Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Policies relating to smuggledtobacco, bank cards, child care and teachers’ probationary periods are set totake effect this month.
The finance ministry’s Circular 122/2018/TT-BTC on the managementand use of funds raised through auctions of smuggled tobacco products takeseffect on February 1.
Sincethe middle of last year, following a decision by the Prime Minister, Vietnam has auctionedquality smuggled foreign cigarettes for re-export on a trial basis. Therevenue from these auctions is used for anti-smuggling efforts includingfunding cigarette quality tests and the storage and transportation of seizedgoods.
Therevenue will also be spent to reward people who report cigarette smuggling toauthorities. The award is a maximum of 100 million VND (4,300 USD) in caseswhere the smuggled cigarettes are worth less than 5 billion VND (216,000 VND)and no more than 200 million VND (8,600 USD) when the goods are valued at morethan 5 billion VND.
AMinistry of Education and Training circular, which takes effect on February 8,regulates a longer probation period for fresh high school teachers. Newlytrained teachers at high schools will have probation period of 12 monthsinstead of nine.
Meanwhile,probation periods for teachers at pre-schools, primary schools, colleges anduniversities remain unchanged as regulated in the ministry’s March 2016circular on the matter.
Acircular by the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs – Circular36/2018/TT-BLDTBXH – instructs policymakers to consult children on anyprogramme, policy or plan relating to children in order to create safe andfriendly conditions for young people to contribute their opinions on changesthat will impact their lives.
Accordingto Circular 41/2018/TT-NHNN by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Vietnam willgradually replace bank cards that use magnetic strips with chip cards. Thecircular takes effect on February 18.
TheSBV plans to have at least 30 percent of active cards in the country meetdomestic chip standards by the end of 2020. The number will rise to 60 percentby the end of 2021 and all cards by the end of 2022.
Tomeet the plan, the SBV required banks, card-issuing institutions and pointof sale (POS) terminal suppliers to have all their automatic tellermachines (ATMs) and POSs accept chip cards by the end of 2020.
TheSBV estimates Vietnam currently has some 70 million bank cards with magneticstrips, which can be easily hacked due to weak security features.
Internationalcard-issuing organisations have asked Vietnamese banks to switch to chip cardsthat meet EMV standards to increase safety amidst a growing number of cardinformation thefts. EVM stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa after thecompanies created the global standard. Cards that meet the standard haveembedded microprocessor chips that store and protect data.
Accordingto banks, issuing a chip card can cost some 1.50-2.50 USD. The country’s bankswill have to spend between 105 million USD and 175 million USD for thetransition, not to mention the additional costs of upgrading their ATMs andcore banking systems to adapt to the change.-VNS/VNA
The finance ministry’s Circular 122/2018/TT-BTC on the managementand use of funds raised through auctions of smuggled tobacco products takeseffect on February 1.
Sincethe middle of last year, following a decision by the Prime Minister, Vietnam has auctionedquality smuggled foreign cigarettes for re-export on a trial basis. Therevenue from these auctions is used for anti-smuggling efforts includingfunding cigarette quality tests and the storage and transportation of seizedgoods.
Therevenue will also be spent to reward people who report cigarette smuggling toauthorities. The award is a maximum of 100 million VND (4,300 USD) in caseswhere the smuggled cigarettes are worth less than 5 billion VND (216,000 VND)and no more than 200 million VND (8,600 USD) when the goods are valued at morethan 5 billion VND.
AMinistry of Education and Training circular, which takes effect on February 8,regulates a longer probation period for fresh high school teachers. Newlytrained teachers at high schools will have probation period of 12 monthsinstead of nine.
Meanwhile,probation periods for teachers at pre-schools, primary schools, colleges anduniversities remain unchanged as regulated in the ministry’s March 2016circular on the matter.
Acircular by the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs – Circular36/2018/TT-BLDTBXH – instructs policymakers to consult children on anyprogramme, policy or plan relating to children in order to create safe andfriendly conditions for young people to contribute their opinions on changesthat will impact their lives.
Accordingto Circular 41/2018/TT-NHNN by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Vietnam willgradually replace bank cards that use magnetic strips with chip cards. Thecircular takes effect on February 18.
TheSBV plans to have at least 30 percent of active cards in the country meetdomestic chip standards by the end of 2020. The number will rise to 60 percentby the end of 2021 and all cards by the end of 2022.
Tomeet the plan, the SBV required banks, card-issuing institutions and pointof sale (POS) terminal suppliers to have all their automatic tellermachines (ATMs) and POSs accept chip cards by the end of 2020.
TheSBV estimates Vietnam currently has some 70 million bank cards with magneticstrips, which can be easily hacked due to weak security features.
Internationalcard-issuing organisations have asked Vietnamese banks to switch to chip cardsthat meet EMV standards to increase safety amidst a growing number of cardinformation thefts. EVM stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa after thecompanies created the global standard. Cards that meet the standard haveembedded microprocessor chips that store and protect data.
Accordingto banks, issuing a chip card can cost some 1.50-2.50 USD. The country’s bankswill have to spend between 105 million USD and 175 million USD for thetransition, not to mention the additional costs of upgrading their ATMs andcore banking systems to adapt to the change.-VNS/VNA
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