LAW

AMENDMENTS TO LAW ON PROPERTY AUCTION

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly promulgates a Law providing amendments to the Law on Property Auction No. 01/2016/QH14 as amended in the Law No. 16/2023/QH15.

Article 1. Amendments to Law on Property Auction

1. Clause 2 Article 3 is amended as follows:

“2. The auction of securities shall comply with regulations of law on securities; the auction of public property of overseas Vietnamese missions shall comply with regulations of law on management and use of public property; the auction of vehicle license plates shall comply with regulations of law on road traffic order and safety.”.

2. Article 4 is amended as follows:

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1. Property which must be sold at auction as prescribed by laws, including:

a) Land use rights (LURs) as defined by regulations of law on land;

b) Mining rights as defined by regulations of law on minerals;

c) Rights to use radio frequencies as defined by regulations of law on radio frequencies;

d) Rights to use telecommunications codes/numbers and the country-code domain name “.vn” as defined by regulations of law on telecommunications;

dd) Rights to use forest and rights to lease forest as defined by regulations of law on forestry;

e) Fixed assets of enterprises as defined by regulations of law on management and use of state capital invested in manufacturing and business operations of enterprises;

g) Property considered as national reserve goods as defined by regulations of law on national reserve;

h) Public property at regulatory authorities, organizations and units, infrastructure property, property under established all-people ownership, and property of state-funded projects as defined by regulations of law on management and use of public property;

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k) Collateral as defined by regulations of law on security for fulfillment of obligations;

l) Property seized for ensuring the enforcement of administrative penalty imposition decisions as defined by regulations of law on penalties for administrative violations;

m) Property of cooperatives or cooperative unions declared bankrupt as defined by regulations of law on cooperatives and law on bankruptcy;

n) Property of enterprises declared bankrupt as defined by regulations of law on bankruptcy;

o) Bad debts and collateral of such bad debts of the wholly state-owned organization that is established by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to settle bad debts of credit institutions in accordance with regulations of law;

p) Other property which must be sold at auction as prescribed by laws.

2. Property, other than those prescribed in clause 1 of this Article, which is put up for sale at auction at the discretion of property seller.”.

3. Some clauses of Article 5 are amended as follows:

a) Clauses 1 and 2 are amended as follows:

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2. Property auction means a form of offering and taking bids with the participation of at least two bidders according to the rules and procedures set forth in this Law, except the cases prescribed in Article 49 of this Law.”;

b) Clause 7 is amended as follows:

“7. Bidder means an individual or organization that participates in the property auction to buy property in accordance with provisions of this Law and relevant laws.”;

c) Clauses 13 and 14 are added following clause 12 as follows:

“13. National property auction portal means an information technology system that is developed, managed and operated by the state authority in charge of property auction to serve the purpose of consistently managing information on property auction and conduct of online auctions. This system must meet management, connection and data sharing requirements set out in this Law and relevant laws.

14. Business day means any of the days from Monday to Friday and compensatory working days as prescribed, except public holidays and compensatory time-off as prescribed.”.

4. Clause 2 Article 7 is amended as follows:

“2. In case a third party involves in the dispute over the ownership of the property put up for sale at the auction, the property ownership still belongs to the bona fide buyer of the property.

Settlement of disputes over ownership of auctioned property, filing of lawsuit against legal validity of a successful auction, and cancellation of property auction results as prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 72 of this Law shall comply with simplified procedures prescribed in the code of civil procedures.".

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a) Point c clause 1 is amended as follows:

“c) Making a fictitious list of registered bidders; preparing fictitious or fake documents for participating in the property auction; colluding or cooperating with owners of property put up for sale at auction, bidders, valuation firms, organizations in charge of inspection of auctioned property and/or other organizations and individuals in falsifying information on the property put up for sale at auction, auction documents or applications for participation in auction, suppressing or purposely raising the price of the property, or falsifying property auction results;”;

b) Point dd1 is added following point dd clause 1 as follows:

“dd1) Disclosing information on registered bidders;”;

c) Point b clause 2 is amended as follows:

“b) Making a fictitious list of registered bidders; preparing fictitious or fake documents for participating in the property auction; colluding or cooperating with owners of property put up for sale at auction, bidders, valuation firms, organizations in charge of inspection of auctioned property and/or other organizations and individuals in falsifying information on the property put up for sale at auction, auction documents or applications for participation in auction, suppressing or purposely raising the price of the property, or falsifying property auction results;”;

d) Point d is amended; point d1 and point d2 are added following point d clause 2 as follow: 

“d) Disclosing information on registered bidders;

d1) Forging documents or deliberately providing information to falsify applications for registration as property auction practicing organization;

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dd) Points a and b are amended; point b1 is added following point d clause 4 as follow: 

“a) Colluding or cooperating with auctioneers, property auction practicing organizations, and/or other relevant organizations and individuals in falsifying information on the property put up for sale at auction, auction documents or applications for participation in auction, suppressing or purposely raising the price of the property, or falsifying property auction results;

b) Receiving any amount of money, property or other benefits from auctioneers, property auction practicing organizations, or bidders for falsifying results of selection of property auction practicing organizations or property auction results;

b1) Limiting the participation of organizations/individuals in the auction against regulations of law;";

e) Point b clause 5 is amended as follows:

“b) Colluding or cooperating with auctioneers, property auction practicing organizations, auctioned property sellers, other bidders and/or other relevant organizations and individuals in suppressing or purposely raising the price of the property, or falsifying property auction results;”;

g) Points d1, d2 and d3 are added following point d clause 5 as follows:

“d1) Acting as an attorney of another bidder to participate in an auction for the same property for which they are bidding for; acting as an attorney of two bidders or more  participate in an auction for the same property;

d2) Participating in an auction for the property for which his/her spouse or natural sibling is also bidding;

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6. Clauses 2 and 3 Article 10 are amended as follows:

“2. Hold a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in law, economics, business administration, accounting, auditing, finance or banking;

3. Have successfully completed an auction training course as prescribed in Article 11 of this Law;”.

7. Clause 1 Article 11 is amended as follows:

“1. Any person who satisfies the criteria set out in clauses 1 and 2 Article 10 of this Law is entitled to attend auction training courses.".

