Insights
Vietnam Social Insurance Penalties 2026 (Decree 283)
By Nguyễn Quốc Trung — Deputy General Director · Updated
From 10 September 2026, Decree 283/2026/ND-CP replaces Decree 12/2022/ND-CP as the basis for administrative penalties on social insurance. For a business, late payment of compulsory social insurance is fined 12–15% of the amount paid late, evasion is fined 18–20% of the amount evaded, both capped at VND 75 million for an individual and doubled to VND 150 million for an organisation; on top of the fine, the business must still pay the outstanding amount in full and pay a further 0.03% per day into the fund.
This article is written for directors, HR managers and accountants who need the exact fine figures, the line between late payment and evasion, a correct reading of the arrears due, and the way to put things right; it reflects the rules in force to September 2026.
When does Decree 283/2026 take effect, and which decree does it replace?
Decree 283/2026/ND-CP was signed on 15 July 2026, took effect on 10 September 2026 and, from that same date, ended Decree 12/2022/ND-CP under Article 66. The decree runs to 6 chapters and 68 articles, covering penalties on labour, social insurance and Vietnamese workers going abroad.
One transitional point matters: conduct that began before 10 September 2026 but is still ongoing when the decree takes effect is handled under Decree 283/2026 (Article 67(2)). In other words, a shortfall or non-payment carried over from earlier is not treated as closed under the old text. Fine figures quoted from Decree 12/2022 are now out of date.
What are social insurance arrears, and what extra must a business pay?
Social insurance arrears — the collection of unpaid contributions — are a remedial measure, not a fine: the business is required to pay the outstanding compulsory social insurance in full, plus 0.03% per day on that amount over the number of days it was late or evaded, into the social insurance fund under Article 43(4) and Article 44(3) of Decree 283/2026. This amount is separate from the percentage fine and is not rolled into a single figure.
The 0.03%-per-day charge is calculated on the number of days the amount was late or evaded, running from after the latest payment date under Article 34(4) of the Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15, so the longer an unpaid amount is left, the larger it grows. For a part-time worker subject to contributions — a contract of at least one month and a monthly wage at or above the reference level — the duty to contribute arises from 1 July 2025, the date the Law on Social Insurance 2024 took effect.
Arrears must be told apart from the one-year limitation period for administrative penalties on labour and social insurance breaches (Article 3(4) of Decree 283/2026). The one-year limit only caps when a fine decision can be issued; it does not clear the duty to pay the arrears in full or the 0.03%-per-day charge. Do not assume that once a year has passed there is nothing left to collect.
Who is covered and how much it costs to insure one person a month is set out in compulsory social insurance for part-time workers, including whether social insurance is due during probation.
How do late payment and evasion of social insurance differ, and what are the fines?
Late payment and evasion are two distinct acts, each defined in the Law on Social Insurance 2024 and each with its own fine band in Decree 283/2026. Late payment is fined 12–15% of the total amount paid late (Article 43(3)); evasion is fined 18–20% of the total amount evaded (Article 44(2)); both are capped at VND 75 million for an individual, measured when the record of violation is drawn up. For late payment by percentage, if the total amount paid late measured at that time is under VND 400,000, only a warning is issued (Article 43(1)); the fines by headcount for failing to register or under-registering carry no such warning threshold.
| Criterion | Late payment | Evasion |
|---|---|---|
| Defining basis | Article 38, Law on Social Insurance 2024 | Article 39, Law on Social Insurance 2024 |
| Typical sign | Not paid or underpaid against the registered records, after the latest payment date | Over 60 days after a reminder and still unpaid; wages registered below the required level |
| Percentage fine | 12–15% of the amount paid late (Art. 43(3)) | 18–20% of the amount evaded (Art. 44(2)) |
| Fine cap | VND 75 million (individual) / VND 150 million (organisation) | VND 75 million (individual) / VND 150 million (organisation) |
| Remedy | Pay in full + 0.03%/day into the fund (Art. 43(4)) | Pay in full + 0.03%/day into the fund (Art. 44(3)) |
The real dividing line sits in two places: more than 60 days after the latest social insurance payment date (Article 34(4) of the Law on Social Insurance 2024), a competent authority has sent a reminder and the amount is still unpaid, or the wages registered as the contribution base are below the required level — either one turns late payment into evasion. Whether a given person is a worker subject to compulsory contributions is analysed in collaborator and piecework contracts.
What is the fine for failing to register, or under-registering, social insurance participants?
Failing to register, or not registering the full number of compulsory social insurance participants, is fined on a scale set by the number of workers affected. Within 60 days, or beyond 60 days but not treated as evasion, the late-payment band of VND 5 million to VND 75 million for an individual applies (Article 43(2)); beyond 60 days and treated as evasion, the band of VND 6 million to VND 75 million applies (Article 44(1)). Organisations pay double these amounts.
| Workers affected | Late payment — Art. 43(2) | Evasion — Art. 44(1) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | VND 5–10 million | VND 6–12 million |
| 10 to under 50 | VND 10–15 million | VND 12–20 million |
| 50 to under 100 | VND 15–20 million | VND 20–30 million |
| 100 to under 300 | VND 20–30 million | VND 30–40 million |
| 300 to under 500 | VND 30–40 million | VND 40–50 million |
| 500 to under 700 | VND 40–50 million | VND 50–60 million |
| 700 to under 1,000 | VND 50–60 million | VND 60–70 million |
| 1,000 or more | VND 60–75 million | VND 70–75 million |
These are the figures for an individual; a business is an organisation and so pays double. This headcount band has no warning threshold — the under-VND 400,000 threshold applies only to late payment by percentage under Article 43(3).
