Vietnam's Measures Against Late Payments and Social Insurance Evasion_风险与合规_越南资讯

Effective from November 10, 2025, Decree No. 274/2025/ND-CP (“Decree 274”) elaborates the Social Insurance Law’s provisions on handling of late payments and evasion of compulsory social insurance (SI) and unemployment insurance (UI) in Vietnam.

This article details Vietnam’s new regulations and enforcement measures for late payments and evasion of compulsory SI and UI, clarifying definitions, deadlines, penalties, and exceptions under the 2024 SI Law and Decree 274.

Deadlines for compulsory SI and UI

Employers are required to adhere to the payment schedule outlined in the 2024 Law:

For monthly payments, the deadline is the last day of the following month; and
For quarterly or biannual payments, the deadline is the last day of the month following the payment cycle.

Additionally, both employers and employees are required to pay the UI premium concurrently with the mandatory SI contribution, as provided in Decree No. 28-2015/ND-CP.

Determination provisions under the SI Law

Under the SI Law, an employer is considered late in paying or evading compulsory SI and UI in the following situations:

Late payment	Evasion
Missing or underpaying contributions after the statutory deadlines for SI or UI, based on the applications submitted to the authorities, excluding specific exceptions noted in the degree; Failure to register employees for compulsory SI within 60 days of the deadline stipulated by the Social Insurance Law; and Failure to register employees for UI within 60 days of the legal deadline for UI participation.	Not registering or fully registering employees for SI more than 60 days after the required deadline; Not registering or fully registering employees for UI more than 60 days after the UI participation deadline; Declaring a lower salary than legally permitted as the basis for SI contributions; Declaring a lower salary than permitted under UI rules as the basis for UI contributions; Failing to pay or fully pay SI contributions more than 60 days past the deadline, and continuing non-payment after receiving an official reminder from a competent authority; Failing to pay or fully pay UI contributions more than 60 days past the deadline, and continuing non-payment after an official reminder; and Other behaviors deemed by the government to constitute evasion.

Late payment

Evasion

Missing or underpaying contributions after the statutory deadlines for SI or UI, based on the applications submitted to the authorities, excluding specific exceptions noted in the degree;
Failure to register employees for compulsory SI within 60 days of the deadline stipulated by the Social Insurance Law; and
Failure to register employees for UI within 60 days of the legal deadline for UI participation.

Not registering or fully registering employees for SI more than 60 days after the required deadline;
Not registering or fully registering employees for UI more than 60 days after the UI participation deadline;
Declaring a lower salary than legally permitted as the basis for SI contributions;
Declaring a lower salary than permitted under UI rules as the basis for UI contributions;
Failing to pay or fully pay SI contributions more than 60 days past the deadline, and continuing non-payment after receiving an official reminder from a competent authority;
Failing to pay or fully pay UI contributions more than 60 days past the deadline, and continuing non-payment after an official reminder; and
Other behaviors deemed by the government to constitute evasion.

Cases not considered compulsory SI or UI evasion

Employers are not deemed to be evading compulsory SI or UI contributions if delays occur due to one of the following reasons, as formally announced by competent authorities in relation to disaster prevention, emergency situations, civil defense, or epidemic control. These cases include:

Natural disasters, including storms, floods, inundation, earthquakes, major fires, prolonged droughts, or other disasters that directly and seriously disrupt production and business operations.
Dangerous epidemics, officially declared by state authorities, causing severe impacts on business operations and the financial capacity of agencies, organizations, or employers.
Declared states of emergency, where sudden and extraordinary circumstances affect the operations of agencies, organizations, or employers.
Other force majeure events as defined under civil law.

Penalty rate for late payment or evasion of compulsory SI and UI

Employers that delay or evade compulsory SI or UI contributions must pay an additional 0.03 percent per day, calculated on both the outstanding amount and the number of delayed or unpaid days.

The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) will perform monthly reviews to identify employers that have delayed or evaded SI/UI contributions. Upon identifying a non-compliance, VSS will proactively send a written reminder within the first 10 days of each month.

Each reminder will specify:

The amount owed and the number of delayed or unpaid days;
Additional 0.03 percent per day penalty payable; and
Required remedial actions and the compliance deadline.

If an employer fails to remedy the violation within 60 days from the regulatory payment deadline, the case will be reclassified from late payment to evasion, triggering more serious penalties.

The number of late-payment days is counted from the day after the statutory registration or contribution deadline.

Reclassification from late payment to evasion

Late compulsory SI and UI contributions may be reclassified as evasion if an employer fails to remedy the violation within 60 days of the statutory deadline, even after receiving a written reminder from the competent authority.

The timing of reclassification may vary depending on the specific case.

Failure to register employees for SI

If an employer does not register employees within 60 days from the statutory registration deadline, the case will be reclassified as evasion.
The effective date of evasion is the 61st day after the registration deadline.

Underreporting wages as the contribution base

When an employer is found to have declared a lower salary than actually paid:

For monthly contributors: The violation is considered evasion starting from the day after the following month in which the wage was incurred; or
For units contributing every three or six months: From the day after the next contribution cycle.

Continued non-payment after an official reminder

If the authority issues a reminder within 45 days after the latest permitted payment deadline and the employer still fails to contribute within 60 days, the violation becomes evasion from the 61st day.
If the reminder is issued after 45 days, the case is considered an evasion 15 days after the reminder is issued.

Takeaway

Vietnam is tightening enforcement of its compulsory SI and UI regulations under the 2024 SI Law, with Decree 274 introducing clearer definitions of late payment and evasion, stricter timelines, and a hefty daily penalty on unpaid amounts.

With that in mind, employers must comply with statutory deadlines for SI/UI registration and contributions, as delays of over 60 days or continued non-payment after official reminders may be reclassified as evasion

Monthly monitoring by the VSS and accelerated reclassification rules mean businesses should review payroll reporting, registration, and contribution processes to avoid escalating liabilities.