8. Some clauses of Article 13 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

“1. A holder of certificate of completion of auction training course may be admitted as interns at property auction practicing organizations.";

b) Clause 4 is amended as follows:

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Contents of a post-internship assessment test include auction practicing skills, laws on property auction and relevant laws, and code of professional ethics for auctioneers.”.

9. Some points and clauses of Article 14 are amended as follows:

a) Point b clause 1 is amended as follows:

“b) A certified true copy, or a copy presented together with its original for verification purpose, of the applicant’s bachelor’s degree, or higher, in law, economics, business administration, accounting, auditing, finance or banking;”;

b) Clause 2a is added following clause 2 as follows:

“2a. During its appraisal of an application for auctioneer’s practicing certificate, the authority competent to issue auctioneer’s practicing certificate is entitled to request the criminal record issuing authority to issue the criminal record No. 2 to the applicant according to procedures laid down in laws on criminal records.“.

10. Clause 4 Article 15 is amended as follows:

“4. A person who is liable to criminal prosecution; has been convicted under a legally effective judgment; has been convicted but fails to have his/her criminal record expunged; has been convicted of an offense against regulations on property auction, obtaining property by deception or a corruption-related crime regardless of whether his/her criminal record has been expunged or not.”.

11. Points b and c clause 1 Article 16 are amended as follows:

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c) He/she incurs administrative penalties, as prescribed by regulations of law on penalties for administrative violations, for committing violations against regulations in points b, c or dd1 clause 1 Article 9 of this Law;”.

12. Point b clause 5 Article 17 is amended as follows:

“b) He/she has been convicted of an offense against regulations on property auction, obtaining property by deception or a corruption-related crime regardless of whether his/her criminal record has been expunged or not.”.

13. Some points and clauses of Article 19 are amended as follows:

a) Point b clause 1 is amended as follows:

“b) Directly manage the auction session; handle situations that may arise during the auction session following the rules set out in Article 6 of this Law;”;

b) Point dd1 is added following point dd clause 2 as follows:

“dd1) Attend professional refresher training courses in auction as prescribed;”.

14. Some points and clauses of Article 24 are amended as follows:

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“a) Provide property auction services;

a1) Reach an agreement with the owner of the auctioned property on application of one, some or all of regulations regarding auction procedures laid down in this Law to their auctioned property as prescribed in clause 2 Article 4 of this Law;";

b) Points i1 and i2 are added following point i clause 1 as follows:

“i1) Collect, manage and use proceeds from sale of auction documents as prescribed by law;

i2) Cooperate with other property auction practicing organizations in conduct of property auctions as prescribed in clause 2 Article 4 of this Law;”;

c) Point a clause 2 is amended as follows:

“a) Conduct property auctions according to the rules and procedures set out in this Law, except the cases prescribed in point a1 clause 1 of this Article, and assume responsibility for auction results;”.

15. Clause 1 Article 25 is amended as follows:

“1. The founder of an enterprise meeting the conditions set out in Article 23 of this Law shall submit an application for registration of property action operations to the Department of Justice of province or city where his/her enterprise is headquartered, and pay application fee as prescribed by law. Such an application includes:

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b) The Charter of enterprise that is an auction partnership;

c) Certified true copy(ies), or copy(ies) presented together with its/their original(s) for verification purpose, of the auctioneer’s practicing certificate of the owner of the auction sole proprietorship, or auctioneer’s practicing certificates of general partners, General Director or Director of the auction partnership.".

16. Clause 1 is amended and clause 1a is added following clause 1 Article 26 as follows:

“1. If a property auction enterprise is renamed or relocates its headquarters within the same province or central-affiliated city where it is headquartered or makes any change in its branch, representative office, legal representative, or list of its auctioneers, it shall follow these procedures:

a) Within 10 business days from the date of the change decision, the property auction enterprise shall send an application for approval of change to the provincial Department of Justice where it was registered;

b) Within 05 business days from its receipt of the application, the provincial Department of Justice shall make a decision to change contents of operation registration and re-issue a certificate of operation registration to the applicant. If an application is refused, written reasons for such refusal must be provided. In this case, the applicant is entitled to make complaint or file lawsuit against such refusal in accordance with regulations of law.

1a. In case the headquarters of a property auction enterprise is relocated to a province or city other than the one where it is currently headquartered, it shall follow these procedures:

a) Within 10 business days from the date of the change decision, the property auction enterprise shall send a notice of relocation of its headquarters to the provincial Department of Justice where it was registered, and send an application for approval of change, accompanied with a certified true copy, electronic certified true copy, or copy presented together with its original for verification purpose, of its certificate of operation registration to the Department of Justice of province or city to which its headquarters will be relocated;

b) Within 05 business days from its receipt of an adequate and valid application, the receiving Department of Justice shall issue a certificate of operation registration to the applicant, send a notice of such issuance of certificate to the Department of Justice of province or city where the property auction enterprise was previously headquartered, and provide information on operation registration of the property auction enterprise as prescribed in Article 27 of this Law. If an application is refused, written reasons for such refusal must be provided. In this case, the applicant is entitled to make complaint or file lawsuit against such refusal in accordance with regulations of law.

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c) The property auction enterprise that is issued with a certificate of operation registration shall publish its contents of operation registration according to provisions of Article 28 of this Law.”.

17. Clause 1 Article 28 is amended as follows:

“1. Within 30 days from the date on which it is issued with a certificate of operation registration, the property auction enterprise shall publish the following main contents of operation registration on the National property auction portal, including:

a) Its name;

b) Its headquarters address, branch(es) and/or representative office(s);

c) Number, issue date and issuing authority of its certificate of operation registration;

d) Full name and number of auctioneer’s practicing certificate of the owner of the auction sole proprietorship; or full names and numbers of auctioneer’s practicing certificates of general partners, General Director or Director of the auction partnership.".

