Circular No. 96/2026/TT-BTC amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 67/2023/TT-BTC dated November 2, 2023, issued by the Minister of Finance guiding certain provisions of the Insurance Business Law and Decree No. 46/2023/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2023, providing detailed regulations on the implementation of certain provisions of the Insurance Business Law.

 

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 67/2023/TT-BTC dated November 2, 2023, issued by the Minister of Finance guiding certain provisions of the Law on Insurance Business and Decree No. 46/2023/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2023, of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Insurance Business

 

Pursuant to the Law on Insurance Business No. 08/2022/QH15 amended and supplemented by Law No. 139/2025/QH15 (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Insurance Business);

Pursuant to Decree No. 46/2023/NĐ-CP of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Insurance Business amended and supplemented by Decree No. 97/2026/NĐ-CP;

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 29/2025/NĐ-CP on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance, amended and supplemented by Government Decree No. 166/2025/NĐ-CP;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Management and Supervision of Insurance;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 67/2023/TT-BTC dated November 2, 2023, issued by the Minister of Finance guiding certain provisions of the Law on Insurance Business and Decree No. 46/2023/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2023, of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Insurance Business.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing Clause 2 of Article 1 as follows:

"2. This Circular guides point b Clause 2 Article 119 of the Law on Insurance Business regarding continuous public information and Clause 6 Article 7, point c Clause 2 Article 32, Article 44, Clause 7 Article 49 and points k, p Clause 3 Article 50 of Decree No. 46/2023/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2023, of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Insurance Business, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 97/2026/NĐ-CP (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 46/2023/NĐ-CP), including forms of information in the database on insurance business activities; sample documents explaining methods and bases for calculating insurance premiums; guidance and illustrations of methods, formulas, and bases for setting up business reserves; revenue recognition time for each type of insurance and management of individual insurance agents, support expenses, and commission payments."

Article 2. Amending and supplementing the introductory paragraph and some clauses of Article 7 as follows:

1. Amending and supplementing the introductory paragraph and Clause 1 of Article 7 as follows:

"Insurance enterprises, branches of foreign non-life insurance enterprises, micro-insurance mutual organizations, insurance brokerage firms, and insurance agents providing insurance services and products over the internet must comply with requirements concerning service provision, technology, security, and data storage as stipulated by laws on electronic transactions, data, cybersecurity, e-commerce, and the following regulations:

1. Establish and issue operational guidelines for providing insurance services and products over the internet, including the following key information: transaction process description; risk control and cybersecurity assurance; rights and obligations of the parties involved; complaint and dispute resolution mechanisms; personal data protection policies; solutions for handling incidents, backup systems; data storage and measures for dealing with violations in cases of non-compliance with operational guidelines."

2. Amending and supplementing Clause 7 of Article 7 as follows:

"7. Determine the level and implement corresponding safety measures for information systems according to the provisions of laws on cybersecurity, information system security at the appropriate level, and financial electronic transactions."

Article 3. Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 17 as follows:

“2. In addition to complying with the provisions set forth in Clause 1 of this Article, contracts for investment-linked insurance and retirement insurance must clearly specify the method of allocating insurance premiums and other fees charged to the policyholder. Fees charged to the policyholder must comply with the provisions of Article 99 of Decree No. 46/2023/NĐ-CP. In cases where fees charged to the policyholder are adjusted, the insurer shall be responsible for notifying the policyholder in writing at least three months before implementing the new fee rate.”

Article 4. Amend and supplement Point a and b of Clause 1 of Article 20 as follows:

“a) Calculating insurance premiums and participating in the development of rules, conditions, and terms of insurance and reinsurance products; confirming that insurance premiums and fees charged to the policyholder (for investment-linked products and retirement insurance) are based on statistical data, ensuring economic and technical feasibility of the product, fairness to the policyholder, compliance with legal regulations, and the solvency of the insurer, reinsurer, and foreign branch; annually reviewing and evaluating assumptions used for premium calculations, ensuring that these assumptions are reasonable, consistent, and aligned with statistical data and actual implementation by the enterprise or branch; promptly proposing adjustments to premium calculation assumptions to the General Director (Director) of the insurer or foreign non-life insurance company branch when necessary.

b) Calculating and ensuring the adequate establishment of business reserves in accordance with legal regulations;”

Article 5. Amend and supplement some points of Article 22 as follows:

1. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 1 as follows:

“a) For mortality rates, insurers and branches of foreign non-life insurance companies may use one of the following sources:

- The CSO 1980 mortality table specified in Appendix V attached hereto; mortality rates adjusted based on the CSO 1980 mortality table;

- A mortality table developed based on actual implementation data of the insurer or branch of a foreign non-life insurance company over a minimum period of ten years;

- Mortality tables provided by the parent company of the insurer or branch of a foreign non-life insurance company or reinsurer or accepting reinsurer;

In cases where the mortality rate used by the insurer or branch of a foreign non-life insurance company exceeds 70% of the mortality rate according to the CSO 1980 mortality table, the insurer or branch of a foreign non-life insurance company must justify the reasonableness and characteristics of the target customer group for which the higher mortality rate is applied.”

2. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 2 as follows:

“a) Assumptions regarding costs for implementing insurance products (fixed costs and variable costs) are determined based on statistical data from the three consecutive years immediately preceding the year of filing the application and the business plan of the insurer or branch of a foreign non-life insurance company. In cases where the insurer or branch of a foreign non-life insurance company has been operating for less than three years, assumptions regarding costs for implementing insurance products are determined based on a five-year business plan;”

3. Amend and supplement Point c of Clause 3 as follows:

“c) Risk fees for investment-linked insurance products and retirement insurance products shall be implemented in accordance with the following provisions:

- For investment-linked insurance products and retirement insurance products providing death and total permanent disability benefits: risk fees shall not exceed 80% of the mortality rate according to the CSO 1980 mortality table specified in Appendix V attached hereto multiplied by the amount of insurance subject to risk.

- For investment-linked insurance products providing only death benefit: risk fees shall not exceed 72% of the mortality rate according to the CSO 1980 mortality table specified in Appendix V attached hereto multiplied by the amount of insurance subject to risk.

In cases where the insurer applies risk fees higher than the above stipulated levels, justification for the reasonableness and characteristics of the target customer group for which the higher risk fees are applied must be provided.”

Article 6. Amend and supplement some points of Article 25 as follows:

1. Amend and supplement Point d Clause 1 as follows:

“d) Implement specific notifications for cases and grounds for increasing or decreasing insurance premiums.

The increase in insurance premiums must be based on factors that increase the insured risk.

The reduction in insurance premiums must ensure that, in all cases, the insurance premium after reduction is not lower than the pure insurance premium and must be based on one or more factors reducing, diversifying, or sharing risks or reducing costs for implementing motor vehicle insurance products, including the scale of insured vehicles, deductible selection, limit of indemnity, claim history, product distribution form, and other factors (if any); in the case of premium reduction due to direct sales, the reduced premium amount shall not exceed the commission rate for insurance agents as stipulated in Article 51 of this Circular.”

2. Amend and supplement Point a and Point b Clause 2 as follows:

“a) The pure insurance premium is determined based on actual statistical data from the implementation of the insurance company, foreign non-life insurance company branch, ensuring scale and continuity over a minimum period of five consecutive years.

In cases where statistical data does not ensure scale and continuity, the insurance company, foreign non-life insurance company branch may use the following sources:

- Pure insurance premiums published by authorized agencies or organizations;

- Statistical data, publicly available and official information from organizations established and legally operating in Vietnam;

- Pure insurance premiums provided by the parent company or reinsurer, foreign insurance organization accepting reinsurance; in this case, the reinsurer must have a minimum rating of "BBB" according to Standard & Poor's or Fitch, "B++" according to A.M.Best, "Baa1" according to Moody's, or equivalent ratings from other rating organizations at the most recent fiscal year compared to the time of submitting the application for notification of the method and basis for calculating insurance premiums; and must have experience in operating reinsurance for this type of risk in the Vietnamese or Asian market. If there is an adjustment in the pure insurance premium of the foreign reinsurer (increase or decrease), the insurance company, foreign non-life insurance company branch must provide an explanation for the reason. The use of pure insurance premiums provided by reinsurers must be consistent with the insurance benefits expected to be provided by the insurance company, foreign non-life insurance company branch under the rules and terms of the insurance product.

In cases where the insurance company, foreign non-life insurance company branch determines the pure insurance premium for environmental-friendly motor vehicles and clean energy, green, environmentally friendly motor vehicles as prescribed in Circular No. 53/2024/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2024 or subsequent amended and supplemented documents (if any): The insurance company, foreign non-life insurance company branch may use statistical data from domestic and international organizations published on their official websites, or combine these statistical data with the company's own statistical data for a minimum period of three consecutive years.

