1. Amending Laws concerning banking operations

On 24 August 2026, the National Assembly adopted the Law No. 23/2026/QH16 (“Law 23/2026”) amending the Law on State Bank of Vietnam (the SBV Law), the Law on Anti-Money Laundering (the AML Law), and the Law on Credit Institutions (the LCI). Law 23/2026 takes effect from 1 December 2026.

Amending the SBV Law and the LCI

Law 23/2026 adds Article 31a to the SBV Law which states that all transactions, payment, listings, advertisements, quotations, pricing, denominations of prices in agreements and other similar forms within Vietnamese territory shall not be made in foreign exchange, except for permissible circumstances provided in laws and resolutions of the National Assembly or the SBV’s regulations. The provision on restricted use of foreign exchange previously contained in the Foreign Exchange Ordinance has been removed accordingly. While the provision under Law 23/2026 retains the general prohibition on the use of foreign exchange within Vietnam, it broadens the express legal bases for exceptions to include laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, in addition to regulations issued by the SBV.

Law 23/2026 allows the SBV to apply one or several prudential ratios at levels different from the statutory ratios for the operations of entities subject to banking inspection and supervision.

Moreover, Law 23/2026 inserts item (e) in Article 114.2 of the LCI to establish a legal basis for commercial banks to operate as an agent to manage secured assets of privately offered corporate bonds.

Amending the AML Law

The group of financial institutions (as defined in Article 4.1 of the AML Law) has been expanded to additionally include crypto-asset service providers. Suspicious features in the crypto-asset sector are also supplemented in Law 23/2026.

Law 23/2026 amends Article 9.2(c) to require financial institutions to conduct  “know your customer” (KYC) if there is a suspicion that a customer or a customer’s transaction or transaction-related parties, including cases where a transaction has not been completed, are related to money laundering. Compared with the previous provision under the AML Law 2012, which referred only to transactions or transaction-related parties, this new provision expressly includes suspicion concerning the customer itself and clarifies that the requirement on “know your customer” also applies to uncompleted transactions.

Reporting entities are required to obtain KYC information on legal form, business locations (if different from the head office address), identification number (if any) and authorised representatives (if any) of institutional customers, besides information required in Article 10.1(e) the AML Law 2012. It also clarifies obligations of reporting entities concerning collection of KYC information on customers participating trust arrangements or legal arrangements of similar nature, and beneficiaries of life insurance contracts.

Under Law 23/2026, a reporting entity must report a suspicious transaction to the SBV if the reporting entity has reasonable grounds to suspect that the properties in the transaction originated from a crime by analysing and assessing customer information and suspicious features of the transaction.

2. Amending the Law on Customs

On 23 August 2026, the National Assembly adopted Law No. 11/2026/QH16 (“Law 11/2026”) amending the Law on Customs. Law 11/2026 will take effect on 1 March 2027. Some key amendments introduced by this Law are highlighted below.

Customs declaration

Customs declarants shall submit or present a customs declaration or a substitute for the customs declaration, together with relevant documents, to the customs authority through the electronic customs data processing system or at its offices in order to complete customs procedures for imported or exported goods. A customs declaration remains valid for 15 days from its registration date. Customs declarants are no longer required to submit or present documents that have already been issued by specialised authorities via the National Single Window.

Under the National Single Window, customs declarants may submit information and documents in the form of data messages to carry out customs procedures related to imported goods, exported goods, transited goods or means of transport exiting, entering or transiting Vietnam. Specialised authorities decide whether to permit the goods or means of transport, while the customs authority decides on clearance and release of goods based on information from the National Single Window.

Customs declarants now include owners of goods or means of transport; drivers of means of transport; enterprises providing postal services; enterprises providing international express delivery services; operators of e-commerce platforms; persons providing transit and/or transhipment services; customs agents; and persons authorised by owners of goods or means of transport to carry out customs procedures. Notably, operators of e-commerce platforms are newly added and bear the same obligations as owners of goods.

