Decree No. 55/2019/ND-CP on Legal Support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

DECREE
On Legal Support for Small and Medium Enterprises

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

Pursuant to the Law on Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises dated June 12, 2017;

At the proposal of the Minister of Justice;

The Government promulgates this Decree on Legal Support for Small and Medium Enterprises.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree stipulates detailed activities on legal support for small and medium enterprises; responsibilities of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level administrative authorities, other organizations and individuals related to legal support for small and medium enterprises.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies; provincial-level administrative authorities.

2. Small and medium enterprises.

3. Organizations representing enterprises.

4. Organizations and individuals providing legal support services for small and medium enterprises.

5. Other organizations and individuals related to legal support for small and medium enterprises.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Decree, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. Legal support for small and medium enterprises means the activities carried out by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial-level administrative authorities to build, manage, maintain, and update legal databases; to develop and implement legal support programs aimed at enhancing understanding, awareness, and habits of compliance with laws, reducing legal risks and obstacles in business operations, thereby contributing to improving the competitiveness of enterprises and the effectiveness of law enforcement.

2. Legal support program for small and medium enterprises is a set of activities organized and implemented by an organization or entity under specific forms and contents within a defined period as prescribed in this Decree, aimed at providing information, legal knowledge training, and legal advice to small and medium enterprises.

3. Legal advisor network is a part of the advisory network under the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises, consisting of lawyers, law firms, legal advisors, and legal counseling centers that meet the conditions for practicing legal counseling as prescribed by law, voluntarily registering to participate and being publicly announced by ministries, ministerial-level agencies (hereinafter referred to as legal advisors) to provide legal support for small and medium enterprises.

4. Legal database as prescribed in this Decree includes the legal normative document database and the case and legal obstacle database built, managed, maintained, and updated by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees to provide legal support for small and medium enterprises.

Article 4. Principles of Implementation of Legal Support for Small and Medium Enterprises

1. Legal support for small and medium enterprises shall focus on specific goals, have a time frame, be appropriate to the support objectives and resource balancing capacity; ensure transparency, efficiency, and non-overlapping.

2. Legal support activities for small and medium enterprises shall be carried out based on cooperation between state agencies and organizations representing small and medium enterprises; organizations and individuals providing legal support services for small and medium enterprises, and other relevant organizations and individuals.

3. Legal support for small and medium enterprises shall prioritize implementation through organizations and individuals providing legal support services.

4. Based on available resources and support programs, legal support agencies for small and medium enterprises shall decide on support in the following priority order:

a) Small and medium enterprises owned by women and those employing more female workers shall be prioritized if they submit applications meeting the support conditions.

b) Small and medium enterprises employing 30% or more of their total workforce as persons with disabilities as prescribed by the Law on Persons with Disabilities.

c) Small and medium enterprises submitting applications meeting the support conditions shall be prioritized.

5. The State encourages and implements policies to support and create favorable conditions for agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals to participate in implementing legal support for small and medium enterprises; mobilizing social resources to contribute to legal support activities for small and medium enterprises.

Chapter II

LEGAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Section 1

BUILDING, MANAGING, MAINTAINING, UPDATING, EXPLOITING AND USING LEGAL DATABASES

Article 5. Construction, management, maintenance, updating, exploitation, and utilization of databases on regulatory legal documents

1. The construction, management, maintenance, updating, exploitation, and utilization of databases on regulatory legal documents shall be carried out in accordance with Decree No. 52/2015/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2015 of the Government on the national database on laws or regulatory legal documents amending, supplementing, or replacing this Decree.

2. The construction, management, maintenance, updating, exploitation, and utilization of databases on international treaties related to trade in which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member shall be carried out in accordance with the Law on International Treaties and detailed regulatory legal documents stipulating this Law.

Article 6. Construction, management, maintenance, updating, exploitation, and utilization of databases on cases and legal issues

1. Databases on cases and legal issues include:

a) Judgments and decisions of courts; arbitral awards and decisions of commercial arbitration; decisions on competition cases; administrative violation handling decisions related to enterprises that are effective and permitted for public disclosure or connection to the electronic public information portal of these documents;

b) Responses to legal issues from ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial people's committees to small and medium-sized enterprises during the application of laws;

c) Legal advisory documents from the network of legal advisors on cases and legal issues at the request of small and medium-sized enterprises.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall organize the construction, management, and updating of databases on cases and legal issues on the Electronic Information Portal Supporting Legal Services for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises based on ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees self-updating relevant information on their own electronic public information portals according to Clause 5, Article 7 and Clause 1, Article 8 of this Decree within 15 days from the date of self-updating to update on the Electronic Information Portal Supporting Legal Services for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are entitled to exploit and utilize the databases on cases and legal issues free of charge.

