Vietnam Revises Administrative Penalties In Environmental Protection

To further address violations in the field of environmental protection, the government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 55/2021/ND-CP (Decree 55) dated May 24, 2021, to amend and supplement provisions of Decree No 155/2016/ND-CP dated November 18, 2016, on penalties for administrative violations against environmental protection regulations. Decree 55 will take effect on July 10, 2021.

Decree 55 aims to extend the range of administrative violations and increase the penalties in some realms such as environmental protection plans and environmental impact assessment ("EIA"). Among other things, Decree 55 elaborates the entities that could be subject to fines and penalties under the decree to include all types of economic entities, including local and foreign-invested enterprises, foreign investors, and their representative offices.