Social insurance debt will be subject to criminal prosecution. To avoid inspections, administrative penalties, and referral to investigative agencies for criminal prosecution for evading social insurance contributions in 2018, many businesses voluntarily paid their outstanding social insurance debts.
Many business owners abscond due to unpaid social insurance contributions.
Regulations of the Social Insurance Law From 2014 to 2018, the act of evading social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions may be severely punished and subject to criminal prosecution. This drastic change has contributed to reducing the amount of outstanding debt in recent years.
According to Mr. Mai Duc Thang, Deputy Head of the Collection Department, the situation of outstanding social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance debts continues to occur throughout the country. As of the end of May, the total social insurance debt was 10.450 billion VND (accounting for 4,7% of the planned revenue for 2018, a decrease of 1% compared to the same period last year).
This year's economic situation is more favorable, and with the Vietnam Social Insurance implementing strict measures to recover social insurance debts, the problem of evasion has been partially resolved. However, in the first five months of 2018, social insurance contributions only reached 38% of the annual plan. According to a representative of Vietnam Social Insurance, this is not surprising. Because businesses prioritized paying salaries and Tet bonuses to employees in the early months of the year, the social insurance collection results were not high, which is consistent with the same period in previous years.
According to data from the Vietnam Social Insurance, as of the end of May 2018, the whole country had 13,79 million people participating in compulsory social insurance, 11,6 million in unemployment insurance, 81,3 million in health insurance, and 240.000 in voluntary social insurance, reaching a rate of 86,6% of the population. In the first five months of the year, the entire social insurance sector collected 121.100 billion VND in various types of insurance (reaching 36,7% of the annual plan). Of this, social insurance contributions reached 83.615 billion VND, health insurance contributions reached 31.852 billion VND, and unemployment insurance contributions reached 5.631 billion VND.
Initiating legal proceedings is a last resort.
Regarding the issue of evasion and arrears in social insurance contributions, Mr. Thang stated that, to ensure the rights of workers, the Vietnam Social Insurance agency will conduct inspections and audits.
Regular interdisciplinary collaboration.
"We will rigorously inspect businesses that owe social insurance contributions for three months or more. For businesses that owe for more than six months, we will conduct surprise inspections," Mr. Thang emphasized.
Representative BThe Vietnam Social Insurance Agency believes that measures to urge payment, inspect, and criminally prosecute those who evade social insurance contributions have been effective. Businesses have voluntarily paid their social insurance debts as soon as they were reminded by inspectors.
As recently announced, the Vietnam Social Security (BHXH) has been inspecting four large social insurance debtors in Ninh Binh province. Following the inspection, three businesses voluntarily paid their outstanding debts in full, and one business, despite facing difficulties, has developed a repayment plan and committed to gradually paying off its debts. Based on these results, Mr. Thang estimates that the target of recovering social insurance debt this year will be met or exceeded by 1-2%.
Along with reviewing, supplementing, and standardizing the data of social insurance participants in the management software, Vietnam Social Insurance is also stepping up efforts. The goal is to implement electronic social insurance book management by 2020. This system will make it easier for employees to look up and manage their social insurance contributions, shortening the time and procedures for participants. Simultaneously, the public disclosure of social insurance contribution data will help employees understand and address situations where businesses evade social insurance contributions for their employees.
Firm but also gentle.
With regulations stipulating criminal prosecution for evading social insurance contributions, since the beginning of the year, social insurance agencies in many localities across the country have shown a strong determination to address outstanding social insurance debts. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, the social insurance agency has completed and transferred the case file of one enterprise with outstanding social insurance debts to the investigative agency. Meanwhile, in Hanoi, the social insurance agency has coordinated with inter-agency bodies to review and consolidate the case files in preparation for transferring two enterprises with large and long-standing social insurance debts to the investigative agency for criminal prosecution.
However, according to Mr. Thang, transferring cases of businesses for criminal prosecution also has the consequence of putting workers at risk of losing their jobs because the business owner is prosecuted. Therefore, during the inspection of businesses owing social insurance contributions, the social insurance agency always considers carefully, only transferring cases to the investigative agency and initiating criminal prosecution for businesses that are still doing well but intentionally fail to pay or misappropriate social insurance funds. In addition, during the investigation process, if the business rectifies the situation and pays the social insurance debt, the investigative agency may change its decision to prosecute.
In its upcoming work plan, Vietnam Social Security will strengthen specialized inspections, especially at units with outstanding social insurance and health insurance debts, and promptly take strict action…www.expertis.vn
