and fields. To guide and promptly implement the new regulations of the Price Law 2023, the Government recently issued Decree 78/2024/ND-CP and Decree 85/2024/ND-CP. Below, Viet An Law will analyze the Vietnam Legal New on price law under Decree 78 and 85 in 2024.

Overview of Decree 78/2024/ND-CP and Decree 85/2024/ND-CP

Scope of regulation of Vietnam Legal New on price law under Decree 78 and 85 in 2024

Decree 78/2024/ND-CP

This Decree details Articles 45, 49 and 54 of the Price Law 2023 about:

Decree 85/2024/ND-CP

This Decree details a number of articles of the Price Law, including:

• Clause 4, Article 17 on procedures for adjusting the List of price-stabilized goods and services.
• Clause 3, Article 20 on organization of price stabilization implementation.
• Clause 6, Article 21 on procedures for adjusting the List of goods and services priced by the State.
• Clause 3, Article 24 on promulgating documents on pricing or price adjustment.
• Clause 6, Article 27 on price negotiation organization.
• Clause 8, Article 28 on price declaration.
• Clause 2, Article 30 on goods and services subject to reference prices and the publication and use of reference prices.
• Clause 2, Article 37 on coordination in performing the tasks of synthesizing, analyzing and forecasting market prices.
• Clause 5, Article 38 on construction, management, updating and exploitation of price database.

Supplementing regulations on procedures for adjusting the List of price-stabilized goods and services

The list of price-stabilized goods and services in the Price Law 2023 will include 9 goods and services. Thus, the new point of the Price Law 2023 for the list of price-stabilized goods and services is the addition of animal feed and the removal of electricity, salt and sugar from the list.

In case it is necessary to adjust the List of price-stabilized goods and services, the Ministry, the ministerial-level agency managing the sector or field, and the Provincial People’s Committee shall prepare a document requesting an adjustment and send it to the Ministry of Finance for synthesis and submission to the Government for submission to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and decision.

To provide detailed guidance on this content, Decree 85/2024/ND-CP has detailed regulations on the order and procedures for adjusting the List of price-stabilized goods and services. This is a new content added compared to the previous Decree 177/2013/ND-CP. Specifically:

• Stipulate the basis for adjusting the List of price-stabilized goods and services;
• In case of a request to add goods and services to the List of price-stabilized goods and services;
• In case of a request to remove goods and services from the List of price-stabilized goods and services;
• Regulate records, and documents, and adjust the List of price-stabilized goods and services sent to the Ministry of Finance.

Amendment and supplement of regulations on price negotiation

The new point of the Price Law 2023 is the clear regulation that the scope of price negotiation is only implemented between enterprises with the State acting as an arbitrator. The above regulation clearly shows the nature of price negotiation measures aimed at promoting agreements between parties, including the intermediary role of organizations, aiming at the goal of harmonizing interests, and ensuring that transactions take place transparently, by the laws of the market economy. At the same time, it avoids cases of taking advantage of the negotiated price for other purposes, which are not by the negotiation requirements and the purchase and sale case.

Article 13 of Decree 85/2024/ND-CP specifically stipulates the order and procedures for organizing price negotiations, including some new points as follows:

• Before price negotiation: The buyer and seller each send 01 original copy of the price negotiation request directly or by post or online public service if available to the price negotiation agency so that the competent authority organizing the price negotiation can conduct the price negotiation.
• Participants in negotiating prices of goods and services: must not be representatives of the buyer and seller as in the Decree 177/2013/ND-CP, but must be “the legal representative of the buyer (or the person authorized to exercise the rights and obligations of the legal representative of the buyer) and the legal representative of the seller (or the person authorized to exercise the rights and obligations of the legal representative of the seller)”.
• Pricing method: The price negotiation agency organizes the determination of the price of goods and services according to the pricing method prescribed in Article 23 of the Price Law or according to the Vietnamese Price Valuation Standards prescribed in Article 42 of the Price Law.

Notes on pricing methods for goods and services

The general pricing method for goods and services priced by the State as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 23 of the Price Law 2023 is guided in detail in Circular 45/2024/TT-BTC. Accordingly, there are 2 general pricing methods for goods and services priced by the State, including the cost method and the comparison method.

Amendment and supplement of regulations on price declaration

The Price Law 2023 stipulates that a declaration must be made by organizations and individuals trading in goods and services after deciding on prices to facilitate practical implementation at the unit, replacing the previous regulation that a declaration must be made before organizations and individuals trading in goods and services decide on prices. This is one of the fundamental changes in price declaration measures to facilitate units in making declarations. Decree 85/2024/ND-CP has amended and supplemented regulations on price declaration as follows:

Supplementing the list of goods and services for price declaration

The declared price is the price of goods and services decided by the organization trading in goods and services and notified to the competent authority receiving the declaration.