The use of deployment data for the product as prescribed in this point, the risk assessment process, and the process of stopping sales and recalculating the premium must be clearly stated in the internal process for developing and pricing products. This process must be approved by the Board of Directors (Board of Members) or General Director (Director). Compliance with the internal process for developing and pricing insurance products must be reviewed annually by internal audit.

b) The pure insurance premium is specifically determined for each risk or for the following risks: collision, impact (including impact with other objects); overturning, sinking, falling; being hit by falling objects; fire, explosion; natural disasters; theft; and other risks (if any).

When notifying the application of the method and basis for calculating motor vehicle insurance premiums or changing the method and basis for calculating motor vehicle insurance premiums, the insurance company, foreign insurance company branch shall not change the previously notified pure insurance premium for the same type of motor vehicle, business purpose and use of the motor vehicle, production year of the motor vehicle, and customer group for at least twelve months following the notification.”

Article 7. Amend and supplement the first bullet point of Point b, Clause 2, Article 38 as follows:

“- 80% of the CSO 1980 Mortality Table and other technical bases that are consistent with the insurance benefits that the insurer commits to the customer in the insurance product.”

In all cases, the mortality rate and risk rates applied in the reserve establishment shall not be lower than the mortality rate and risk rates that the insurer uses to calculate the product premium.

Article 8. Amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 40 as follows:

“3. For non-life insurance companies, branches of foreign non-life insurance companies, reinsurance companies operating health insurance and term insurance with a term of up to one year: The annual reserve level as prescribed in Point b, Clause 1, Article 37 of this Circular. This reserve is used to pay compensation when there is a significant change in the risk rate leading to the total retained premium for the fiscal year after setting aside the unearned premium reserve and the claim reserve for unresolved claims being insufficient to cover the compensation amount due from the non-life insurance company, branch of a foreign non-life insurance company in Vietnam, or reinsurance company. The maximum amount to be used is calculated according to the following formula:

Article 9. Amend and supplement the name of Section 4, Chapter IV as follows:

“REVENUE AND EXPENSES”

Article 10. Amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 41 as follows:

“1. Insurance companies, branches of foreign non-life insurance companies in Vietnam shall record the original premium income into revenue from insurance business operations when the insurance liability arises towards the policyholder, specifically as follows:

a) When the insurance contract has been concluded and the policyholder has paid the full premium;

b) There is evidence that the insurance contract has been concluded and the policyholder has paid the full premium;

c) When the insurance contract has been concluded and the non-life insurance company, branch of a foreign non-life insurance company has agreed with the policyholder on the payment period for the premium as stipulated in Points a and c, Clause 2, Article 26 of this Circular, the non-life insurance company, branch of a foreign non-life insurance company shall record the revenue from the premium that the policyholder must pay according to the agreement in the insurance contract at the start of the insurance period;

d) When the insurance contract has been concluded and there is an agreement with the policyholder on paying the premium in installments as stipulated in the insurance contract, the insurance company, branch of a foreign non-life insurance company shall record the revenue from the premium corresponding to the installment or multiple installments that have already occurred, and shall not record revenue from the premium that has not yet reached the payment period as stipulated in the insurance contract.”.

Article 11. Supplement Article 41a following Article 41 as follows:

“Article 41a. Expenses for support and remuneration for employees or members of political-social organizations, social-professional organizations, cooperatives

1. Insurance enterprises, branches of foreign non-life insurance enterprises may provide expenses for support and remuneration to employees or members of political-social organizations, social-professional organizations, cooperatives who are authorized to advise and arrange micro-insurance contracts for the members of their own organization after providing services to the insurance enterprise, branch of foreign non-life insurance enterprise.

2. Insurance enterprises, branches of foreign non-life insurance enterprises shall base on the provisions of Clause 3 of this Article, specific conditions and characteristics of their own to establish regulations on expenses for support and remuneration applicable uniformly and publicly within the insurance enterprise, branch of foreign non-life insurance enterprise.

3. The maximum ratio of expenses for support and remuneration paid based on actual premiums received from each insurance contract by the insurance enterprise, branch of foreign non-life insurance enterprise to employees or members of political-social organizations, social-professional organizations, cooperatives shall not exceed 5% of the maximum commission rate corresponding to each insurance contract under each type of non-life, life, health insurance business as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 51 of this Circular.”

Article 12. Repeal Clause 3 and amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 42 as follows:

1. Amending and supplementing point e of Clause 1 as follows:

“e) The actuary is responsible for ensuring that transactions related to multiple sources and types of business must be consolidated and allocated to each source and type of business on a fair and reasonable basis, consistently. At year-end, the actuary determines and adjusts the allocation ratios of transactions related to multiple sources and types of business to comply with the provisions of this Circular, consistent with the principles previously notified to the Ministry of Finance and the actual implementation of the enterprise's operations.”

2. Amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. The legal representative, actuary, and chief accountant of non-life insurance enterprises, health insurance enterprises, reinsurance enterprises, and foreign branches in Vietnam are responsible for establishing revenue and expense allocation principles as prescribed in this Circular and implementing notification procedures with the Ministry of Finance, separating equity capital and insurance premium funds, accurately calculating figures for the insurance premium fund and equity capital. The Board of Directors, Board of Members of non-life insurance enterprises, health insurance enterprises, reinsurance enterprises, or the competent authority of foreign branches in Vietnam are responsible for approving revenue and expense allocation principles and have the responsibility to supervise the implementation of these allocation principles after notifying the Ministry of Finance.”

Article 13. Amend and supplement some points of Article 43 as follows:

1. Amend and supplement point a Clause 5 and supplement point a1 following point a Clause 5 as follows:

“a) Expenses for claims settlement after deducting reinsured claim payments, expenses for setting up reserves for insurance operations, agent commissions, broker commissions; rewards, support for agents and other benefits from agency activities according to the agency contract; initial training and certification examination expenses for agents; advanced knowledge training expenses for agents; recruitment expenses for agents; management expenses for individual agents; inspection, supervision, and quality assessment expenses for agents.

a1) Expenses for support and remuneration for employees or members of political-social organizations, social-professional organizations, cooperatives who are authorized to advise and arrange micro-insurance contracts for the members of their own organization to implement micro-insurance;”

2. Amend and supplement point e Clause 5 as follows:

“e) Common expenses include management expenses and other expenses allocated to the insurance premium fund according to the allocation principles previously notified to the Ministry of Finance;”

3. Amend and supplement point a Clause 6 as follows:

“a) Common expenses include management expenses and other expenses allocated to the equity capital according to the allocation principles previously notified to the Ministry of Finance;”

Article 14. Amend Point b Clause 5 and supplement Point b1 following Point b Clause 5 of Article 46 as follows:

“b) Expenses for loss assessment; expenses for rewards, support to insurance agents and other benefits from insurance agency activities as agreed in the insurance agency contract; expenses for prevention and limitation of losses; expenses for risk assessment of insured objects; expenses for initial training and certification examination for agents; expenses for enhancing knowledge of agents; expenses for recruiting insurance agents; expenses for managing individual insurance agents; expenses for inspecting, supervising, and evaluating the quality of insurance agents;

b1) Expenses for support, remuneration for employees or members of political-social organizations, social-professional organizations, cooperatives authorized by insurance enterprises to advise and arrange the conclusion of micro-insurance contracts for the members of those organizations to implement micro-insurance.”

Article 15. Amend and supplement Clause 5 of Article 49 as follows:

“5. Information that must be publicly disclosed regularly must be updated and accessible on the website of the insurance enterprise, reinsurance enterprise, and foreign branch in Vietnam.

For information that must be publicly disclosed regularly under Point b Clause 2 Article 119 of the Insurance Business Law, insurance enterprises and branches of non-life insurance enterprises must clearly state the approval or rejection period for compensation, payment of insurance money, handling complaints, requests, and grievances of customers.”

Article 16. Amend and supplement some items of Article 51 as follows:

1. Amend and supplement Item a Point 3.2 Clause 3 of Article 51 as follows:

“a) For individual life insurance contracts:

The maximum commission rate for insurance agents shall be applied according to the following provisions:

- For contracts issued before July 1, 2024, the maximum commission rate for insurance agents shall be as follows:

- For contracts issued from July 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026, the maximum commission rate for insurance agents shall be implemented as follows:

+ For contracts with a term of up to one year and annually renewed: 20%

+ For contracts over one year:

- For contracts issued from January 1, 2027, the maximum commission rate for insurance agents shall be implemented as follows:

+ For contracts with a term of up to one year and annually renewed: 20%

+ For contracts over one year:

+ The commission for additional premiums of universal life insurance and variable life insurance contracts shall not exceed the initial fee ratio for the additional premiums.

2. Amend and supplement Item b Point 3.2 Clause 3 of Article 51 as follows:

“b) Commission for basic premiums of retirement insurance contracts: 3% of total basic premiums;

Commission for additional premiums of retirement insurance contracts shall not exceed the initial fee ratio for the additional premiums.”

3. Amend and supplement Item c Point 3.2 Clause 3 of Article 51 as follows:

“c) For group life insurance contracts: The maximum commission rate for insurance agents shall be 50% of the corresponding rates applicable to individual life insurance contracts of the same type as specified in Item a of this point.” as specified in item a of this point.”.

