Hot policies take effect on April 2023

The Ministry of Construction issues Circular No. 02/2023/TT-BXD guiding a number of contents on construction contracts.

The adjustment of unit prices and contract prices is prescribed as follows:

- The adjustment of unit prices of construction contracts shall comply with Article 38 of Decree No. 37/2015/ND-CP;

- For cases in which the construction contract price adjustments result in the amendment and supplementation of the contracts, the parties are required to sign contract appendices as the basis of the implementation of adjustments.

The project owners shall be responsible for approving or submitting for approval the adjusted and additional cost estimates in accordance with law regulations on the management of costs of construction investment and construction contracts as the basis for signing contract appendices.

Method of adjusting contract prices includes:

- The method of adjusting contract prices shall comply with Appendix I. The application of price adjustment methods must conform to the characteristics of the relevant task, contractual price type, and payment currency and shall be agreed upon in the contract.

- For construction consultancy contracts with time-based payment (by month, week, day, and hour), the adjustment of salary rate for experts shall comply with the adjustment formula for the labor cost element specified in Section I in Appendix I.

The Circular 02 is issued on March 03, 2023 and takes effect on April 20, 2023.

On February 09, 2023, the Ministry of Health issues the Circular No. 02/2023/TT-BYT on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Ministry of Health’s Circular No. 15/2016/TT-BYT dated May 15, 2016, providing for occupational diseases covered by social insurance.

Circular 02 supplements Covid-19 to the list of occupational diseases covered by social insurance.

There are two factors which make Covid-19 as the occupational diseases as follows:

 - Have direct contact with SARS-CoV-2 virus in the working environment

- Pathogenetic factors are recorded un the documents as follows:

+ Minute of defining the occupational interaction with SARS-CoV-2 virus.

+ Assessing the factors of occupational exposure as prescribed in the Decree No. 44/2016/ND-CP.

A confirmation of exposure to acute occupational disease elements in accordance with No. 28/2016/TT-BYT

The Circular No. 13/2023/TT-BTC on amending and supplementing a number of regulations on value-added tax is issued on February 28, 2023.

Accordingly, Circular 13 amends, and supplements a number of articles of Circular No. 219/2013/TT-BTC as follows:

- To amend and supplement Clause 10, Article 7 as follows: For real estate transfer, the taxable price shall comply with Clause 1 Article 1 of the Decree No. 49/2022/ND-CP.

- To amend and supplement Clause 13, Article 7 as follows: The taxable prices for power production activities of the Vietnam Electricity shall comply with Clause 1 Article 1 of the Decree No. 49/2022/ND-CP.

- To replace Clause 2, Clause 3 Article 18 as follows: Business establishments shall be entitled to tax refunds for investment projects under Clause 3 Article 1 of the Decree No. 49/2022/ND-CP.

- Documents for tax refund of investment projects of establishments engaged in sectors and trades subject to conditional business investment, including: A copy of the license, certificate or written certification or approval for doing business in sectors or trades subject to conditional business investment.

Circular No. 13/2023/TT-BTC takes effect on April 14, 2023.

Accordingly, credit institutions, or foreign bank branches, shall consider and decide the issuance of the guarantee, counter-guarantee or guarantee confirmation to customers as long as customers meet the following requirements:

Have the full capacity to have civil rights or the full capacity to act on those civil rights;

• Guaranteed financial obligations must be legal;
• Obtain the assessment which proves that they have the capability of repaying sums that credit institutions or foreign bank branches giving guarantees have paid to fulfill the financial obligations in favor of them.
• Credit institutions or foreign bank branches are not allowed to guarantee the payment obligations of enterprise bond issuance for the purposes as follows: Capital contribution and share purchases at other enterprises and increase working capital; restructuring debts of the issuing enterprises.

The commercial banks shall have full capacity to guarantee for future-acquired houses, when: Bank guarantee is prescribed in the establishment and operation licenses, and not prohibited, restricted, suspended, or temporarily suspended for future-acquired houses.

Circular 11 takes effect on April 01, 2023.

On March 03, 2023, the Ministry of Construction issues Circular No. 02/2023/TT-BXD guiding a number of contents on construction contracts.

Article 3 prescribes the payment, temporary payment, and temporary payment dossiers of construction contracts as follows:

- The payment of construction contracts shall comply with Article 19 of Decree No. 37/2015/ND-CP.

- For the manufacture of structures, semi-finished products of high value, or construction materials to be seasonally reserved that are required the advance payment for performance as specified in Clause 7 Article 18 of Decree No. 37/2015/ND-CP.

The advance payment dossier must comprise the list, unit prices, and total values of materials, structures, and semi-finished products.

The subtraction of the value of completed work volume subject to the pre-acceptance test corresponding to the value of advance payment under the contracts must be conducted upon payment.

- The temporary payment under Clause 4 Article 19 of Decree No. 37/2015/ND-CP, the temporary payment value, and security interests for the temporary payment shall be decided based on the specific conditions of each temporary payment. A number of specific cases are as follows:

For adjustable unit price-based contracts, if there is no data on adjustment of unit price or contract price upon payment deadline, the unit price in the contract shall be used to make temporary payment.

For a product or work that is under construction and has not yet been completed, the temporary payment shall be made based on the completion, for each specific case, and the details of the unit price in the contract.

- The subtraction of the value of the completed work volume subject to the pre-acceptance test corresponding to the value of advance payment under the contracts must be conducted upon payment.

- A temporary payment dossier includes: Written record of the testing and acceptance of completed work volume/Written record of certification of completed work volume; Table of calculation of temporary payment value and payment request.

Circular No. 02/2023/TT-BXD takes effect on April 20, 2023.