Decision No. 15/2020/QD-TTg on the implementation of support policies for people facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Pursuant to …;

Regulations on the implementation of policies to support people facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 42/NQ-CP dated April 9, 2020 of the Government on measures to support people facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic;

Decree No. 07/2021/NĐ-CP

The Prime Minister issues this Decision to regulate the implementation of policies to support people facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PART I

SUPPORT FOR WORKERS WHO SUSPEND LABOR CONTRACTS
OR ARE ON UNPAID LEAVE

Article 1. Conditions for Support

Workers shall be supported if they meet all of the following conditions:

1. The period of suspending the performance of labor contracts or being on unpaid leave within the term of the labor contract is at least one continuous month from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020, and the start date of suspending the performance of labor contracts or being on unpaid leave is from April 1, 2020 to June 1, 2020.

2. They are participating in mandatory social insurance up to the time before suspending the performance of labor contracts or being on unpaid leave.

3. They work in enterprises that have no revenue or financial resources to pay salaries (after using reserve funds, post-tax profits, and other legitimate financial sources of the enterprise, with a balance as of March 31, 2020) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Article 2. Documents, Procedures, and Formalities for Implementation

1. Application documents according to the Appendix attached to this Decision.

2. Enterprises prepare a list of workers who suspend the performance of labor contracts or are on unpaid leave, ensuring compliance with the conditions stipulated in Article 1 of this Decision; they request confirmation from the grassroots trade union organization (if any) and the social insurance agency.

3. Within three working days from the date of receiving the list proposed by the enterprise, the social insurance agency confirms the participation in social insurance of the workers as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 1 of this Decision and sends it to the enterprise.

4. Enterprises submit application documents to the People's Committee of the district where their headquarters are located. Within three working days from the date of receiving complete documents, the People's Committee of the district reviews and submits to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province. Within two working days from the date of receiving complete documents, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province issues a decision approving the list and support funding; simultaneously directing the implementation of the payment of support.

Chapter II
SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS HOUSEHOLDS

Article 3. Conditions for Support

1. Revenue managed by tax authorities for individual business households in 2020 is less than 100 million VND, determined as of January 15, 2020, in accordance with tax management laws.

2. Temporarily ceasing business operations from April 1, 2020, based on the Decision of the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province implementing Directive No. 15/CT-TTg dated March 27, 2020 of the Prime Minister.

Article 4. Documents, Procedures, and Formalities for Implementation

1. Application documents according to the Appendix attached to this Decision, sent to the People's Committee of the commune.

2. Within five days, the People's Committee of the commune confirms the temporary cessation of business operations of individual business households; publicly announces; compiles and reports to the Tax Branch. Within two working days, the Tax Branch, in charge, collaborates with relevant agencies to review and report to the People's Committee of the district for consolidation. Within three days, the People's Committee of the district reviews, consolidates, and reports to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province. Within two working days, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province issues a decision approving the list and support funding; simultaneously directing the implementation of support. In cases where support is not provided, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province notifies in writing and specifies the reasons.

Chapter III

SUPPORT FOR WORKERS WHOSE LABOR CONTRACTS OR WORK CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN TERMINATED BUT DO NOT MEET THE CONDITIONS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

Article 5. Conditions for Support

Workers shall be supported with financial assistance if they meet all of the following conditions: having entered into a labor contract or employment contract before April 1, 2020 and currently participating in mandatory social insurance; terminating the labor contract or employment contract during the period from April 1, 2020 to June 15, 2020 but not meeting the conditions for unemployment benefits as prescribed; having no income or having an income lower than the poverty threshold defined in Decision No. 59/2015/QĐ-TTg dated November 19, 2015 of the Prime Minister.

Article 6. Documents, Procedures, and Formalities for Implementation

1. Application documents according to the Appendix attached to this Decision.

2. The People's Committee at the commune level shall review and confirm the income level, compile a list, and submit it to the People's Committee at the district level.

3. The People's Committee at the district level shall examine and submit to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level within two working days.

4. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level shall approve the list of those to be supported and the support funds; simultaneously directing the payment of support within three working days. In case of non-approval, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level shall respond in writing and specify the reasons.

Chapter IV

SUPPORT FOR WORKERS WITHOUT LABOR CONTRACTS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS

Article 7. Conditions for Support

1. Workers without a labor contract who have lost their jobs shall be supported if they meet all of the following conditions:

a) Losing their job and having an income lower than the poverty threshold defined in Decision No. 59/2015/QĐ-TTg dated November 19, 2015 of the Government, during the period from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020;

b) Legally residing in the locality;

c) Belonging to the non-agricultural sector and performing one of the following jobs: selling goods on the street, small-scale trading without a fixed location; collecting waste and scrap materials; loading and transporting goods; driving motorcycles with two wheels carrying passengers, pedicabs carrying passengers; selling lottery tickets on the move; self-employed or working in households engaged in food service, accommodation, tourism, and healthcare.

2. Based on the conditions and actual circumstances, the People's Committee at the provincial level shall decide on other eligible recipients for support outside those specified in Clause 1 of this Article from local budget sources and other legitimate fundraising sources.

3. The funding for supporting mobile lottery sellers shall be guaranteed from legitimate financial resources of lottery companies and recorded as expenses according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 8. Documents and Procedures

1. Application documents as stipulated in the Appendix attached to this Decision shall be submitted to the People's Committee at the commune level after the 15th day of each month. If workers have their permanent residence and temporary residence in different provinces or centrally-administered cities, and apply for support at their place of permanent residence, they must obtain confirmation from the People's Committee at the commune level where they temporarily reside that they have not applied for policies under this Decision, and vice versa.

2. Within five working days, the People's Committee at the commune level shall organize reviews and compile a list of workers eligible for support with the participation of representatives from political and social organizations and publicizing it to the community; publicly posting the list of workers applying for support for two working days; compiling a list of eligible workers and submitting it to the People's Committee at the district level.

3. Within two working days, the People's Committee at the district level shall examine and submit to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level.

4. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level shall approve the list of those to be supported and the support funds; simultaneously directing the payment of support within three working days. In case of non-approval, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level shall respond in writing and specify the reasons.

Chapter V

SUPPORT FOR PERSONS WITH CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE REVOLUTION; POOR HOUSEHOLDS, NEAR-POOR HOUSEHOLDS AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE OBJECTS

Article 9. Support for persons who have rendered meritorious service to the revolution

Persons who have rendered meritorious service to the revolution receiving monthly preferential allowances (including dependents of such persons also receiving monthly preferential allowances, war invalids receiving monthly disability benefits) listed in the April 2020 allowance recipient list.

Article 10. Support for households classified as poor or near-poor

Households classified as poor or near-poor in the list of poor and near-poor households up to December 31, 2019, recognized by the competent authority according to the national poverty standard stipulated in Decision No. 59/2015/QĐ-TTg dated November 19, 2015 of the Government.

Article 11. Support for social assistance beneficiaries

Social assistance beneficiaries receiving monthly social assistance policies listed in the April 2020 social assistance recipient list.

Article 12. Approval of support lists and funding

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee directs the review, examination, approval of support lists and funding according to the Appendix attached to this Decision; simultaneously directing the implementation of support payments.

Chapter VI

SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYERS TO BORROW FUNDS TO PAY SALARIES FOR STOPPED WORKING EMPLOYEES

Article 13. Conditions for borrowing funds

1. Having at least 20% or 30 employees participating in mandatory social insurance who must stop working for at least one continuous month; having paid at least 50% of the stopped work salary to employees during the period from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020.

2. Facing financial difficulties, unable to balance sufficient sources to pay stopped work salaries to employees, having exhausted the wage reserve fund to pay stopped work salaries to employees.

