Lawmakers at the second session of the 16th National Assembly on October 26 discussed five draft laws, including amendments to the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations. The proposals would expand enforcement measures, raise maximum fines and extend limitation periods for some violations.
The session was attended by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam, Standing Member of the Central Committee's Secretariat Tran Cam Tu, and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Bui Thi Minh Hoai.
Minister of Public Security General Luong Tam Quang presented the five draft laws: the Data Security Law; the Law on Protection of Important Works Related to National Security; the Electronic Identification and Authentication Law; amendments to the law on the management and use of weapons, explosives and supporting tools and the law on fire prevention, firefighting, rescue and salvage; and the revised Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.
The revised Law on Handling of Administrative Violations has six chapters and 128 articles. It proposes extending the limitation period for penalties to two or three years in some sectors, raising maximum fines from 1 billion VND, or more than 38,000 USD, to 1.5 billion VND for individuals and from 2 billion VND to 3 billion VND for organisations, and setting maximum fines for individual sectors.
The additional enforcement measures would include temporarily suspending exit; sealing offices, premises, or production and business facilities; suspending electricity and water supplies; suspending vehicle inspections, registration, or driving permits; and cutting off Internet, telecommunications, or digital infrastructure services, or blocking access through technical measures.
Phan Chi Hieu, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Legal and Judicial Affairs, called for further review of the proposed extension of limitation periods so that violations can be detected and handled promptly.
He warned that extending the period to three years, and potentially four years for cases referred by procedural authorities, could narrow the legal distinction between administrative violations and criminal offences. The limitation period for less serious crimes is five years.
Hieu also warned that excessively high fines could exceed the financial capacity of some individuals and businesses, reducing their effectiveness. He said alternative measures, including remedial requirements, licence revocation, and suspension of operations, should be considered.
On the additional enforcement measures, Hieu said some proposals were better suited to stopping violations than enforcing penalty decisions, while others targeted assets or facilities rather than the responsible individuals.
He called for further revisions to ensure that the measures genuinely enforce the law and remain appropriate and feasible.
Sources: VietnamPlus / Vietnam News Agency