Article 7. Construction, management, maintenance, and updating of data on judgments and decisions of courts; arbitral awards of commercial arbitration; decisions on competition cases; administrative violation handling decisions related to enterprises

1. The publication of judgments and decisions with legal effect of courts on the court's electronic information portal shall be carried out in accordance with Resolution No. 03/2017/NQ-HĐTP dated March 16, 2017 of the Supreme People's Court Council on the publication of judgments and decisions on the court's electronic information portal or regulatory legal documents amending, supplementing, or replacing this Resolution.

2. The publication of arbitral awards and decisions of commercial arbitration shall be carried out in accordance with commercial arbitration law and agreements among parties related to such awards and decisions.

3. The publication of decisions on competition cases shall be carried out in accordance with the Competition Law and detailed regulatory legal documents stipulating this Law.

4. The publication of administrative violation handling decisions shall be carried out in accordance with the Administrative Violation Handling Law and detailed regulatory legal documents stipulating this Law.

5. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees shall be responsible for updating and posting judgments and decisions of courts; arbitral awards and decisions of commercial arbitration; decisions on competition cases; administrative violation handling decisions related to enterprises that are permitted for public disclosure, effective, and in which ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees are involved on their own electronic information portals or connecting to the electronic public information portal of these documents according to Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article.

Article 8. Construction, management, maintenance, and updating of data on responses to legal issues of small and medium-sized enterprises by state agencies

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees shall be responsible for responding to legal issues for small and medium-sized enterprises regarding the general application of laws within their respective sectors, fields, and localities within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the request; in complex cases, they may respond within a maximum period of 30 working days from the date of receipt of the request.

The response of state agencies as stipulated in this Article does not apply to specific requests from small and medium-sized enterprises related to their business operations. In such cases, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees shall notify the enterprises so that they can utilize the network of legal advisors as provided for in Article 9 of this Decree.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees shall be responsible for systematizing and updating data on responses to legal issues of small and medium-sized enterprises regarding the general application of laws onto their electronic information portals within 15 days from the date the response document is signed and issued.

Article 9. Construction, management, maintenance, and updating of data on legal advisory documents of the network of legal advisors and procedures for supporting legal advisory costs

1. Small and medium-sized enterprises access the network of legal advisors according to the sectoral management of ministries and ministerial-level agencies through the list of legal advisors published on the electronic portal of those ministries and ministerial-level agencies.

2. After agreeing on legal advisory services with a suitable legal advisor within the network of legal advisors as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, small and medium-sized enterprises submit their application directly or via postal service or electronically to the ministry or ministerial-level agency requesting support for legal advisory costs for specific cases or issues. The application includes:

a) A declaration form identifying micro-enterprises, small enterprises, and medium-sized enterprises according to the model specified in Government Decree No. 39/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 11, 2018, detailing certain provisions of the Law on Support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises or any subsequent regulatory documents amending, supplementing, or replacing this Decree;

b) A copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate;

c) The legal advisory service contract between the legal advisor and the small and medium-sized enterprise, specifying the advisory content and service fees.

Ministries and ministerial-level agencies must publicly announce the address of the main unit and electronic methods for receiving applications on their electronic information portals.

3. Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of complete applications as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article, ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall examine and notify in writing whether they agree or disagree to support legal advisory costs for small and medium-sized enterprises based on the principles set out in Article 4 and other provisions of this Decree. If they disagree to provide support, they must clearly state the reasons.