Bonded warehouses

Bonded warehouses may be established in seaports; international airports; land border gates; international railway stations; inland waterway ports where import, export, exit, entry and transit activities are carried out; inland clearance depots; industrial zones; hi-tech parks; non-tariff zones; free trade zones; logistics centres; concentrated digital technology zones; industrial clusters; and other zones prescribed by law. Further details on the establishment and operation of bonded warehouses will be regulated by the Government.

Goods for which customs procedures have been completed and goods sent from abroad may be stored in bonded warehouses pending their export or import into Vietnam. The storage period must not exceed 24 months from the date on which the goods are put into the warehouse, and Law 11/2026 does not expressly provide for any extension. The storage period is capped at 180 days for consolidation (CFS) locations and at 24 months for duty-free business locations. Transfers of goods between bonded warehouses are subject to customs inspection and supervision.

Law 11/2026 also abolishes tax-suspension warehouses. Raw materials and supplies remaining in such warehouses may continue to be handled under the current regime for 6 months from 1 March 2027.

Goods imported or exported via e-commerce platforms

Law 11/2026 provides that goods imported or exported via e-commerce platforms must undergo customs procedures and be subject to customs inspection and supervision. Entities and individuals in Vietnam that sell or purchase goods with overseas parties via e-commerce platforms are required to undergo electronic identification and authentication. Operators of e-commerce platforms must connect with the customs authority’s e-commerce data system. Platform operators, carriers and other relevant parties must also provide information on the goods to the customs authority.

Compliance management and post-clearance audits

Customs inspection and supervision will now be based on both risk management and compliance management, supported by digital technology, big data and artificial intelligence. Compliant customs declarants may be given priority in customs procedures and reduced levels of inspection, supervision and post-clearance audit.

The limitation period for post-clearance audits remains 5 years. An audit may now last up to 20 days and may be extended once by up to 20 days. Audits may cover data as well as documents, and may be conducted at the declarant’s head office, branches, stores, production sites or storage places.

Other changes

Supplementary declarations. For cleared goods, supplementary declarations may be made within 60 days of clearance and before a post-clearance audit or inspection decision is issued. This does not apply where the content relates to licences or specialised inspections.

Intellectual property rights (IPR). Law 11/2026 amends the procedures for requesting customs inspection, supervision and temporary suspension of customs procedures for goods showing signs of IPR infringement. An IPR holder or its authorised person may submit a request dossier to any Regional Customs Office convenient to it. The measure applies for 2 years and may be extended for a further 2 years. The regime now expressly covers transit goods, and the customs authority may suspend customs procedures on its own initiative where it suspects counterfeit goods.

Goods transported under customs supervision. These include transited goods, transhipped goods and goods transported from one border gate to another. Customs declarants are required to notify the relevant customs authority of the routes used to transport such goods.

Precedence of the Law on Customs. Where another law provides differently on customs procedures, inspection, supervision or priority regimes, the Law on Customs prevails. The exceptions are the Law on Urban Development, the Law on the Capital and National Assembly resolutions on special mechanisms.

3. Trading and distribution

On 3 September 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 342/2026/ND-CP (“Decree 342”) providing for purchase and sale of goods and activities directly related to purchase and sale of goods by foreign investors and economic organisations with foreign invested capital in Vietnam.

Decree 342 takes effect from 18 October 2026 and replaces Decree No. 09/2018/ND-CP dated 15 January 2018, as amended by Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP (“Decree 09”). Below are some notable changes of Decree 342.

New definitions

The term “goods” as used in Decree 342 means movables falling within the scope of Vietnam’s commitments on export rights, import rights, wholesale distribution rights and retail distribution rights in international treaties of which Vietnam is a member.

The “retail outlet” is amended by defining as a location where retail activities are conducted, excluding vending automatic machines and mobile retail vehicles.

The “sales area of a retail outlet” is defined as an area where the display, storage, retail, and activities directly supporting the retail activities are conducted.

Licensing authority

Provincial People’s Committees have the authority to issue, renew, extend and revoke business licences and retail outlet establishment licences.

