In recent years, philanthropic activities have become increasingly vibrant and diverse in form, scale, and participation. However, practical implementation has also raised numerous concerns regarding transparency, efficiency, and even the risk of exploitation for illicit profit or legal violations. In response to these challenges, the Government has issued Decree 03/2026/ND-CP: Stricter management of charity & social funds in Vietnam (effective from March 1, 2026), replacing Decree No. 93/2019/ND-CP and Decree No. 136/2024/ND-CP. This new legislation introduces rigorous regulations to tighten fund establishment conditions, operational oversight, financial disclosure, and legal accountability for all stakeholders, ensuring that charitable activities are conducted for the right purpose and in full compliance with the law.
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Social funds and charitable funds have obligations under Clause 2, Article 9 of Decree 03/2026/ND-CP, which states: “Annually, the fund is responsible for publicly disclosing contributions, assets received, and the results of their use through mass media before March 31st.”
This is one of the notable regulations in Decree 03/2026/ND-CP: Tightening the management of charitable and social funds. This regulation also contributes to preventing the risk of exploiting charitable and social funds for profit, especially in the context of increasingly diverse fundraising activities and their significant influence from social media.
In addition, the fund must annually report on its organization, operations, assets, and finances; and submit an audit report (if any) on the management and use of assets and finances before March 31st to:
Decree 03/2026/ND-CP stipulates seven prohibited acts of exploiting the establishment, organization, and operation of funds.
Notably, the fund is prohibited from accepting deposits, lending, or making investments in any form, ensuring that it only functions to support society and does not transform into a business organization or financial intermediary.
Decree 03/2026/ND-CP specifically emphasizes the prohibition of self-serving behavior and financial fraud, including the use of illegal invoices, the creation of false documents, collusion to evade taxes, tax fraud, or violations of financial, tax, and accounting regulations during the fund’s operation. Simultaneously, money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illegal activities are also subject to strict penalties.
Furthermore, the fund is prohibited from forging, altering, transferring, leasing, lending, pledging, or mortgaging its establishment license in any form, and from using state budget funds or assets originating from the state budget to contribute to the fund’s establishment, except as otherwise provided by law. These regulations clearly demonstrate the goal of tightening management, increasing transparency, and protecting the non-profit nature of social and charitable funds in practice.
A key highlight of Decree 03/2026/ND-CP is the imposition of strict conditions for the establishment and operation of funds.
According to Article 12 of Decree 03/2026/ND-CP, the conditions for granting a license to establish a fund include:
Specifically, the Decree clearly stipulates the asset requirements for establishing a fund as follows:
Funds established by Vietnamese citizens or organizations must have a minimum of the following:
In cases where foreign individuals or organizations contribute assets to establish a fund with Vietnamese citizens or organizations, the minimum amounts are as follows:
The fund can only officially operate when it fully meets the conditions under Article 26 of Decree 03/2026/ND-CP, including:
Thus, from requirements regarding founders, contributed assets, legal documentation, to conditions for disclosure, asset verification at banks, and decisions on eligibility to operate, everything aims to ensure that each fund established has a clear legal basis, transparent resources, and is subject to the management of competent state agencies.
This is a necessary step to address the issue of spontaneous and uncontrolled charitable activities that have caused public concern.
Article 14 of Decree 03/2026/ND-CP allows foreign individuals and organizations, along with Vietnamese citizens and organizations, to contribute assets to establish funds in Vietnam, provided they commit to fulfilling all tax obligations, are responsible for the legality of the contributed assets, and comply with Vietnamese law.
However, the proportion of assets contributed by foreign parties must not exceed 50% of the total value of assets established in the fund, in order to ensure strict control over capital sources and operational objectives.
The procedures for establishing and operating charitable funds and social funds are stipulated in Articles 19, 24, and 27 of Decree 03/2026/ND-CP as follows:
The fund establishment dossier shall be prepared in one set as prescribed in Article 17 of Decree 03/2026/ND-CP and submitted to the competent state agency:
The deadline for responding to the request for comments is no more than 15 working days from the date of receipt of the request.
No later than 45 working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid application for the establishment and approval of the fund’s charter, the competent state agency shall issue the establishment and approval license. If the license is not granted, a written response must be provided stating the reasons and returning the application.
After being granted a license to establish and having its charter approved, the fund will publish it on the Ministry of Home Affairs’s electronic portal for funds operating nationwide or across provinces, and on the electronic portal of the Provincial People’s Committee for funds operating within a province or commune.
Within 45 working days from the date of issuance of the establishment license and approval of the charter, the fund shall prepare a set of documents to submit to the competent state agency requesting recognition of the fund’s eligibility to operate and recognition of the fund’s management board.
Within 45 working days of receiving a complete and valid application, the competent state agency shall issue a decision recognizing the fund as eligible to operate and recognizing the Fund Management Board. If the application is rejected, a written response stating the reasons must be provided.
Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, administrative penalties may be imposed. According to point c, clause 1, Article 15 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP, if an individual solicits donations but intentionally fails to disclose, return, or misuses the donated funds, or even uses fraudulent methods to misappropriate assets, they may be subject to an administrative penalty ranging from 2,000,000 VND to 3,000,000 VND.
Furthermore, according to Article 42 of Decree 03/2026/ND-CP, the Fund may be considered for temporary suspension of operations for 6 months if it commits any of the following violations:
Therefore, charitable and social funds that fail to properly disclose and report their financial statements may be suspended from operation for a period of six months.
The above is an update on Decree 03/2026/ND-CP: Stricter management of charity & social funds in Vietnam. To ensure compliance with Decree 03/2026/ND-CP, charitable and social funds need to review their charters, financial management mechanisms, and internal operations, especially issues related to the receipt and use of assets and information disclosure.