If they agree to provide support, the specific level of cost support will be as follows:

a) Micro-enterprises will be supported with 100% of legal advisory costs according to the service agreement between the legal advisor and the enterprise, but not exceeding three million dong per year;

b) Small enterprises will be supported with up to 30% of legal advisory costs according to the service agreement between the legal advisor and the enterprise, but not exceeding five million dong per year;

c) Medium-sized enterprises will be supported with up to 10% of legal advisory costs according to the service agreement between the legal advisor and the enterprise, but not exceeding ten million dong per year;

d) Households transitioning to small and medium-sized enterprises, innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, and small and medium-sized enterprises participating in industry clusters and value chains will be supported with legal advisory costs according to Chapter IV of Government Decree No. 39/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 11, 2018, detailing certain provisions of the Law on Support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises or any subsequent regulatory documents amending, supplementing, or replacing this Decree.

4. In cases where the ministry or ministerial-level agency agrees to support legal advisory costs and after receiving the legal advisory document from the legal advisor, small and medium-sized enterprises submit an application for payment of the supported legal advisory costs for specific cases or issues. The payment application includes:

a) The legal advisory document, including one full version and one version with business secrets removed;

b) The payment application for legal advisory costs, confirmed by both the legal advisor and the advised small and medium-sized enterprise, citing the number and date of the approval document as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article, the name of the beneficiary, and the bank account number of the beneficiary;

c) Financial invoices as required by law.

5. Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of complete applications as stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article, ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall pay the supported legal advisory costs for specific cases or issues to small and medium-sized enterprises based on the payment application; if the content of the legal advisory document does not fall within the scope of advisory services agreed upon in the service agreement between the legal advisor and the enterprise as stipulated in point c of Clause 2 of this Article, the ministry or ministerial-level agency shall refuse payment and notify the enterprise and the legal advisor in writing.

Within 15 working days from the date of payment of the supported legal advisory costs, ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall send the legal advisory document with business secrets removed, as stipulated in point a of Clause 4 of this Article, to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for publication on the Legal Support Information Portal for Enterprises and the National Portal for Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

Section 2

CONSTRUCTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEGAL SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES

Article 10. Basis for establishing and activities of the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises

1. Basis for establishing the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises:

a) Legal support needs for small and medium-sized enterprises during each period, industry, field, and locality;

b) The legislative program of the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, and the plan to issue regulatory legal documents of the Government, Prime Minister, ministries, agencies at the ministerial level, and provincial-level local authorities;

c) Resources of ministries, agencies at the ministerial level, provincial-level local authorities, and organizations representing enterprises.

2. Activities of the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises include:

a) Information provision activities, including domestic legal information, foreign legal information, international law, legal risk warnings, and policies related to small and medium-sized enterprises (if applicable);

b) Legal knowledge training activities, including legal knowledge training for small and medium-sized enterprises; legal knowledge training for personnel supporting legal matters for small and medium-sized enterprises, and legal knowledge training for the network of legal advisors;

c) Legal advisory activities, including dialogue and resolution of legal issues for enterprises and other appropriate legal advisory activities based on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises and resources as stipulated in point c, Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 11. Duration of implementation of the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises

1. The legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises has a maximum duration of five years from the date of approval.

2. The agency or organization primarily responsible for implementing the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises shall organize a summary to build or propose building the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises based on enterprise needs and the resources of the agency or organization.

Article 12. Establishment and Approval of the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

1. For inter-ministerial legal support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises:

a) Ministries, agencies at the ministerial level, provincial People's Committees; organizations representing enterprises; organizations and individuals providing legal support services proactively or upon request of the Ministry of Justice shall propose legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises, to be sent to the Ministry of Justice for consolidation and construction of the inter-ministerial legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises;

b) The Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, organizations representing enterprises, and other relevant organizations and individuals to construct the inter-ministerial legal support program and submit it to the Prime Minister for approval.

2. For legal support programs within the scope of ministries and agencies at the ministerial level, ministries and agencies at the ministerial level shall incorporate the contents of the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises into the Support Program for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the ministry or agency according to Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP dated March 11, 2018 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises or regulatory legal documents amending, supplementing, or replacing this Decree. the scope of ministries, ministerial-level agencies shall incorporate the relevant contents. 3. For legal support programs within the scope of localities:

a) The Department of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant departments, organizations representing enterprises, other organizations, and individuals to construct and propose the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises within the locality to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for approval;b) The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall approve the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises within the locality based on the proposal of the Department of Justice;

c) The People's Council at the provincial level shall allocate funds to implement the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises within the locality.

