Can a legal consulting center that operates in the wrong field as stated in the operating registration be fined?

How much will be fined for a legal consulting center that does not operate in the right field as stated in its operation registration certificate?

How much money will be fined for a legal consulting center operating in the wrong field as stated in the operating registration certificate, based on Clauses 3, 5 and 6, Article 9 of Decree 82/2020/ND-CP stipulating:

Violations of regulations on operations of legal consulting centers and branches of legal consulting centers:

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3. Fine from 7,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

a) Operating outside the scope prescribed by law or in the field stated in the operating registration certificate;

b) Failure to register the operation of the legal consulting center or branch of the legal consulting center with the competent authority.

4. Fine from 30,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND for acts of organizations that do not have a legal consulting function but provide legal consulting activities in any form.

5. Additional sanctions:

a) Suspension of operations from 01 month to 03 months for violations specified in Point e Clause 2 and Point a Clause 3 of this Article;

b) Confiscate evidence that is an operation registration certificate that has been erased or altered to falsify the content for violations specified at Point g, Clause 2 of this Article.

6. Remedial measures:

a) Recommend competent agencies, organizations, and persons to consider and handle papers and documents that have been erased or modified to falsify the content specified in Point g, Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Forced to return illegal profits obtained from committing violations specified in Point h, Clause 2, Point a, Clause 3 and Clause 4 of this Article.

According to the regulations on legal consulting centers, branches of legal consulting centers that do not operate within the scope prescribed by law or in the field stated in the operating registration certificate will be fined from 7,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND, suspended from operations from 01 month to 03 months and forced to return the illegally obtained profits.

Accordingly, a legal consulting center that does not operate in the right field as stated in the operating registration certificate will be fined from 7,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND, suspended from operation for 01 month to 03 months and forced to return the illegally obtained profits.

Does the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee have the authority to sanction a legal consulting center that operates in the wrong field as stated in the operating registration?

Does the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee have the authority to sanction a legal consulting center that operates in the wrong field as stated in the operating registration, based on Point c, Clause 1, Article 88 Decree 82/2020/ND-CP stipulates:

Determining the authority to sanction administrative violations

1. Authority to sanction administrative violations of the Chairman of the People’s Committee at all levels:

a) The Chairman of the Commune People’s Committee to sanction administrative violations specified in Clause 1, Article 48; Clause 1, Article 58; Clause 1, Article 61; Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 62 of this Decree;

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c) The Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee imposes penalties for administrative violations specified in Chapter II; Chapter III; Chapter IV; Articles 78, 79 and 80; Chapter VII of this Decree.

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Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 83 of Decree 82/2020/ND-CP stipulates:

Authority to sanction administrative violations of Chairmen of People’s Committees at all levels

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3. The Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee has the right to:

a) Impose a warning;

b) Impose a fine of up to 30,000,000 VND for administrative violations in the fields of judicial administration, marriage and family; up to 40,000,000 VND for administrative violations in the field of bankruptcy of enterprises and cooperatives; up to 50,000,000 VND for administrative violations in the field of judicial assistance;

c) Suspension of operations for a period of time or deprivation of the right to use licenses, practice certificates, practice registration certificates, legal consultant cards, notary cards, bailiff cards, legal aid collaborator cards;

d) Confiscate evidence and means of administrative violations;

dd) Apply remedial measures specified in Clause 3, Article 3 of this Decree.

According to the delineation of sanctioning authority, the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee has the right to impose a fine of up to 50,000,000 VND for administrative violations in the field of judicial assistance, suspend operations for a period of time or revoke the right to use licenses, practice certificates, practice registration certificates, legal consultant cards, notary cards, bailiff cards, legal aid collaborator cards and apply remedial measures specified in Clause 3 of Article 3 This Decree.

Accordingly, a legal consulting center that does not operate in the right field as stated in the operating registration certificate will be fined from 7,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND, suspended from operation from 01 month to 03 months and forced to return the illegally obtained profits.

Thus, the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee has the right to sanction legal consulting centers that do not operate in the right field as stated in the operation registration certificate.

What is the statute of limitations for sanctioning a legal consulting center that operates in the wrong field as stated in its registration certificate?

What is the statute of limitations for sanctioning a legal consulting center that operates in the wrong field as stated in the operation registration certificate, based on point a, clause 1, Article 6 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 2012, amended by Point a, Clause 4, Article 1 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations Amended 2020, which stipulates:

Statute of limitations for handling administrative violations

1. The statute of limitations for sanctioning administrative violations is prescribed as follows:

a) The statute of limitations for sanctioning administrative violations is 01 year, except for the following cases:

Administrative violations of accounting; bill; fees and charges; insurance business; price management; stock; intellectual property; build; seafood; forestry; investigation, planning, exploration, exploitation and use of water resources; petroleum and other mineral activities; environmental protection; atomic energy; management and development of housing and offices; land; dikes; press; publish; production, export, import, and trading of goods; producing and trading banned and counterfeit goods; When managing foreign workers, the statute of limitations for sanctioning administrative violations is 02 years.

For administrative violations of tax, the statute of limitations for sanctioning administrative violations is according to the provisions of law on tax administration;

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Accordingly, the statute of limitations for sanctioning administrative violations for legal consulting centers operating in the wrong field as stated in the operation registration certificate is 01 year.