18. Clauses 5, 6 and 7 are added following clause 4 Article 29 as follows:

“5. If a branch of a property auction enterprise is relocated within the same province or central-affiliated city or the branch’s head is replaced, these procedures shall be followed:

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b) Within 05 business days from its receipt of the application, the provincial Department of Justice shall make a decision to change contents of operation registration and re-issue a certificate of branch registration. If an application is refused, written reasons for such refusal must be provided. In this case, the applicant is entitled to make complaint or file lawsuit against such refusal in accordance with regulations of law.

6. In case the branch of a property auction enterprise is relocated to a province or city other than the one where it is currently located, these procedures shall be followed:

a) Within 10 business days from the date of the change decision, the property auction enterprise shall send a notice of relocation of its branch to the provincial Department of Justice where its branch was registered, and submit an application for approval of change, accompanied with a certified true copy, electronic certified true copy, or copy presented together with its original for verification purpose, of the issued certificate of branch registration;

b) Within 05 business days from its receipt of an adequate and valid application, the Department of Justice of province or city to which the applicant's branch will be relocated shall issue a new certificate of branch registration. If an application is refused, written reasons for such refusal must be provided. In this case, the applicant is entitled to make complaint or file lawsuit against such refusal in accordance with regulations of law.

The certificate of branch registration issued by the Department of Justice of province or city where the branch was previously located shall cease to have legal effect from the date on which a new certificate of branch registration is issued by the Department of Justice of province or city to which the branch will be relocated. The Department of Justice of province or city where the branch was previously located shall make a decision to invalidate the issued certificate of branch registration, and publish this decision on its web portal within 03 business days from its receipt of a notice of issuance of a new certificate of branch registration from the Department of Justice of province or city to which this branch will be relocated.

7. In case a property auction enterprise wishes to apply for re-issuance of a certificate of branch registration which has been lost, torn, burned or otherwise destroyed, it shall follow these procedures:

a) It shall submit an application form to the provincial Department of Justice where the branch is registered;

b) Within 07 business days from its receipt of the application form, the provincial Department of Justice shall re-issue a certificate of branch registration. If an application is refused, written reasons for such refusal must be provided. In this case, the applicant is entitled to make complaint or file lawsuit against such refusal in accordance with regulations of law.”.

19. Some points and clauses of Article 32 are amended as follows:

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“d1) Such revocation is made at the request of a competent authority;”;

b) Point dd is added following point d clause 2 as follows:

“dd) In the case prescribed in point d1 clause 1 of this Article, the revocation of certificate of operation registration of the property auction enterprise shall comply with the Government’s regulations.”.

20. Some points and clauses of Article 34 are amended as follows:

a) Point a clause 2 is amended as follows:

“a) Name of the property or list of property items, property lot or single item, quantity and quality of the auctioned property; location of the auctioned property; documents proving the ownership or rights to use the auctioned property;”;

b) Point c clause 2 is amended as follows:

“c) Start and end dates and time of the sale of auction documents; date and time for receipt and deadline for submission of applications for participation in the auction; place of selling auction documents, and place of receipt of applications for participation in the auction;”;

c) Point dd clause 2 is amended as follows:

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d) Points k, l and m are added following point i clause 2 as follows:

“k) Bid increment and application of bid increment in rounds of the auction in case the auction has bid increment and rounds; valid and invalid bids in case of oral auction or online auction; valid and invalid bid forms in case of auction where bidders cast their bid forms directly at the auction or in case of sealed-bid auction;

l) Regulations on method of writing bid forms, deadline for submission of bid forms, and procedures for sealing and breaking the seal of the bid box in case of sealed-bid auction;

m) Bid for each of the auctioned property items, including LURs and property on land, in case the holder of LURs is not the owner of the property on land.”;

dd) Clause 3 is amended as follows:

“3. The property auction practicing organization must publicly post the rules of auction at its headquarters, and the auction venue, and publish them on the National property auction portal at the same time when information on the auction is published as prescribed in Article 57 of this Law.”.

21. Some points and clauses of Article 35 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended and clause 1a is added following clause 1 as follows:

“1. The property auction practicing organization shall post information on a property auction as follows:

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b) If the auctioned property is real estate, the property auction practicing organization shall post the information specified in clause 2 of this Article at its headquarters, the headquarters of the auctioned property seller, the auction venue and the People’s Committee of commune where the property is located for a consecutive period of at least 15 business days before the planned date of auction.

In case of auction of LURs over a land plot which is allocated or leased for executing an investment project or mining rights, the property auction practicing organization shall post the information specified in clause 2 of this Article at its headquarters, the headquarters of the auctioned property seller and the auction venue for a consecutive period of at least 30 business days before the planned date of auction.

1a. Where an auction is conducted following the simplified auction procedures in Article 53 of this Law, the property auction practicing organization shall post the information on the auction at the locations prescribed in clause 1 of this Article for the following periods of time:

a) If the auctioned property is movable property, information shall be posted for a consecutive period of at least 03 business days before the planned date of auction;

b) If the auctioned property is real estate, information shall be posted for a consecutive period of at least 05 business days before the planned date of auction.”;

b) Point b clause 2 is amended as follows:

“b) The contents specified in points a, b, c, d, dd, e, g, h, k and l clause 2 Article 34 of this Law.”.

c) Clause 3 is amended as follows:

“3. The property auction practicing organization shall include documents and images of its posting of information on the auction as prescribed in clauses 1 and 2 of this Article in its retained auction dossier. If the information is posted at the People’s Committee of commune where the auctioned real estate is located, the property auction practicing organization shall retain documents and images of its posting of information or make a record of such posting which must indicate the end date of posting and bear certification of the relevant Commune-level People’s Committee.”.