3. Not having bad debts with credit organizations, foreign bank branches as of December 31, 2019.

Article 14. Documentation and procedures for confirming and approving employers eligible for borrowing funds

1. Application documents according to the Appendix attached to this Decision.

2. By the fifth day of each month at the latest, employers with requests shall submit application documents to the People's Committee of the district where their headquarters or branch, representative office, place of business, or place of residence (for individual businesses, individuals) is located.

3. Within three working days from the date of receipt of complete documents, the People's Committee of the district shall assess and compile a list according to the Appendix attached to this Decision, and report to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

4. Within two working days from the date of receipt of complete documents from the People's Committee of the district, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall decide to approve the list according to the Appendix attached to this Decision, send it to the branch of the Social Policy Bank and the employers on the list. In case of non-approval, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall respond in writing and specify the reasons.

Article 15. Approval for lending and disbursement organization

1. Within three working days from the date of receipt of complete loan application documents according to the guidelines of the Social Policy Bank and the approval decision of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, the Social Policy Bank shall approve the loan. In case of refusal to lend, the Social Policy Bank shall notify in writing and specify the reasons to the employer.

2. The disbursement of the Social Policy Bank shall be completed by July 31, 2020.

Article 16. Sources of funds for loans and management fees

1. The source of funds for the Social Policy Bank to implement loans to employers as stipulated in this Decision is the interest-free refinancing loan without collateral from the State Bank of Vietnam at 0%/year.

2. The state budget shall provide management fees for the loans made according to this Decision in accordance with the current financial management mechanism for the Social Policy Bank.

Article 17. Transfer of overdue debt and handling of loan risks at the Social Policy Bank

1. Upon maturity of the loan, if the employer borrower cannot repay the debt, the Social Policy Bank will transfer the entire remaining balance of the loan to overdue debt and apply an overdue interest rate of 12%/year. The amount of overdue interest recovered will be deducted from the annual management fee provided by the state budget for the Social Policy Bank.

2. After three years from the date the employer's loan debt is transferred to overdue status, after the Social Policy Bank has applied all measures but still cannot recover the debt and the employer is no longer capable of repaying due to reasons specified in the risk management regulations of the Social Policy Bank; the Social Policy Bank will compile and prepare a risk handling file according to guidelines and report to the State Bank of Vietnam.

3. The State Bank of Vietnam shall take the lead and coordinate with ministries, agencies, and localities to compile, review, and decide on risk handling.

4. In cases where the Social Policy Bank recovers a debt that has been waived, the amount recovered will be deducted from the annual management fee provided by the state budget for the Social Policy Bank.

Article 18. Handling of risks for refinancing capital at the State Bank of Vietnam

The State Bank of Vietnam shall decide on the handling of risks for the Social Policy Bank’s refinancing loans in accordance with Point b Clause 3 Section IV Resolution No. 42/NQ-CP dated April 9, 2020 of the Government.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 19. Responsibilities of relevant agencies

1. Ministers of the Ministries of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Planning and Investment, Finance, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, and other ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and central agencies shall guide (necessary contents), develop plans, and organize the implementation of this Decision according to their functions and responsibilities; in cases exceeding their authority, they shall report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

2. The Office of the Government shall coordinate with ministries, sectors, and localities to select and implement online public service provision for the subjects specified in this Decision on the National Public Service Portal in accordance with laws on administrative procedures in the electronic environment.

3. Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be responsible for organizing the implementation to ensure transparency and compliance with regulations. In cases where localities have their own poverty standards, these standards shall be applied.

4. It is requested that the Vietnam Fatherland Front take the lead in supervising the implementation of the support policies stipulated in this Decision.

Article 20. Handling Violations

Any individual, agency, organization, or enterprise taking advantage of the policies stipulated in this Decision to gain illicit benefits or violate the law shall be liable for compensation, disciplinary action, administrative penalties, or criminal prosecution according to the provisions of the law depending on the nature and severity of the violation.

Article 21. Effective Date

1. This Decision takes effect from the date of issuance. The provisions set forth in this Decision shall be implemented from April 1, 2020.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, heads of units and organizations related to activities supporting people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.