Is a signed agreement not to pay social insurance lawful?
No. For a person subject to compulsory contributions, taking part in social insurance is mandatory under Article 168(1) of the Labour Code 2019; an agreement not to take part does not remove that duty, and if it leads the business to fail to register or to leave payment overdue beyond the deadline in Article 39 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, that is evasion — an act strictly prohibited by Article 9(1) of the same law. The agreement itself is fined VND 500,000–1,000,000 under Article 48(2) of Decree 283/2026, but that is an individual-level fine reaching the worker who signs; the business's heavier duty is still to pay in full, pay 0.03% per day, and possibly face a late-payment or evasion fine under Articles 43 and 44. Only a person not subject to compulsory contributions may instead receive an extra amount paid together with wages in place of the contribution, under Article 168(3) of the Labour Code 2019.
Put another way, a waiver signed by the worker does not protect the business. At an inspection it does the opposite: it is evidence that the two sides agreed something unlawful, and becomes grounds for a fine alongside the arrears. Article 168(1) of the Labour Code 2019 already requires an employer and a worker subject to compulsory contributions to take part in social insurance; the extra payment in clause 3 is only for a person outside that group.
Does a business pay double the individual fine?
Yes. Every monetary figure in the penalty chapters of Decree 283/2026 is the fine for an individual; the fine for an organisation is twice the fine for an individual, under Article 7(1). The articles on social insurance and unemployment insurance — Articles 43, 44, 45 and 46 — are not on the list of exceptions, so for a business the fine rates stay the same (12–15% for late payment, 18–20% for evasion) and the banded fines double, while the fine cap rises from VND 75 million to VND 150 million.
The correct basis for doubling is Article 7(1), not some other article that is sometimes cited by mistake. The list of organisations in Article 7(2) includes enterprises established under Vietnamese law, along with branches and representative offices.
A worked example: a business that evades payment is fined 18–20% of the amount evaded and, being an organisation, faces a cap of VND 150 million. And because the individual cap is VND 75 million and the organisation cap is VND 150 million, there is no separate round VND 100 million mark for late payment or evasion — a figure is only right when it is tied to the correct article, clause and organisational status.
We are using workers whose social insurance is unpaid — how do we put it right correctly?
The business is required to file a registration for the full number of compulsory social insurance participants, pay the late or evaded amount in full and pay 0.03% per day into the fund, under Article 43(4) and Article 44(3) of Decree 283/2026. Putting things right before a record of violation is drawn up is the correct course; a repeated act of evasion may have the file referred to a competent authority for review where there are signs of a crime (Article 4(2) of Decree 283/2026).
The remedy should follow these steps:
- Review the actual list of workers to identify who still lacks a compulsory social insurance record.
- File a registration, or a supplementary registration, for the full number required.
- Pay the outstanding amount in full and pay the 0.03%-per-day charge into the fund.
- Review the wages used as the contribution base, so as not to fall into registering below the required level.
On criminal liability, a careful word: organised, fraudulent evasion, where it meets the elements of the offence, may be subject to criminal prosecution. This article gives no specific sentence; the point to remember is that putting things right early and correctly always costs less than letting the situation run on.
How does Nhan Kiet put workers on the books lawfully for a business?
The risk of arrears, a 12–15% or 18–20% fine and the 0.03%-per-day charge all start from workers not being entered into the insurance records on time — exactly the part Nhan Kiet takes on when it stands as the employer. As the party signing the employment contract directly with each person, including part-time workers on short shifts, Nhan Kiet handles social insurance registration increases and decreases as headcount changes, pays social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance and occupational-accident and disease insurance in full, registers tax codes, files personal income tax, submits labour reports, and carries the legal responsibility at an inspection or a dispute.
When everyone subject to compulsory contributions is on the books and paid on time, the business has no unpaid amount left to be collected as arrears or to draw a record of violation.
Nhan Kiet Manpower Supply Company Limited (tax code 0308022768) was founded in April 2009 and is now in its 17th year, operating under labour sub-leasing Licence No. 15/2019/SHCM (first issued as No. 029/LDTBXH in 2015), holds ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, and serves more than 500 clients with more than 40,000 workers across 34 provinces and cities. How workers are transferred to Nhan Kiet as the named employer is set out on the labour compliance services page.
Sources
- Decree 283/2026/ND-CP — Articles 3, 7, 43, 44, 48, 66, 67; signed 15 July 2026, in force 10 September 2026, replacing Decree 12/2022/ND-CP
- Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15 — Articles 9, 38, 39; in force from 1 July 2025
- Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14 — Article 168(1) and (3); in force from 1 January 2021
This article summarises the rules for orientation; specific situations need individual advice.
Contact us
Businesses that need to put workers on the books lawfully, handle arrears or review their social insurance penalty exposure can contact:
- Nguyen Quoc Trung — Deputy General Director
- Phone: 0908 636 108 — [email protected]
- Switchboard: 028 3505 4224
- Head office: Room 202, Building 57, 57 Le Thi Hong Gam, Ben Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City
Call +84 908 636 108 or see labour compliance, payroll outsourcing, EOR Vietnam.