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Article 36. Property viewings

1. The property auction practicing organization shall cooperate with the auctioned property seller in organizing viewings for bidders to visit the property or model property, and check documents on the ownership and rights to use the property and relevant documents (if any) in person.  The owner's name and information on the property must be available on the property or model property.

If the property rights are put up for auction, the property auction practicing organization shall cooperate with the auctioned property seller in enabling bidders to check documents on the ownership and rights to use the property and relevant documents (if any).

2. The property auction practicing organization shall cooperate with the auctioned property seller in organizing viewings for bidders to visit the property during office hours for a consecutive period of at least 03 business days from the day on which information on the property auction is posted to the planned date of auction.

Article 37. Auction venue

1. The auctioned property seller and the property auction practicing organization shall each an agreement on the auction venue as follows:

a) If the auctioned property is movable property, the auction venue shall be within the same province or central-affiliated city where the property auction practicing organization or the auctioned property seller is headquartered, or where the auctioned property is located;

b) If the auctioned property is real estate, the auction venue shall be within the same province or central-affiliated city where the auctioned property is located. If the auctioned property includes real estate pieces located in different provinces or central-affiliated cities, the auctioned property seller and the property auction practicing organization shall reach an agreement to conduct the auction in one of the provinces or central-affiliated cities where the real estate is located or where the auctioned property seller or the property auction practicing organization is headquartered.

2. In case a selected auction venue still fails meet conditions for conducting an auction after the deadlines for submission of applications for participation in auction and payment of EMD prescribed in the rules of auction have passed, the property auction practicing organization shall:

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b) notify eligible bidders of the new auction venue in writing. Such notification must be made at least 01 business day before the auction date defined in the issued rules of auction.”.

23. Clause 2 is amended; clauses 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and 2dd are added following clause 2 Article 38 as follows:

“2. The property auction practicing organization shall sell auction documents and receive applications for participation in auction at its headquarters during office hours for a consecutive period from the day on which information on property auction is posted to the date which is at least 02 business days before the planned date of auction, except the cases prescribed in clause 2b and clause 2c of this Article. The property auction practicing organization shall give notification to ineligible bidders at least 01 business day before the planned date of auction.

Where the auction is conducted following simplified procedures as prescribed in Article 53 of this Law, the property auction practicing organization shall sell auction documents and receive applications for participation in auction at its headquarters during office hours for a consecutive period from the day on which information on property auction is posted to the date which is at least 01 business day before the planned date of auction.

2a. A set of auction documents includes:

a) Application form for participation in auction;

b) Rules of auction;

c) Bid form, in case of sealed-bid auction;

d) Documents on the property put up for auction.

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Each bidder shall send 02 sealed bid packages to the property auction practicing organization. Within 01 business day from the deadline for submission of bid packages, the property auction practicing organization shall send one of two sealed bid packages received from bidder to the auctioned property seller. Pursuant to regulations of laws applicable to their property, the auctioned property seller shall consider evaluating the eligibility of bidders and provide the property auction practicing organization with the list of eligible bidders and the list of ineligible bidders at least 05 business days before the planned date of auction.

The property auction practicing organization shall give separate notification to each bidder of whether they are eligible to participate in the auction or not at least 03 business days before the planned date of auction.

2c. Where the property auction practicing organization is headquartered in a province or central-affiliated city different from the one where the auctioned property is located, in addition to the sale of auction documents and receipt of applications for participation in auction at its headquarters, the property auction practicing organization shall also sell auction documents and receive applications for participation in auction at the headquarters of the auctioned property seller or at another location as agreed upon with the auctioned property seller, provided this location must be within the same province or central-affiliated city where the auctioned property is located within the periods specified in clause 2 and clause 2b of this Article.

2d. In addition to the sale of auction documents and receipt of applications for participation in auction as prescribed in clauses 2, 2b and 2c of this Article, the property auction practicing organization and the auctioned property seller may reach an agreement to sell auction documents and receive applications for participation in auction at other locations or electronically on their website(s) or the National property auction portal.

2dd. An application for participation in auction includes:

a) An application form for participation in auction;

b) Documents proving the bidder’s eligibility to participate in auction or certification of the bidder's eligibility to participate in auction given by a competent authority in case the bidder must satisfy eligibility requirements laid down by laws.”.

24. Some points and clauses of Article 39 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended, and clauses 1a and 1b are added following Clause 1 as follows:

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The bidder, the auctioned property seller and the property auction practicing organization may reach an agreement to pay EMD in the form of bank guarantee.

In case of auction of LURs over a land plot which is allocated or leased for executing an investment project or rights to use radio frequencies, the auctioned property seller may request that the received EMD amount on the separate checking account of the property auction practicing organization should be frozen in accordance with regulations of law on credit institutions.

1a. The required EMD shall be agreed upon by the property auction practicing organization and the auctioned property seller but not be smaller than 5% or higher than 20% of the starting price of the auctioned property, except the case specified in clause 1b of this Article and the following cases:

a) In case of auction of mining rights where the starting price in cash cannot be determined, the EMD shall be determined in accordance with regulations of law on minerals. In case of auction of mining rights where the starting price in cash can be determined, the required EMD shall not be smaller than 10% or higher than 20% of the starting price;

b) In case of auction of LURs over a land plot which is allocated or leased for executing an investment project, the required EMD shall not be smaller than 10% or higher than 20% of the starting price;

c) In case of auction of rights to lease out property where the starting price equals the annual rent, the required EMD shall not be smaller than 5% or higher than 20% of the product of the starting price and the lease term.