Article 17. Amend and supplement some points of Article 52 as follows:

1. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 1 as follows:

"a) For health insurance and term life insurance with a duration of up to one year: The total amount of bonuses, supports, and other benefits for insurance agents shall not exceed 100% of the commission of all health insurance and term life insurance contracts exploited during the fiscal year;"

2. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 2 as follows:

"a) For agents who newly exploit insurance contracts: The total amount of bonuses, supports, and other benefits for insurance agents in each fiscal year shall not exceed 20% of the actual premium collected from insurance contracts with a duration of up to one year and one-year annual renewals, and 30% of the actual premium collected from the first year's exploitation for periodic payment methods, or 7% of the actual premium collected for one-time payment methods for insurance contracts with a duration over one year;" for insurance contracts with a term exceeding 01 year;”.

Article 18. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 53 as follows:

1. Add point d following point c of Clause 3 as follows:

"d) Coordinate with insurance companies and foreign insurance company branches in monitoring and inspecting to ensure the quality of the introduction and advisory activities of insurance products by employees of insurance agency operating organizations; promptly coordinate with insurance companies and foreign insurance company branches to conduct inspections, reviews, and handle complaints from policy buyers related to the advisory activities of employees of insurance agency operating organizations; implement measures to address violations (if any) according to the decision of insurance companies and foreign insurance company branches;"

2. Amend and supplement the title of Clause 4 and point a of Clause 4 as follows:

"4. The provision of insurance products through insurance agencies, non-life insurance companies, and foreign non-life insurance company branches must be carried out in accordance with the following regulations:

a) Conduct monitoring and inspection to ensure the quality of the introduction and advisory activities of insurance products by insurance agencies; promptly inspect, review, and handle complaints from policy buyers related to the advisory activities of insurance agencies. In case of discovering violations by insurance agencies, non-life insurance companies and foreign non-life insurance company branches must take measures against violating insurance agencies;"

Article 19. Supplement Article 53a following Article 53 as follows:

"Article 53a. Management of individual insurance agents

Management of individual insurance agents is an activity conducted by insurance companies and foreign non-life insurance company branches either independently or outsourced for the purpose of managing and supporting one or more groups of individual insurance agents in carrying out insurance agency activities as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 4 of the Insurance Business Law;"

Article 20. Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 61 as follows:

"2. Within thirty days from the date of change, foreign insurance companies, foreign reinsurance companies, financial and insurance groups abroad, foreign insurance brokerage companies (in the case of changing the Head of Representative Office) or foreign representative offices in Vietnam (in the case of changing the location of the foreign representative office in Vietnam) must notify the Ministry of Finance. The notification dossier includes:

a) Notification letter in the format prescribed in Appendix XIII of this Circular;

b) Curriculum vitae, copy of identity card or citizen identification card or passport or other lawful personal identification documents as prescribed by law in the case of changing the Head of Representative Office. When the documents on background and identity of Vietnamese citizens included in the dossier prescribed in this Circular have been integrated into the National Population Database, the Citizen Identification Card Database and other databases, the Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for exploiting and using information in the National Population Database, the Citizen Identification Card Database and other databases based on the exchange and provision of information among state management agencies;

c) Copy of the lease contract for the location of the foreign representative office in Vietnam or evidence proving the right to use the location of the foreign representative office in Vietnam certified by the representative office in the case of changing the location of the foreign representative office in Vietnam."

Article 21. Amend and supplement Point a and Point b Clause 4 Article 62 as follows:

Replace the phrase "up to December 31, 2027" with the phrase "up to December 31, 2030" in Point a and Point b Clause 4 Article 62.

 

Article 22. Replace some Appendices of Circular No. 67/2023/TT-BTC as follows:

1. Replace Appendices III, IV, X, XI with Appendices III, IV, X, XI issued together with this Circular.

2. Replace Model Report No. 13-NT Appendix VIII with Model Report No. 13-NT Appendix VIII issued together with this Circular.

Article 23. Effectiveness of Implementation

1. This Circular takes effect from July 2, 2026, except for the cases provided for in Clause 2 Article 16 and Clause 2 Article 17 of this Circular which take effect from January 1, 2027.

2. In case the legal normative documents referred to in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented according to the amended, supplemented, or replaced documents.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for research and supplementary guidance.

Article 24. Transitional Provisions

For fee calculation methods or business reserve establishment methods that have been approved by the Ministry of Finance before the effective date of this Circular, continue to implement according to those methods and bases./.