4. The decision approving the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises as stipulated in Clauses 1 and 3 of this Article and the content of the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article must be sent to the Ministry of Justice, relevant ministries, and agencies, and published publicly on the electronic portal of the agency or organization primarily responsible for implementation.

5. Amendments to the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises or the content of the legal support program for small and medium-sized enterprises in the Support Program for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises after approval shall be implemented according to the provisions of Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article.

4. The Decision approving the legal support program for small and medium enterprises under Clauses I and 3 of this Article and the content of the legal support program for small and medium enterprises under Clause 2 of this Article must be sent to the Ministry of Justice, ministries, ministerial-level agencies concerned, and published publicly on the electronic information portal of the leading agency. implementing entity.

5. The adjustment of the legal support program for small and medium enterprises or the content of the legal support program for small and medium enterprises in the Support Project for small and medium enterprises after approval shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article. thực hiện theo quy định tại các khoản 1, 2, 3 và 4 của Điều này.

Article 13. Implementation of the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises

1. After the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises has been approved by the competent state agency, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees shall be responsible for implementing the program within their respective functions and tasks or entrusting it to organizations, entities, or individuals with the function of providing legal support to small and medium enterprises.

The organization or entity primarily responsible for implementing the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises shall issue and publicly announce its implementation plan on its own website and the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Support Website for Small and Medium Enterprises.

2. The selection, signing of contracts, evaluation of results, and termination of contracts with organizations, entities, or individuals providing legal support services for small and medium enterprises to implement the program's activities shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the bidding laws and related laws.

3. Based on the content and resources of the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and the legal support needs of member enterprises, representative organizations may propose a Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises they will implement in accordance with the content of the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article:

a) Based on the content and resources of the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees shall provide funding but not exceeding 50% of the program's implementation costs proposed by the enterprise representative organization from the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises funds as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article. The remaining costs shall be borne by the enterprise representative organization itself or sourced from socialized funds, mobilized from agencies, organizations, and enterprises to implement the program.

b) The selection, signing of contracts, evaluation of results, and termination of contracts with enterprise representative organizations to implement the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises as stipulated in this clause shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the bidding laws and related laws.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR IMPLEMENTING LEGAL SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Article 14. Responsibilities for Organizing Implementation

1. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for:

a) Uniformly manage the State's legal support for small and medium enterprises nationwide;

b) Develop and submit to the competent authority for issuance or issue according to its authority normative legal documents and guidance documents on legal support for small and medium enterprises;

c) Participate in opinions on the legal support activities for small and medium enterprises of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees when requested, including the development, approval, and implementation of programs or program contents for legal support for small and medium enterprises within the scope of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial authorities;

d) Develop and implement inter-ministerial legal support programs for small and medium enterprises;

đ) Organize the construction, management, and updating of the Legal Support Website for Small and Medium Enterprises;

e) Organize independent evaluations of legal support activities for small and medium enterprises;

g) Regularly every five years or at the Government's or Prime Minister's request, organize summaries and report to the Government and Prime Minister on legal support work for small and medium enterprises.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for leading and coordinating with the Ministry of Justice to guide budget preparation, management, utilization, and settlement of state budget funds for legal support activities for small and medium enterprises.

3. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall be responsible:

a) Updating the legal database within their respective sectors and fields under their management related to small and medium enterprises and sending it to the Ministry of Justice;b) Developing and organizing the implementation of the Legal Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises content to provide information, legal knowledge training, and legal advice for small and medium enterprises within their respective sectors and fields under their management in the Small and Medium Enterprise Support Plan within the scope of ministries and ministerial-level agencies as stipulated in Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP dated March 11, 2018 of the Government detailing some provisions of the Law on Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises or normative legal documents amending, supplementing, or replacing this Decree;

c) Building a legal support section for small and medium enterprises on their own websites and connecting it to the Legal Support Website for Small and Medium Enterprises;

d) Summarizing and submitting reports on legal support activities for small and medium enterprises within their respective sectors and fields under their management to the Ministry of Justice as required for reporting to the Government and Prime Minister.

4. Provincial-level local government:

a) The People's Councils at the provincial level shall be responsible for issuing policies on legal support for small and medium enterprises in their locality, ensuring funding from the local budget to implement legal support activities for small and medium enterprises;

b) The People's Committees at the provincial level shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of legal support activities for small and medium enterprises in their locality, submitting reports on legal support activities for small and medium enterprises in their locality as required by the Ministry of Justice for reporting to the Government and Prime Minister.