1b. In case of auction of rights to use radio frequencies, the required EMD shall be agreed upon by the property auction practicing organization and the auctioned property seller but comply with the following provisions:

a) If bids are offered according to point a clause 1 Article 59 of this Law, the required EMD shall not be smaller than 5% or higher than 20% of the starting price of the auctioned frequency band unit;

b) If bids are offered and accepted according to point b clause 1 Article 59 of this Law, the required EMD shall not be smaller than 5% or higher than 20% of the product of the starting price of a frequency band unit and the number of frequency band units bidded for;

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b) Clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 are amended as follows:

“2. Each bidder shall pay the required EMD to the property auction practicing organization after information on property auction is posted but at least 02 business days before the planned date of auction.

Where the auction is conducted following simplified procedures as prescribed in Article 53 of this Law, each bidder shall pay the required EMD to the property auction practicing organization after information on property auction is posted but at least 01 business day before the planned date of auction.

In case of auction of LURs over a land plot which is allocated or leased for executing an investment project or mining rights, each eligible bidder as notified by the property auction practicing organization as prescribed in clause 2b Article 38 of this Law shall pay the required EMD to the property auction practicing organization at least 01 business day before the planned date of auction.

3. Bidders are entitled to refuse to participate in the auction and get back their paid EMD amounts in case there is any change in the posted or notified starting price, quantity or quality of the auctioned property, time or venue of the auction, form or method of auction.

4. Within 03 business days from the end of the auction or another agreed-upon time limit, the property auction practicing organization shall return received EMD amounts and interests thereon (if any) to the bidders that refuse to participate in the auction as prescribed in clause 3 of this Article, or are ineligible to participate in the auction as notified by the property auction practicing organization, or are unsuccessful bidders, except the case in clause 6 of this Article.

5. The EMD amount paid by the successful bidder and interest thereon (if any) shall be treated as deposit for ensuring the conclusion or performance of the contract for sale and purchase of the auctioned property or fulfillment of the obligation to buy the auctioned property after obtaining an approval from a competent authority.   The property auction practicing organization shall transfer such deposit to the auctioned property seller within 03 business days from the end of the auction, unless otherwise prescribed by law.

Settlement of such deposit shall comply with provisions of the civil code and relevant laws.”.

25. Point d clause 2 Article 41 is amended as follows:

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26. Some points of clause 2 Article 42 are amended as follows:

a) Point a is amended as follows:

“a) Each bidder will write the amount they would like to bid in the provided bid form. Upon expiration of the time limit for filling up bid forms, bidders shall put their bid forms into the bid box; the auctioneer counts and announces the number of bid forms delivered, the number of bid forms received, the number of valid bid forms, and the number of invalid bid forms, and announces each bid and the highest bid under the supervision of at least one bidder. In case of auction of LURs to allocate residential land to an individual, only the highest bid will be announced under the supervision of at least one bidder;”;

b) Point d is amended as follows:

“d) If two or more bidders offer the same bid which is the highest one, the auctioneer will hold another auction among these bidders to find out the auction winner. If one of these bidders wishes to offer another bid, the auctioneer shall deliver a bid form to this bidder. This bidder will be announced by the auctioneer to be the auction winner if a higher bid has been offered.  If all of these bidders refuse to participate in another auction, the auctioneer will hold a lot draw to find out the auction winner.”.

27. Article 43 is amended as follows:

“Article 43. Sealed-bid auction

1. Each bidder shall place their bid form in a sealed envelope and append their signatures on the edges of this envelop. Sealed envelopes containing bid forms shall be sent by post or directly submitted to the property auction practicing organization for putting into the bid box. The bid form must be sealed immediately after the deadline for submission of bid forms.

The deadline for submission of bid forms is decided by the property auction practicing organization and specified in the rules of auction but is at least 02 business days before the planned date of auction. The session in which bids are announced shall be considered the auction session.

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a) Comply with provisions of points a, b, c, d and e clause 1 Article 41 of this Law;

b) Repeat requirements regarding validity of bid forms;

c) Invite the auctioned property seller and at least one bidder to supervise the intactness of the bid box. If no opinion on the supervision result is given, the auctioneer shall break the seal of the bid box;

d) Invite the auctioned property seller and at least one bidder to supervise the intactness of every sealed bid-containing envelope;

dd) Tear open each sealed bid-containing envelope, except those of bidders that are not present at the auction session, announces the number of valid bid forms, and the number of invalid bid forms, and then announces each bid and the highest bid under the supervision of the auctioned property seller and at least one bidder. In case of auction of LURs to allocate residential land to an individual, only the highest bid will be announced under the supervision of the auctioned property seller and at least one bidder;

e) Announce the bidder that has offered the highest bid to be the auction winner.

3. If two or more bidders offer the same bid which is the highest one, immediately after bid forms containing the highest bid are announced, the auctioneer will hold another auction among these bidders to find out the auction winner. The auctioneer shall decide to hold an oral auction or adopt the form of directly casting bid forms at the auction. If one of these bidders wishes to offer another bid, the auctioneer shall enable this bidder to offer their bid. This bidder will be announced by the auctioneer to be the auction winner if a higher bid has been offered.  If all of these bidders refuse to participate in another auction, the auctioneer will hold a lot draw to find out the auction winner.”.

28. Article 43a and Article 43b are added following Article 43 as follows:

“Article 43a. Online auction

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2. The National property auction portal and online auction websites shall be developed, managed and operated in accordance with regulations of law on information and communications, law on e-commerce and law on property auction.

Costs of development, management, operation, maintenance and upgrading of the National property auction portal shall be covered with state budget-derived funding and other funding sources as prescribed by law.

3. Property auction practicing organizations, property auction councils, and wholly state-owned organizations that are established by the SBV to settle bad debts of credit institutions may conduct online auctions on the National property auction portal or their own online auction websites or online auction websites of other property auction practicing organizations.

4. Costs of use of services on the National property auction portal or costs of hiring an online auction website for conducting an online auction shall be included in expenses of the auction as prescribed in clause 2 Article 66 of this Law.

5. The Government shall elaborate requirements regarding the National property auction portal and requirements, appraisal and approval of online auction websites; responsibilities of regulatory authorities, organizations and individuals for development, management, operation and use of the National property auction portal and online auction websites.