Decree 342 no longer requires the licensing authority to obtain an approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade before issuing such licences, and instead requires the licensing authority to obtain the opinions on national security from the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defence in the following cases:

• A foreign investor not belonging to a country or territory participating in an international treaty of which Vietnam is a member, including where such investor seeks to provide services for which Vietnam has made no market-access commitments, or to trade in goods for which Vietnam has made no such commitments, namely petroleum-based lubricating oils and greases, rice, sugar, recorded image products, books, newspapers and magazines;
• A foreign investor controls an economic organisation being the operator of an intermediary e-commerce platform, social media e-commerce platform or integrated e-commerce platform catergorised as a large digital platform in accordance with the law on consumer protection and the law on e-commerce;
• The chain of existing retail outlets (when applying for retail outlet establishment licence permitting existing outlets to continue the operation), or the chain of retail outlets currently owned or co-owned by the foreign investor (when applying for new retail outlet establishment licence) reaches: 100 outlets and sales area of each below 500 m² and/or 50 outlets and sales area of each from 500 m² to below 3,000 m² and/or 30 outlets and sales area of each from 3,000 m² or more in Vietnam.

Business licences

A business licence shall be issued to a foreign invested economic organisation to conduct activities specified in Article 5.1 of Decree 342 which are similar to those of Decree 09.  To obtain this licence, the following conditions must be met:

• having no tax overdue debts to the State budget if the economic organisation established in Vietnam of one year or more; and
• satisfying the condition on market access in international treaties of which Vietnam is a member or satisfying the criteria as specified in Decree 342 (for foreign investors not belonging to countries or territories participating in international treaties of which Vietnam is a member).

Decree 342 continues to impose restrictions on trading and distribution for petroleum-based lubricating oils and greases, rice, sugar, recorded image products, books, newspapers and magazines. For example, the licensing authority shall consider to issue the licence for conducting the right to retail distribution of rice, sugar, recorded image products, books, newspapers and/or magazines to foreign invested economic organisations that have been issued with a licence to establish a retail outlet in the form of a convenience store, mini-supermarket, supermarket for retailing at those outlets.

The application file for a business licence shall be submitted to the provincial People’s Committee where the head office of a foreign invested economic organisation is located. If all the statutory conditions are met, the licensing authority shall issue the business licence within 10 working days from the date of receipt of a valid application file, or within 03 working days after receipt of written consents from both the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defence (in case where the opinions on national security are required).

Retail outlets

Retail outlets include convenience stores, mini-supermarkets, supermarkets and trading centres. Decree 342 requires that the location of the retail outlet must comply with the conditions prescribed by the law on land, planning, investment, construction, fire prevention and firefighting, transport safety and environmental hygiene. The application file for a retail outlet establishment licence shall be submitted to the provincial People’s Committee where the retail outlet is located.

Under Decree 09, the establishment of additional retail outlets (in addition to the first retail outlet) which have an area of 500 m² or more will be approved based on an Economic Needs Test (ENT). Decree 342 expressly links the ENT requirement to international treaties of which Vietnam is a member. ENT applies to outlets beyond the first outlet established by investors from countries or territories that are not parties to a treaty with Vietnam providing for the abolition of ENT. An exemption remains available for outlets below 500 m² located in shopping centres, and does not fall under the categories of convenience stores, mini-supermarkets or supermarkets.

Decree 342 also revises the ENT criteria by:

• defining the affected geographic market at the commune, ward or equivalent level for outlets below 5,000 m², and at the provincial or centrally governed city level for outlets of 5,000 m² or more;
• expressly requiring consideration of local demand and the proposed outlet’s ability to meet that demand, alongside its impact on market stability and existing retailers and traditional markets;
• introducing considerations relating to security, public order and social safety, including border, island and military zone security; and
• removing standalone criteria concerning the number of existing outlets, traffic density, environmental sanitation and fire safety, while narrowing the specified socio-economic contributions to retail development and modernisation and improved living conditions.