5. Representative organizations for enterprises shall be responsible:a) Participating in building the legal database, taking the lead, and participating in building and implementing legal support programs for small and medium enterprises;

b) Representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium enterprises in legal support activities, mobilizing resources to support legal assistance for member enterprises.

a) Participate in building the legal database, take the initiative in building and implementing legal support programs for small and medium enterprises;

b) Represent and protect the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium enterprises in legal support activities for small and medium enterprises; mobilize resources to support legal services for member small and medium enterprises;

c) Participate in building, reviewing, and implementing policies related to legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises; participate in evaluating the legal data and programs for legal support for small and medium-sized enterprises; legal information and legal support programs for small and medium enterprises;

d) Implement the provision of legal services for small and medium-sized enterprises in accordance with the provisions of the law and the charter of the organization representing the enterprises;

6. Legal advisors have the responsibility to ensure the conditions for practicing legal advisory activities and to exercise their rights and obligations according to the relevant laws on legal advisors when participating in the network of legal advisors;

7. Small and medium-sized enterprises have the responsibility:

a) Coordinate with state agencies and organizations representing small and medium-sized enterprises in implementing legal support activities for enterprises in accordance with this Decree;Comply with and fully implement all relevant regulations, procedures, and formalities to benefit from legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises as stipulated in this Decree;

b) Enjoy legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises efficiently, economically, and serve their business operations;

c) Enjoy legal support activities for small and medium enterprises that ensure efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and serve their business operations.

Article 15. Ensuring Resources for Implementing Legal Support Activities for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

1. Legal institutions under ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall be responsible for implementing legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises as prescribed in this Decree, and establish a network of legal advisors for their respective ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

The Department of Justice of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be responsible for implementing legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises as prescribed in this Decree; assist provincial people's committees in developing and primarily implementing legal support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises within their jurisdictions;

2. The funding for legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises shall be guaranteed by the state budget, allocated in the annual regular budget expenditure plan based on the implementation plans of legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees in accordance with the State Budget Law;

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial people's committees may mobilize and utilize financial assistance and support from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to serve legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises in accordance with the law;

Article 16. Inspection and supervision of legal support activities for small and medium enterprises

Article 16. Inspection and Supervision of Legal Support Activities for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

1. Agencies and organizations primarily responsible for implementing legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises have the right to inspect and supervise the implementation of these activities in accordance with the law;

a) Quality and beneficiaries of legal support activities for small and medium enterprises;

a) The quality and beneficiaries of legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises;

b) The implementation of procedures, formalities, and contents of legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises; the reception and response to feedback from enterprises regarding the results of these activities;

Article 17. Evaluation of Legal Support Activities for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

1. The agency or organization responsible for building, managing, maintaining, and updating the database on laws and legal support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises shall organize the evaluation of the implementation results, impact on the beneficiaries, and publicly disclose the evaluation results on their electronic information portal under the legal support section for small and medium-sized enterprises.

2. The compilation of feedback opinions from small and medium-sized enterprises benefiting from legal support activities serves as the basis for evaluating the effectiveness of such legal support activities.

3. Every five years, the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for organizing a summary and evaluation of legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises, and reporting to the Government and the Prime Minister.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 18. Transitional Provisions

Legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises that have been implemented before this Decree takes effect shall continue to be carried out according to the approved content, program, plan, and project until their expiration date as determined by the competent authority.

Article 19. Legal Support for Non-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Depending on available resources, ministries, agencies at the ministerial level, provincial-level authorities, and organizations representing businesses may decide to apply provisions on legal support for small and medium-sized enterprises to provide legal support for non-small and medium-sized business organizations and individuals.

Article 20. Effective Date

This Decree takes effect from August 16, 2019, and replaces Decree No. 66/2008/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2008, of the Government on legal support for businesses.

Article 21. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for coordinating with ministries, agencies at the ministerial level, and provincial-level authorities in implementing this Decree and reporting to the Government and the Prime Minister on the implementation status.

2. Ministers, heads of agencies at the ministerial level, and provincial-level authorities shall be responsible for enforcing this Decree.