Article 43b. Online auction procedures

1. Property auction practicing organizations, property auction councils, and wholly state-owned organizations that are established by the SBV to settle bad debts of credit institutions shall follow online auction procedures in this Law, and in Articles 33 through 39, Article 43a, Articles 44 through 54, and Chapter IV of this Law.

2. Property auction practicing organizations, property auction councils, and wholly state-owned organizations that are established by the SBV to settle bad debts of credit institutions shall publish rules of auction and information on their auctions on the National property auction portal or online auction websites.

3. Bidders shall submit their applications for participation in auction and offer bids on the National property auction portal or online auction websites; pay the required EMD as prescribed; view the auctioned property online or visit it in person according to the rules of auction.

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5. Online auction results shall be published on the National property auction portal or online auction website and sent to emails of bidders.

6. The Government shall elaborate this Article.”.

29. Clause 2a is added following clause 2 Article 46 as follows:

 “2a. Within 07 business days from their receipt of the auction-related documents as prescribed in clause 2 Article 45 of this Law, the auctioned property seller and the auction winner shall enter into a contract for sale and purchase of the auctioned property, unless otherwise prescribed by law.”.

30. Some points and clauses of Article 47 are amended as follows:

a) Points dd1, dd2 and dd3 are added following point dd clause 1 as follows:

“dd1) Decide whether the bid increment will be applied or not. If the bid increment is applied, it shall be a fixed bid increment, or a range of bid increments including minimum bid increment and maximum bid increment, or minimum bid increment;

dd2) Request the property auction practicing organization or auctioneer to suspend, terminate or cancel the auction or auction session in accordance with regulations of law on enforcement of civil judgments in case of auction of property serving judgment enforcement;

dd3) Reach an agreement with the property auction practicing organization on application of one, some or all of regulations regarding auction procedures laid down in this Law to the auctioned property as prescribed in clause 2 Article 4 of this Law;";

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“d) Submit reports to competent authorities on selection of property auction practicing organization and supervision of the auction in case of auction of the property prescribed in clause 1 Article 4 of this Law;

d1) Determine the starting price and bid decrement in accordance with regulations of law applied to the auctioned property;

d2) Do not provide information on a bidder to another bidder during their consideration of eligibility of bidders until the end of the auction;

d3) Pay auction costs and auction service charges to the property auction practicing organization under terms and conditions of the signed property auction service contract;

d4) Cooperate with the property auction practicing organization in organizing viewings of auctioned property for bidders as prescribed in Article 36 of this Law;

d5) Notify in writing of application of bid increments at auction rounds to the property auction practicing organization and include them in the property auction service contract in case of application of bid increments;”.

31. Some clauses of Article 49 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

“1. In case of auction where there is only one applicant for participation in auction or one bidder actually attending the auction, offering the bid or accepting the price, these provisions shall apply:

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b) In case of a descending-price auction where only one application for participation in auction is received, or only one of eligible bidders actually attends the auction and accepts the starting price or the decreased price, the auctioned property shall be sold to this applicant or bidder.”;

b) Clause 2a is added following clause 2 as follows:

 “2a. Provisions of clause 1 of this Article do not apply to the property which cannot be put up at auction in case there is only one applicant for participation in auction or only one bidder actually attending the auction or offering bid in accordance with regulations of law applicable to such property.".

32. Clause 1 Article 50 is amended as follows:

“1. At an ascending-price auction where bids are orally offered or bid forms are casted directly at the auction session or bids are offered online, if the bidder offering the highest bid withdraws their bid before the auctioneer announces the auction winner, the auction shall still proceed with the second highest bid.".

33. Some points of clause 1 Article 52 are amended as follows:

a) Point a1 is added following Point a as follows:

“a1) None of eligible bidders attends the auction session;”;

b) Point g is amended as follows:

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34. Clause 2 Article 53 is amended as follows:

“2. Simplified auction procedures in clause 1 of this Article do not apply to auctions of LURs over the land plot which is allocated or leased for executing an investment project, mining rights, rights to use radio frequencies and other property types as prescribed by relevant laws.”.

35. Article 54 is amended as follows:

“Article 54. Document retention

1. Auctioned property sellers, property auction practicing organizations, and persons competent to make decision on establishment of property auction councils shall retain auction-related documents in accordance with regulations of law on archives for a period of at least 05 years from the end of the auction, except the case prescribed in clause 2 of this Article.

2. Individuals and organizations that choose to sell property at auction as prescribed in clause 2 Article 4 of this Law shall retain auction-related documents at their discretion in accordance with regulations of law on archives.”.

36. Clause 6 is added to Article 56 as follows:

“6. The Minister of Justice of Vietnam shall elaborate this Article.”.

37. Some clauses of Article 57 are amended as follows:

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“1. Besides posting information on property auction as prescribed in clauses 1 and 2 Article 35 of this Law, for an auction of movable property whose starting price is VND 50 million or higher or for an auction of real estate, the property auction practicing organization shall publish information on the auction two times on the National property auction portal at an interval of 02 days, and at least one time on a printed newspaper or television newspaper of a central authority or the province or central-affiliated city where the auctioned property is located, except a change in the auction venue which is made after the deadlines for submission of applications for participation in auction and payment of EMD prescribed in clause 2 Article 37 of this Law.

If there is any change in the disclosed information on property auction as prescribed in clause 4 of this Article or the auction suspension is made before the deadlines for submission of applications for participation in auction and payment of EMD has passed, the property auction practicing organization shall post the change within the time limit prescribed in clause 1 Article 35 of this Law and make the change available to the public within the time limit prescribed in clause 3 of this Article.

