Vietnam Proposes Five New Prohibitions on Charitable Fundraising
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has drafted rules on soliciting, receiving, distributing and using voluntary donations. The draft would add five prohibited practices, including receiving donations through personal spending accounts, charging fees based on donations raised and using donations for state budget expenditures. It also sets requirements for dedicated accounts, public disclosure and recordkeeping.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance is drafting a decree on the solicitation, receipt, distribution and use of voluntary donations for social and charitable activities. Compared with the current Decree No. 93/2021/NĐ-CP, the draft proposes five additional prohibited practices. If adopted, the total number of prohibited practices would be eight.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance proposes adding five prohibited practices to the rules governing the solicitation, receipt, distribution and use of voluntary donations.（VietVance）
The new prohibitions include using personal spending accounts or organizations’ regular operating accounts to receive donations; collecting fees, commissions or other benefits calculated on donations solicited or received; and fundraising in the name of another agency or organization without its written consent. The draft would also prohibit setting a required donation amount or linking donations to the exercise of rights or fulfillment of obligations by individuals or organizations, or to administrative procedures. It would prohibit soliciting or receiving donations for state budget expenditures. The ministry said the last two measures aim to prevent excessive collections and the use of donations in place of state budget spending as the rules’ scope expands.
The draft requires fundraisers to publicly disclose their purpose, scope, intended beneficiaries, methods, fundraising period and committed distribution timetable before an activity begins, and to submit written or electronic notice to the commune-level People’s Committee where they are based. Online fundraisers must also specify the websites, social media accounts, apps or other channels they will use. Notification procedures for enterprises, cooperatives and other legal entities, and for individuals, are governed by the relevant provisions of the draft.
Fundraisers must open dedicated accounts, use donations for the purposes and beneficiaries they have committed to, and disclose the amounts received, distributed and used, along with any remaining balance. In principle, changing the purpose or beneficiaries requires donors’ consent. The draft also requires records such as account books, supporting documents and bank statements to be retained; individuals must keep them for five years after distribution ends. If there are signs of a violation or donors raise concerns or make recommendations, competent authorities may conduct inspections and decide whether to order an audit in accordance with the law.
Source: VietVance
