Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2025: Some notable changes in the regulations on administrative sanctions in Vietnam

On June 25, 2025, Vietnam National Assembly passed the Law No. 88/2025/QH15 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the 2012 Law on Handling Administrative Violations. The amended law officially took effect from July 1^st, 2025.

On the same day, July 1^st, 2025, the Government issued Decree No. 189/2025/ND-CP (“Decree 189”) providing detailed guidelines for implementation of Clause 2 of the newly supplemented Article 37a of the 2025 Law on Handling Administrative Violations. Decree 189, effective as of the signing date, provides for persons/authorities that are competent for imposing administrative penalties, the forms and scope of administrative sanctions and remedial measures which may be applied by each of competent persons/authorities.

In the field of industrial property, it is worth noting that the VNIPO has been given for the first time the authority to handle administrative violations, in the place of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Science and Technology. However, application in the field of industrial property of the new law may encounter practical difficulties until a new implementing instrument is issued to replace Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of industrial property, which was issued in 2013 and now becomes outdated.

Below are some notable changes of the new Law on Handling Administrative Violations and Decree 189. They are general provisions applicable to legal violations in many different fields, including industrial property.

2025 LAW ON HANDLING ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS

1. Time limit for imposing administrative penalties extended (Point a, Clause 1, Article 6)

The time limit for imposing administrative sanctions in several sectors including intellectual property field has been extended from one year before to two years.

If the administrative sanction case is received from a prosecution agency, the time limit for handling is further extended by one year. The period of time that the prosecution agency spends on handling the violation shall be included for calculation of the time limit for imposing administrative sanctions.

2. New provision on sanctioning administrative violations in the electronic environment (Article 18a)

The newly added Article 18a on sanctioning violations in the digital environment allows Decisions and Notification on administrative penalties to be sent via email, SMS, or other applications, provided that conditions on information authenticity, integrity and data security are satisfied. This change reflects a strong shift toward digital transformation in the state administration, aiming to enhance the efficiency of administrative sanctions by automating procedural steps, minimizing paperwork and processing time, and improving transparency and oversight, as all activities are electronically recorded, making it easier to trace and check.

3. Authorities to sanction administrative violations more clearly defined (Article 37a)

The newly added Article 37a provides clearer regulations on the persons/authorities that are competent for imposing administrative sanctions. More competent authorities are included compared to the previous law, now including Heads of organizations under Ministries or Ministerial-level agencies, as well as Heads of specialized agencies under Provincial People’s Committees. Detailed guidance of this Article shall be issued by the Government in its under-law implementing instruments.

4. Amounts of on-the-spot fines without official record increased (Article 56)

According to the new law, the maximum monetary fine applied to on-the-spot fines without having to make official record is doubled compared to before. Specifically, such on-the-spot fine is increased from VND 250,000 to VND 500,000 for individuals and from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 for organizations. This new provision is designed to help minor violations to be handled quickly, saving time and administrative efforts of individuals and enterprises. However, in cases where violations are detected by technical and professional means and equipments, a record of administrative sanctions must be made.

5. More people involved in the process of verification of violations (Clause 2, Article 59)

According to the new law, during the process of handling violations, where necessary, the competent persons/authorities may themselves carry out, or assign or cooperate with others in carrying out the verification of the details of the alleged violations. Previously, only the person with the authority to impose administrative sanctions was responsible for verifying details of violations or requesting appraisals.

6. Duration of temporary detention of evidences for valuation extended (Clause 3, Article 60)

According to the new law, in cases where it is necessary to temporarily detain physical evidences and means of violation and establish a Valuation Council, the maximal duration of detention shall be increased from 48 hours to 5 days. This change is more in line with practical requirements, because the 48-hour period is too short in most cases to ensure the effective implementation of procedures.

7. Transferring the case to the prosecution agency possible at any stage (Article 62)

According to the new law, during the stage of reviewing and handling the violation, if it is found that the violation has signs of crime, the competent person handling the case can immediately transfer the relevant file to the prosecution agency who is competent to conduct criminal proceedings. If no criminal prosecution is initiated, it will be returned to administrative handling within 5 working days. Previously, the transfer to the prosecution agency could only be carried out at the stage of “considering the decision to impose an administrative penalty“, or in other words, after completing the file and drawing up a record of the administrative violation.

8. Sending by electronic means decisions on sanctions for enforcement (Article 70)

Under the previous regulations, sending decisions on administrative sanctions were mainly through direct delivery or by registered mail, and public posting if the above forms could not be carried out. The new law added the form of sending by electronic means. This method is in line with the digital transformation trend and creates more favorable conditions for receiving information and speeding up the process of enforcing decisions of sanctions.

DECREE 189

Decree 189 provides detailed guidance on competent authorities for imposing administrative sanctions as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 37a of the 2025 Law on Handling Administrative Violations. Compared to previous regulations, Decree 189 clarifies the delegation of authority more explicitly, strengthening the powers of grassroots-level authorities. It specifies percentage-based limits in relation to the maximum fines for each competent person/authority, expands the authority to apply additional sanctions and remedial measures, enhances on-the-spot sanctioning powers, reduces dependence on higher administrative levels, and provides clearer regulations for each competent person/authority to apply.

As mentioned above, Decree No. 189 (in its Article 6) for the first time designates the VNIPO’s General Director as one of the persons/authorities competent for imposing administrative sanctions. Accordingly, he/she is empowered to: issue warnings; impose fines up to the maximum level applicable to the relevant field as stipulated in Article 24 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations; suspend licenses or professional practice certificates for a definite period or suspend operations for a definite period; confiscate infringing goods and means used in administrative violations; and apply remedial measures as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 28 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.