1a. Besides publishing information on the National property auction portal and printed newspaper or television newspaper of a central authority or the province or central-affiliated city where the auctioned property is located as prescribed in clause 1 of this Article, the property auction practicing organization shall also publish information on property auction on other means of mass media at the request of the auctioned property seller.”;

b) Clauses 2 and 3 are amended as follows:

“2. If an auction is conducted following simplified procedures as prescribed in clause 1 Article 53 of this Law, in addition to posting of information on property auction as prescribed in clause 1a Article 35 of this Law, the property auction practicing organization shall also publish such information on the National property auction portal.

3. The disclosure of information prescribed in clause 1 of this Article must be made at least 07 business days, for an auction of movable property, or 15 business days, for an auction of real estate, before the planned date of auction. The disclosure of information prescribed in clause 2 of this Article shall be made at the same time when the information on property auction is posted as prescribed in clause 1a Article 35 of this Law.”.

38. Article 59 is amended as follows:

“Article 59. Offering bids or accepting prices in auctions of rights to use radio frequencies

1. Offering bids or accepting prices in auctions of rights to use radio frequencies shall be made adopting the following methods:

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b) Offering bids or accepting prices according to two stages, including the stage of determination of number of frequency band units allocated to the winner bidder and the stage of determination of the locations of frequency band units allocated to the winner bidder;

c) Offering bids for the number of frequency band units to be bought and changing frequency band units bidded for in the auction rounds.

2. Based on the frequency bands and number of frequency band units put up at auction, the property seller adopts the method for offering bids or accepting prices as prescribed in clause 1 of this Article.

3. The Government shall elaborate Points b and c Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.”.

39. Point a Clause 2 Article 62 is amended as follows:

“a) Discharge the obligations in points a, b, c and d clause 2 Article 24 of this Law;”.

40. Clause 3 is added following clause 2 Article 66 as follows:

“3. Proceeds from sale of auction documents shall be revenues of property auction practicing organizations. Proceeds from sale of auction documents shall be collected, managed and used in accordance with regulations of law.”.

41. Article 70 is amended as follows:

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1. Any bidder, auction winner or another relevant organization or individual that commits a violation against provisions of clause 5 Article 9 or other provisions of this Law shall, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, be disciplined or liable to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution, and make compensation for damage (if any) in accordance with regulations of law.

2. The winner of an auction of LURs over a land plot allocated or leased for executing an investment project or mining rights that fails to fulfill the obligations to pay the winning bid resulting in invalidation of the decision to recognize auction result shall, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, be prohibited from participating in auctions of such property types for 06 months to 05 years.

3. The authority that is competent to approve results of the auction of LURs over a land plot allocated or leased for executing an investment project or mining rights shall have the power to issue a decision on prohibition from participating in auction as prescribed in clause 2 of this Article.

4. Decision on prohibition from participating in auction must be sent to the violating entity and the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam, and be also published on the National property auction portal.

5. The Government shall elaborate clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.”.

42. Clause 4 Article 72 is amended as follows:

“4. The auction result is cancelled according to a decision issued by a person competent to impose administrative penalties on any of the grounds specified in clause 6 Article 33 of this Law or in case the property seller, bidder, auction winner, property auction practicing organization or auctioneer is found to have colluded or cooperated with each other, or suppressed the price during the auction resulting in falsified information on the auctioned property or application for participation in bid or property auction result.”.

43. Article 73 is amended as follows:

“Article 73. Legal consequences of cancellation of property auction result

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2. In case the property auction result is cancelled as prescribed in clause 3 or 4 Article 72 of this Law, the following provisions shall apply:

a) The authority competent to approve the property auction result shall take charge of invalidating the issued decision on approval of property auction result. Procedures for invalidating the decision on approval of property auction result shall be followed in accordance with regulations of relevant laws;

b) The property seller shall cancel conclusion of the contract for sale and purchase of the auctioned property, invalidate the signed contract for sale and purchase of the auctioned property, or request the competent Court to invalidate or declare the contract for sale and purchase of the auctioned property to be invalid in accordance with regulations of law.”.

44. Some points of clause 2 Article 77 are amended as follows:

a) Point d is amended as follows:

“d) Promulgate regulations on the framework program for auction training courses and auction training institutions; professional refresher training courses for auctioneers and organization of these programs; auction internship and post-internship assessment test;”;

b) Points e and g are amended as follows:

“e) Develop, manage and provide guidelines for use of the National property auction portal in a manner that meets confidentiality and information safety and security requirements; assign a specialized agency or its affiliated unit to take charge of operating this portal;

g) Carry out inspection and handle violations against regulations on organization and activities relating to property auction; organization and operation of socio-professional organizations of auctioneers within its jurisdiction;”;

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“i1) Play the leading role and cooperate with relevant ministries and central-government authorities in setting fees for publishing notice of selection of property auction practicing organization and information on property auction on the National property auction portal, user fees for use of the National property auction portal and other relevant fees as prescribed by law;”.

45. Some words or phrases in the following points and clauses are replaced or removed:

a) The phrase “hồ sơ tham gia tổ chức đấu giá của tổ chức đấu giá tài sản” (“application for participation in organization of auction of the property auction organization”) is replaced with the phrase “hồ sơ tham gia lựa chọn tổ chức hành nghề đấu giá tài sản” (“application for registration as property auction practicing organization”) in clause 3 Article 56;

b) The phrase “tổ chức đấu giá tài sản” (“property auction organization”) is replaced with the phrase “tổ chức hành nghề đấu giá tài sản” (“property auction practicing organization”) in Article 1; Clause 1 Article 2; Clause 4 and Clause 12 Article 5; Clause 3 Article 6; point b Clause 2 Article 8; Clause 2 Article 9; heading of Chapter II; Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 13; point d, point dd Clause 1 and point c Clause 2 Article 19; Article 20; heading of Section 2 Chapter II; Article 24; Article 33; Clause 1 Article 34; point a Clause 2 and Clause 4 Article 35; Clause 1, Clause 3 and point b Clause 4 Article 38; Clause 7 Article 39; Clause 1 Article 40; Clause 4 Article 42; Clause 4 Article 44; Article 45; Clause 2 Article 46; point c Clause 1 Article 47; Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 52; Clause 1 Article 53; Article 56; point a Clause 4 and Clause 5 Article 57; point b Clause 1 and Clause 3 Article 60; Clause 2 Article 64; Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 66; Article 67; heading of Article 69 and Clause 2 Article 69; Clause 1 Article 72; point d Clause 1 Article 79;