Although environmental sanitation, traffic and fire safety are no longer standalone ENT criteria, they remain relevant to the requirements governing the outlet’s location for the purpose of issuing the retail outlet establishment licences.

In case where the opinions on national security are required, the licensing authority must follow the process stipulated in Decree 342 to obtain written consents from both the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defence before issuing the retail outlet establishment licence.

Reporting obligations

Foreign invested economic organisations are required to submit an annual report and semi-annual report on their goods trading and directly related activities to the licensing authority. The semi-annual report shall be submitted before 15 July of the reporting year, and the annual report shall be submitted before 15 January of the following year.

In addition, foreign investors and foreign invested economic organisations must report, provide document or explanation of issues related to the goods trading and directly related activities, operation of retail outlets as requested by the competent State agency.

4. Selection of contractors

On 09 September 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 349/2026/ND-CP (“Decree 349”) amending the Decrees on selection of contractors. Effective from 9 September 2026, Decree 349 makes several amendments to Decree No. 214/2025/ND-CP dated 4 August 2025, as amended (“Decree 214”) and to Decree No. 32/2019/ND-CP on ordering public products and services, as follows:

Contractor appointment

Decree 349 amends the provisions of Decree 214 on contractor appointment as follows:

• New cases. Contractor appointment may now be applied to:
  • packages for which no bids are submitted, or for which no bid or bidder meets the requirements;
  • procurement from liquidation, dissolution or bankruptcy;
  • goods purchased on commodity exchanges; and
  • a wider range of digital transformation, technical infrastructure relocation and planning packages.
• Thresholds. The thresholds are now:
  • VND 1 billion for procurement estimates not forming a project;
  • VND 3 billion for consulting packages under projects; and
  • VND 5 billion for non-consulting, goods, works and mixed packages under projects.
• Posting on VNEPS. Dossiers of requirements, minutes of bid opening and evaluation reports must be posted on the Vietnam National Electronic Procurement System (VNEPS) at the same time as the contractor selection results.
• Price structure. For goods procurement packages or EP, PC and EPC packages, the contractor must explain the price structure of the goods if so requested by the project owner. The project owner may make this request where there is insufficient price reference data or where it deems this necessary.
• Choice of procedure. Where a package qualifies for both the standard and shortened appointment procedures, the project owner may choose either.
• Savings requirement. For certain works packages, the negotiated price must achieve savings of at least 5% of the package price.

Management and use of sub-contractors

Regarding management and use of sub-contractors, Decree 349 introduces the following amendments to Articles 35.2 and 141.2 of Decree 214, among others:

• Project owners’ obligations. Project owners are required to:
  • stipulate in the bidding documents the maximum percentage of value of work for sub-contractors, based on the bid price and contract price; and
  • update on VNEPS any changes to the list, scope of works and ratio of sub-contractors during the implementation of the contract.
• Agreeing the ratio and changes. The project owner and the winning contractor must agree the ratio of sub-contractors to be employed when negotiating or finalising the contract.
  • The winning contractor may sign contracts with sub-contractors on the list stated in the bid dossier, the proposal dossier or the contract, or with sub-contractors approved by the project owner.
  • The replacement or addition of sub-contractors (excluding special sub-contractors), or changes in the value of work for sub-contractors, must be approved by the project owner or the supervision consultant, and may not exceed the maximum value of work for sub-contractors stated in the contract.
  • Each joint venture member may use sub-contractors only up to the stipulated percentage of its own share of the work.
• Suppliers are not sub-contractors. Entities and individuals that sell materials, fuels, components, spare parts, machinery or equipment, lease out construction equipment, or supply personnel to contractors to implement the bidding package are not considered sub-contractors. The value of works performed by such entities and individuals is not counted towards the value of works undertaken by sub-contractors.

Other amendments

In addition, Decree 349 amends provisions relating to collection of quotations for goods and services, selection of contractors in special cases, selection of contractors to provide products and services in the form of ordering, and the process for resolving contractors’ complaints. Notably:

• Quotations.
  • Generally, a minimum of one quotation is required. Requests must be posted on VNEPS, with at least 3 working days allowed for responses.
  • For medical procurement packages, at least 10 days must be allowed for responses.

