Regulation on drug advertisements

Regulation on drug advertisements

The Ministry of Health issued Circular No 13/2009/TT-BYT on September 1 on drug information and advertising.

Under the circular, only entities which have registered drugs are permitted to advertise them or issue information about them. Such a unit may authorise another to do so only by written power-of-attorney.

Prohibited is advertisement of prescription drugs, vaccines and other preventative medicines; information and advertisement of cosmetic, food products and other non-drug products that may cause users to misunderstand that such products are medicinal; misuse of Drug Administration Department registration numbers; and reference to the name of the drug administration authority of other countries in drug advertisements.

The Drug Administration Department shall receive and process applications to advertise drugs or issue drug information, and the Department of Health shall process applications and issue identity cards for agents of pharmaceutical producers.

Taxing gains from foreign exchange

The Ministry of Finance issued Circular No 177/2009/TT-BTC on September 10, on determination of taxable income in the cases of gains made on foreign exchange rates in account payable collected in foreign currency. Accordingly, any gains or losses due to exchange rate differences during a period are counted as income or deductible expenses during that period to determine taxable income for corporate income tax purposes. Losses may be carried forward into the next period. The circular, which takes effect 45 days from its issuance, will apply to the 2009 tax year.

Economic workers eligible for tax relief

The Ministry of Finance issued the Circular No 176/2009/TT-BTC on September 9, guiding the application of personal income tax (PIT) reductions for individuals working in economic zones.

Under the circular, Vietnamese and foreign residents or non-residents in Viet Nam eligible for the reduction who have taxable income from wages received for work in economic zones shall be entitled to a 50-per-cent reduction of income tax payable. The circular, which takes effect 45 days from its issuance, will apply to the 2009 tax year.

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