c) The phrase “Chính phủ” (“Government”) is replaced with the phrase “Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam” (“the State Bank of Vietnam") in clause 2 Article 2; point c clause 1 Article 8; point c clause 1 Article 18; point dd clause 1 Article 19; Article 20; Article 64; clauses 1, 2 and 3 Article 65; heading of Article 69 and clause 2 Article 69;

d) The phrase “bán thông qua đấu giá” (“sold through auction") is replaced with the phrase "đấu giá” (“auctioned”) in heading of Chapter IV; heading of Article 55; clause 1 Article 60;

dd) The phrase “bán đấu giá” (“sold at auction”) is replaced with the phrase "đấu giá” (“auctioned”) in clause 5 Article 5; point g clause 1 Article 24; clause 2 Article 64;

e) The phrase “Trang thông tin điện tử chuyên ngành về đấu giá tài sản” (“Specialized property auction website”) is replaced with the phrase “Cổng Đấu giá tài sản quốc gia” (“National property auction portal”) in clause 1 Article 56;

g) The phrase “hồ sơ đăng ký tham gia đấu giá” (“application for participation in auction”) is replaced with the phrase “hồ sơ mời tham gia đấu giá” (“auction documents”) in point c clause 6 Article 33; point b clause 3 Article 65;

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i) The phrase “hồ sơ đăng ký tham gia tổ chức đấu giá” (“application for participation in organization of auction”) is replaced with the phrase “hồ sơ tham gia lựa chọn tổ chức hành nghề đấu giá tài sản” (“application for registration as property auction practicing organization”) in point dd clause 2 Article 56;

k) The phrase “tham gia cuộc đấu giá” (“participate in auction”) is replaced with the phrase “tham dự phiên đấu giá” (“participate in auction session”) in point c clause 2 and point a clause 5 Article 9; point a clause 6 Article 39; clause 4 Article 50; point a clause 1 Article 62; point b clause 3 Article 65;

l) The phrase “điều hành cuộc đấu giá” (“manage the auction”) is replaced with the phrase “điều hành phiên đấu giá” (“manage the auction session”) in point dd clause 1 Article 19; point a clause 6 Article 33; point b clause 4 Article 38; clause 2 Article 44; Article 51;

m) The phrase “tại cuộc đấu giá” (“at the auction”) is replaced with the phrase “tại phiên đấu giá” (“at the auction session”) in clause 2 Article 44; Article 51;

n) The phrase “tổ chức cuộc đấu giá” (“organize the auction”) is replaced with the phrase “tổ chức phiên đấu giá” (“organize the auction session”) in point c clause 1 Article 65;

o) The phrase “Cuộc đấu giá phải do đấu giá viên điều hành” (“The auction must be managed by an auctioneer”) is replaced with the phrase “Phiên đấu giá phải do đấu giá viên điều hành” (“The auction session must be managed by an auctioneer”) in clause 4 Article 6;

p) The phrase “Diễn biến của cuộc đấu giá” (“Development of the auction”) is replaced with the phrase “Diễn biến của phiên đấu giá” (“Development of the auction session”) in clause 2 Article 44;

q) The phrase “cuộc đấu giá” (“auction”) is replaced with the phrase “phiên đấu giá” (“auction session”) in point c clause 5 Article 9; clause 3 Article 13; point c, point d clause 1 and point c clause 2 Article 19; point dd clause 1 and point c clause 2 Article 24; point g clause 2 Article 34; point a and point b clause 1 Article 40; heading of Article 41 and the introductory sentence of clause 1 Article 41; heading of Article 42, clause 1 and point c clause 2 Article 42; point b and point d clause 1 Article 47; clause 2 Article 49; clause 2 and clause 3 Article 50; point b and point c clause 1 Article 52; clause 3 Article 60; clause 1 Article 61; point a and point b clause 1 Article 62; point c clause 1 Article 63; point b clause 1 Article 65;

r) The phrase “hòm phiếu” is replaced with the phrase “thùng phiếu” (two phrases have the same meaning as "bid box”) in point a clause 3 Article 42.

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a) Article 12;

b) Points c, d, dd Clause 1 and Clause 3 Article 14;

c) Point h Clause 2 Article 24;

d) Point dd Clause 2 Article 29;

dd) Clause 4 Article 40;

e) Clause 3 Article 49;

g) Clause 3 Article 53;

h) Point d Clause 4 Article 56;

i) Point h Clause 2 Article 65;

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l) Article 76;

m) Point c Clause 1 Article 79.

Article 2. Effect

This Law comes into force from January 01, 2025, except the cases prescribed in Article 3 of this Law.

Article 3. Transition 

1. If a property seller has notified their selection of property auction practicing organization before the effective date of this Law but has not yet obtained the selection result, the property seller may continue selecting the property auction practicing organization in accordance with provisions of the Law on Property Auction No. 01/2016/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15.

2. If a property seller and a property auction practicing organization have entered into a property auction service contract before the effective date of this Law, the auction shall be conducted in accordance with provisions of the Law on Property Auction No. 01/2016/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15.

3. When a person who is exempted from auction training course and is working as an intern or has completed the auction internship as prescribed in the Law on Property Auction No. 01/2016/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15 before the effective date of this Law submits an application for auctioneer’s practicing certificate, this application shall be processed in accordance with provisions of the Law on Property Auction No. 01/2016/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15.

This Law is ratified by the 15^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam during its 7^th session held on June 27, 2024.

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CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF VIETNAM




Tran Thanh Man