Starting February 2025, several new economic regulations will come into effect, covering electricity pricing, tax registration, counterfeit money inspection, agricultural disaster relief, and penalties for insurance violations.

Electricity pricing and service charges

During its eighth session, the 15th National Assembly passed the revised Electricity Law, replacing the 2004 Electricity Law, effective February 1, 2025. Article 5, Clause 12, outlines policies on electricity pricing and related services.

The new law mandates that electricity prices and service fees must reflect reasonable and legitimate costs of electricity production and business operations. It also aims to encourage economic investment in the electricity sector, promote renewable and alternative energy sources, and ensure energy efficiency.

Special emphasis is placed on rural, ethnic minority, mountainous, border, island, and economically disadvantaged regions.

Electricity prices will continue to follow a market-based mechanism with state-regulated pricing to align with the development of a competitive electricity market.

The policy also seeks to gradually eliminate cross-subsidization between consumer groups that do not participate in the competitive retail electricity market.

New tax registration regulations

The Ministry of Finance has issued Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC, which replaces Circular 105/2020/TT-BTC, outlining new tax registration regulations effective February 6, 2025.

Article 4 of Circular 86 specifies the entities required to register for tax, including those who must do so through the one-stop administrative mechanism and those who must register directly with tax authorities.

Entities required to register directly with tax authorities include businesses in specialized industries that are exempt from enterprise registration, public service units, economic organizations within the armed forces, and socio-political organizations engaged in business activities that do not require enterprise registration.

Guidelines on handling counterfeit money

The State Bank of Vietnam has issued Circular 58/2024/TT-NHNN, effective February 14, 2025, providing guidelines on dealing with counterfeit and suspected counterfeit money within the banking system.

The regulation mandates that when counterfeit or suspected counterfeit banknotes are detected during cash transactions, the State Bank’s branches, financial institutions, and foreign bank branches must temporarily seize the notes and document the case according to official procedures.

New penalties for insurance violations

The government has issued Decree 174/2024/ND-CP, effective February 15, 2025, detailing administrative penalties for violations in the insurance business sector.

The decree defines offenses, applicable penalties, corrective measures, and enforcement authorities.

For each administrative violation in the insurance sector, organizations and individuals will face monetary fines. Organizations will be fined twice the amount imposed on individuals for the same violation.

The maximum fine for individuals is 100 million VND, while organizations can be fined up to 200 million VND.

Support for agriculture affected by natural disasters and pests

The government has also issued Decree 9/2025/ND-CP, effective February 25, 2025, establishing policies to support agricultural recovery in areas affected by natural disasters and plant pests.

This policy applies to individuals, households, farms, cooperatives, and public units engaged in agriculture, forestry, livestock farming, aquaculture, and salt production impacted by such events.

Support can be provided in cash or in-kind, including seeds, livestock, or production materials equivalent to the cash aid value at the time of distribution. The policy aims to help farmers recover, stabilize production, and ensure social security while restoring the agricultural economy after disasters.

Hanh Nguyen