Outstanding policies take effect from March 2026

Electronic indentification code for each residential property

From March 1, 2026 each residential real estate will have its own unique electronic identification code, according to the Government's Decree 357/2025/NĐ-CP, dated December 31, 2025.

The electronic identification code is a string of alphanumeric characters, up to a maximum of 40 characters, assigned uniquely to each house or real estate unit within construction projects managed in the housing and real estate information system and database.

Provincial/Municipal Departments of Construction shall be responsible for attaching electronic identification codes to housing development projects on their territory. This will be done simultaneously with the issuance of notices confirming that the housing meets sales conditions, for housing projects in the future.

The national real estate database system is designed to be open and interconnected, complying with technical standards for databases, application programming interfaces (API), and access permission models. The system must fully meet security and information safety requirements under the national data architecture framework.

Licensing time for foreign representative offices drops to 14 days

Decree 62/2026/ND-CP, dated February 13, 2026, amends and supplements Decree 06/2005/ND-CP regarding the establishment and operation of representative offices for foreign research and cooperation organizations.

Foreign organizations can now submit their applications through the National Public Service Portal, in addition to direct submission or postal services. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is required to verify the validity of the application within one working day of receipt.

From March 1, the timeframe for the ministry to grant or deny a license shall be officially halved from 30 working days to just 14. In cases where an application is rejected, the ministry must provide a written explanation to the applicant.

Administrative fine for using archived documents to defame and offend individuals

The Government issued Decree 31/2026/ND-CP dated January 21, 2026, stipulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of archiving.

The maximum fine for individuals committing administrative violations in the field of archiving shall be VND30 million.

The maximum fine for organizations shall be VND60 million.

Renewed fine for road traffic violations

The Government has issued Decree No. 336/2025/ND-CP, regulating administrative sanctions for violations in road operations.

Under the Decree, the Government shall increase the maximum fine to VND75 million (US$2,850) for individuals and to VND150 million for organization for violating road traffic regulations.

The Government shall impose a fine of VND3–5 million for individuals, from VND6–10 million for organizations in case individuals and organizations commit one of the following acts: arbitrarily transferring terminal cards from one vehicle to another; destroying, forging, deleting data or interfering with terminal card content; opening or maintaining anonymous or impersonated traffic accounts.

Decree 336 also stipulates many other levels of penalties. Specifically, fines from VND10–20 million shall be imposed for acts such as: not disclosing information as prescribed; selling and checking tickets that cause harassment to ticket buyers; not selling fully or limiting the selling time of monthly and quarterly tickets; receiving cash but not delivering tickets or delivering tickets improperly; lax professional procedures so that vehicles that do not buy tickets still pass through the station./.