• Special cases. New special cases are added, including:
  • voucher-based support programmes;
  • free health check-ups; and
  • certain foreign affairs services.

• Complaints.
  • The project owner must resolve a complaint within 7 working days.
  • Complaints on contractor selection results may be filed with either the project owner or the standing body within 10 days of posting.
  • The Complaint Resolution Council has 30 days to resolve a complaint, extendable by up to 10 days for complex cases.
• Bidding situations. Where only one bidder participates and its non-conforming common goods items account for no more than 1% of the package price, the project owner may allow those items to be supplemented or replaced. Project owners may also request bidders to restore the validity of expired bids.
• Transitional provisions. Packages for which bidding or request documents were issued before 9 September 2026 continue under the previous rules, except that the new rules on handling bidding situations apply.

5. Labour

On 25 September 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 371/2026/ND-CP (“Decree 371”) regarding recruitment and management of Vietnamese employees working for foreign organisations and individuals in Vietnam. Decree 371 comes into force on 15 November 2026, and the provisions on recruitment and management of Vietnamese employees working for foreigners contained in Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP (as amended) will cease to be effective on that date.

Scope of application

Decree 371 only applies to the following foreign organisations authorised to operate in Vietnam:

• diplomatic and consular missions; representative missions of the United Nations’ organisations, international inter-governmental organisations, regional and sub-regional organisations;
• representative offices of foreign governmental organisations;
• resident offices of foreign news, press, radio and television agencies; and
• foreign non-governmental organisations holding registration certificates issued by the competent Vietnamese authorities.

It also applies to foreign individuals who are working at the above-mentioned foreign organisations that employing Vietnamese workers.

Importantly, the recruitment and management of Vietnamese employees by representative offices of foreign organisations operating in the economic, commercial, financial, banking, insurance, scientific and technical, cultural, educational, healthcare and foreign legal consultancy sectors are governed by the Labour Code and other relevant laws.

Recruitment requirements

Foreign organisations and individuals may directly recruit Vietnamese employees or request recruitment assistance from an agency or organisation delegated, authorized, assigned, commissioned or selected through bidding by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to manage Vietnamese employees working for foreign organisations and individuals (hereinafter referred as the “competent management agency”). In either case, the foreign organisation or individual must notify the competent management agency in writing of the positions and the number of employees to be recruited, and publish recruitment information on the National Employment Exchange at https://www.vieclam.gov.vn or other lawful employment portals or on the foreign organisation’s website.

Notification and reporting obligations

The foreign organisation and individual must, within 10 working days after signing the labour contract, provide a written notice detailing full name, personal identification number, job position and start date of the Vietnamese employee to the competent management agency. The Vietnamese employee is also required to submit his/her personal information record (in the prescribed form) and a copy of the signed labour contract to the competent management agency within the same period.

The foreign organisation or individual must also:

• notify the competent management agency in writing within 10 working days after termination of a labour contract, specifying the reason for termination; and
• submit information on the recruitment and employment of Vietnamese employees, using the prescribed form, before 15 December each year.

These notices and submissions may be delivered in person, by post or electronically through the competent management agency’s official email address.

Employee compliance requirements

Vietnamese employees must complete a programme on Vietnamese state policies and laws organised by the competent management agency within 06 months after signing their labour contracts. Foreign organisations and individuals must facilitate employees’ participation in the programme and completion of their employee management records. Employees must also update and submit those records whenever their personal information changes or the competent management agency requests an update.

Labour outsourcing

Foreign organisations and individual may engage Vietnamese employees supplied by labour outsourcing enterprises (for the jobs that are permitted to be outsourced set forth in the current regulations). In case of using services of labour outsourcing enterprises, foreign organisations and individuals must notify the competent management agency in writing (in the prescribed form) within 07 working days from the date of service use.