While Article 15 of Decree 177/2013/ND-CP stipulates 13 goods and services subject to price declaration, Decree 85/2024/ND-CP specifically stipulates the list of goods and services subject to price declaration as prescribed in Appendix V. Accordingly, several goods and services subject to price declaration are added, such as:

• Houses, apartments;
• Medicines on the list of essential medicines used at medical examination and treatment facilities;
• Table salt;
• Services at seaports other than goods and services priced by the State;
• Passenger transport services by rail with hard seats and soft seats;
• Hot mineral water business services;…

Procedures for requesting adjustments to the List of goods and services subject to price declaration

Article 15 of Decree 85/2024/ND-CP specifically stipulates the procedures for requesting adjustments to the List of goods and services subject to price declaration, specifically:

• In case of request to add goods and services to the List of goods and services for price declaration;
• In case of removing goods and services from the List of goods and services subject to price declaration;
• In case the Provincial People’s Committee proposes to adjust the List of goods and services subject to price declaration;
• Application for adjustment of the List of goods and services subject to price declaration;…

Supplementing regulations on registration for price valuation practice

Valuation is a consulting activity to determine the value of an asset at a location and time, serving a certain purpose, carried out by a valuation enterprise or valuation council according to Vietnamese Valuation Standards.

In addition to the regulations on Vietnamese valuation standards; standards and price appraiser cards as in Decree 89/2013/ND-CP, Decree 78/2024/ND-CP provides specific and detailed instructions on the dossier, procedures, and order of registration for practicing price valuation. Specifically:

Registration dossier to practice price valuation

• The application for registration to practice price valuation is specified in Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 78/2024/ND-CP.
• Accordingly, from July 2024, the new valuation practice registration dossier includes 6 main types of documents: application form, proof of knowledge update, criminal record, Enterprise Registration Certificate (if required), confirmation of working time, and labor contract.

The above list of documents is built based on inheriting and consolidating the current regulations in Circular No. 60/2021/TT-BTC, ensuring compliance with the conditions for registering to practice price valuation in Clause 1, Article 45 of the Price Law. The regulation of the list of documents must include a Criminal Record Certificate No. 02 issued by a competent authority no more than 06 months from the time of registration to practice to review subjects not allowed to practice price valuation as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 45 of the Price Law.

Procedures for registering to practice price valuation

Procedures for registering to practice price valuation as prescribed in Article 4 of Decree 78/2024/ND-CP.

• Accordingly, the person with a price appraiser card prepares 01 set of documents according to regulations and sends it to the Ministry of Finance through a price valuation enterprise.
• Before the last working day of the month, a person with a price appraiser card who meets all the conditions for registering to practice price valuation as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 45 of the Price Law and whose registration dossier for practice has been sent by a price valuation enterprise to the Ministry of Finance before the 15th of that month according to the official dispatch stamp shall be considered by the Ministry of Finance (Price Management Department) and notified as a practicer in the monthly adjusted list of price practices.

The guidance on regulations on registration for practicing price valuation aims to ensure that the provisions of the Price Law are put into practice. At the same time, the legal basis for price valuation is completed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of state management on price valuation for price valuation enterprises and price practitioners.

New regulations on price valuation service business

According to the Investment Law 2020 on conditional investment and business lines, price valuation services are conditional business lines. Therefore, it is necessary to have a Certificate of eligibility for price valuation services business before conducting business activities.

The new point of the Price Law 2023 is that a business providing price price valuation services must have at least 05 people with price appraiser cards who meet the conditions to register to practice price valuation (previously, the minimum requirement was 3 people).

Application for Certificate of Eligibility to conduct price valuation services

• Application for a certificate of eligibility to conduct price valuation services according to Clause 1, Article 5 of Decree 78/2024/ND-CP.
• In which, the application for a certificate of eligibility to conduct price valuation services follows the new form (Form No. 05) specified in the Appendix attached to the Decree.

Note: Registration dossiers of at least 05 people with price valuation cards registering to practice price valuation at the enterprise; in case the enterprise requests to have a branch of the price valuation enterprise, each branch of the price valuation enterprise must have at least 03 registration dossiers of people with price valuation cards.

Suspension and revocation of Certificate of Eligibility for price valuation services business

The Price Law 2023 and Decree 78/2024/ND-CP have added 2 more cases of suspension of the Certificate of eligibility for price valuation service business, including:

• Issuing valuation certificates and valuation reports signed by non-valuators in the role of valuers;
• Cases of suspension of operations under the provisions of law on enterprises, handling of administrative and criminal violations.

These are all cases of serious professional violations or violations of valuation standards, so they cannot meet the conditions to continue operating price valuation services.

Decree 78/2024/ND-CP also clearly stipulates how to handle the following cases:

• In case an enterprise fails to meet one of the conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 49 of the Price Law for 03 consecutive months without being suspended due to failure to report to the Ministry of Finance;
• In case of suspension as prescribed in Point b, Clause 1, Article 54 of the Price Law: The enterprise shall be suspended from providing price valuation services for 270 days from the date the act is discovered.

It can be seen that Decree 78/2024/ND-CP and Decree 85/2024/ND-CP have new amendments and supplements to comply with the Price Law 2023, and at the same time to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement by organizations and individuals trading in goods and services; consumers; state agencies; other organizations and individuals related to activities in the field of prices and price valuation in the territory of Vietnam.

Above are the analyses of Vietnam Legal New on price law under Decree 78 and 85 in 2024. If you have any related questions or need legal advice, please contact Viet An Law for the best support!